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La gara di gravel attraverso il Masai Mara

Res publica   07.02.23  

La Migration Gravel Race è una corsa ciclistica a tappe attraverso le terre selvagge del Masai Mara, in Kenya.
Il percorso, di circa 650 km a un'altitudine media di 1.900 metri, viene affrontato con bici gravel, una tipologia a metà strada tra le bici da corsa e quelle da ciclocross, attraversando single track, sentieri selvaggi, terra rossa, ghiaia dura e ruvida, villaggi Masai, pianure, fiumi e montagne, come racconta Douwe Doet Dingen.

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Il segreto del successo dei corridori kenioti

Res publica   19.04.12  

Da alcune minoranze etniche del Kenya, pari al 0,06% della popolazione mondiale, arrivano gli atleti che dominano la maggior parte delle gare sulla lunga distanza. C'è chi si interroga sul segreto di questo successo.

The statistics are hard to ignore. This medium-size country of 41 million dominates the world in competitive running. Pick any long-distance race. You'll often find that up to about 70 or 80 percent of its winners since the late 1980s, when East African nutrition and technology started catching up with the West, have been from Kenya. Since 1988, for example, 20 of the 25 first-place men in the Boston Marathon have been Kenyan. Kenyan women appear to have had a later start, winning none of marathons before 2000 (possibly due to discriminatory laws and a tradition of forcing girls into marriages, both of which were partially rolled back by 1990s reforms) and 9 of 13 since then. Of the top 25 male record holders for the 3000-meter steeplechase, 18 are Kenyan. Seven of the last 8 London marathons were won by Kenyans, and the sole outlier was from neighboring Ethiopia*. Their record in the Olympic men's marathon is more uneven, having placed in the top three in only four of the last six races. Still, not bad for one country. And even more amazing is that three-fourths of the Kenyan champions come from an ethnic minority of 4.4. million, or 0.06% of global population.

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Ricostruire il Kenya un ponte alla volta

Res publica   20.08.10  

Attraversare un fiume in Kenya può essere impossibile durante le piene o significare la morte per la presenza di coccodrilli.
Il lavoro di Harmon Parker è quello di costruire ponti sicuri in grado di collegare villaggi e rendere sicuro e costante l'attraversamento dei corsi d'acqua più pericolosi.

Parker has been building bridges ever since, and in 2003 he founded the nonprofit organization Bridging the Gap. The organization oversees the building of bridges that not only save lives but connect isolated villagers to resources that can improve their way of life.

"When it floods, people really suffer not being able to get to the clinic or the market or to their school," Parker said. "Like every people, they have dreams. They want to prosper."

Since 1997, Parker has helped build 45 bridges in Kenya. He estimates they've affected tens of thousands of lives, but he insists his work is not about the numbers.

"I have built many bridges in very remote areas for the 'few and the needy' that a larger organization may not consider," he said. "Knowing this bridge will probably save at least one life is what makes me tick... I build bridges because I want to save lives, lives that I will never know about."

Parker's hanging footbridges are simple in design, with an average length of 120 feet and an average cost of about $6,000. They are built using basic materials and local tools so villagers can maintain them and make repairs when needed.

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