On the Long Run: The Story of A (Refugee) UltraMarathon Runner: François Msafiri
Forced to run away from his home; François Msafiri hopes to run to break the record of his idol, the Kenyan long distance runner, Eliud Kipchoge. He opens up to Samuel Hall about his childhood, challenges, dreams and the message he has for the world.
By Devyani Nighoskar & Kimararungu Cadeau Héritier
I n the fading light of a 5 PM July evening in 2010, in a small village nestled near Lusambo village in South Kivu, Eastern DRC, 14-year-old François Msafiri was immersed in a game of football with his friends. Their laughter and shouts filled the air until a sudden silence fell upon them. A convoy of cars, filled with FARDC (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo) soldiers, and Mai Mai rebels waiting for an ambush, signalled an all-too-familiar threat.
In the war-torn DRC, such a sight meant only one thing: flee. “We’d escape to the thick forests, surviving on whatever fruits and leaves we could find until it was safe,” François remembered — but that day marked the beginning of a journey unlike any other.
Forced to run and run and run through the night amidst chaos, François sought his family in vain, eventually finding himself at the shores of Lake Tanganyika. With a heavy heart, he boarded a boat, leaving behind everything familiar, perhaps never to return again.
Thirteen years later, François continues to run, but now as an ultra-marathon runner in Kenya. Just last year, he ran nonstop for 512 km from Nairobi to Mombasa to raise money for refugee children who, like him, were forced to flee their homes. “I run to show the world what refugees can achieve,” François says.
We meet him on a sunny February afternoon in our office in Nairobi. He is still in his running attire, wearing a yellow T-shirt that has “Run a mile in a refugee’s shoe” emblazoned across the back. We sit down to do just that — as he takes us through his childhood overshadowed by conflict, a youth in search of sanctuary, and an adulthood fuelled with the passion for running.
A Long Wait With Other Refugees
“I was born into a family of 10, the firstborn of 8 children. My father was a businessman, and my mother was a farmer. My childhood is filled with memories of war, displacement and poverty due to the conflict. I went to school when I could. It was 6 km away, and I had only an hour to get there … so I would run to school every day. That’s my earliest memory of running,” Msafiri recalls.
However, becoming a runner was not François’s childhood dream; he aspired to fly and become a pilot.
That fateful day in October when François boarded the boat as an unaccompanied minor, it took him to Tanzania with a hundred others. After a 17-hour journey, they discovered that the Tanzanian government did not welcome refugees. “The UNHCR, too, was unable to help us without the government’s cooperation,” François explained. Given shelter but left to fend for themselves, François found work washing dishes in a restaurant in exchange for food. While he saw some familiar villagers in the camp, his family was nowhere around. Later, he would learn that they had all been displaced internally in Congo, and his father would die in the war.
After two months in Tanzania without support, François hitched a ride to Nairobi with a kind Kenyan truck driver. Hiding in the back of the lorry to avoid police detection, he arrived three days later, late evening and was dropped off at the UNHCR office. “I was so surprised to see many other refugees waiting there…..we waited together until the next morning when they called us to register the ‘newcomers,’” recalled François. Finding work at a construction site, he eventually got a place to stay through a fellow worker and a lie. He had to claim that he was Kenyan.
The Start of A New Dream
As François found his footing in Nairobi, a new dream stirred.
“Back when I was still in my home country, I often watched marathons, particularly enthralled by the Kenyan and Ethiopian athletes competing in world championships. I had come to recognise Eluid Kipchoge as one of the greatest marathoners the world has ever seen. I found inspiration in his methods as he was gearing up for the 2012 London Olympics, he faced setbacks due to injuries from previous marathons. This period allowed me to witness many of his competitions against Ethiopian marathon legends Haile Gebrselassie and Kenenisa Bekele. Watching these competitions, I was deeply inspired by the courage and competence of these African legends. I felt like I could do it too … .I could run,” he added.
It started with something simple: morning runs before work. Every day, he would wake up at 5 am and cover 21 km from Syokimau to the Central Business District and then back to Syokimau. At the time, he worked at a barber shop, a gig that led him to meet and talk with many people as he cut their hair. It is through one such nonchalant conversation that François found an opportunity to share his story. A TV journalist, intrigued by his passion for running, featured him and his story on the news.
“They came to film me at 4 am. I was running, and they were on their bikes with their cameras. But I did not finish the route in two hours as usual. It took longer because the journalists on bikes got stuck in traffic, and I had to wait for them….Aah, Nairobi traffic,” he chuckles.
Seeing his story shared publicly only fueled François’s motivation further. As he started to gain recognition and opportunities to run; he began obsessively watching Kipchoge’s training videos, dedicating himself to training sessions after work. In 2017, he completed his first half marathon of 21 Km. Despite still awaiting his official refugee mandate, the marathon organisers did not discriminate, allowing him the incredible experience of running among professional athletes in Nairobi. He finished thirty sixth, but that was just the start.
Selection into the International Olympic Refugee Training Camp
In July 2019, after his interview on TV; François was also selected to join the Tegla Loroupe International Olympic Refugee Training Camp in Ngong, Kajiado County, on the outskirts of Nairobi with 29 other refugees from Kakuma camp and a Congolese refugee athlete from Nairobi. Their aim was to be part of the International Athletes Refugee Team, which had competed in the 2016 International Association of Athletes Federation (IAAF) Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. However, due to organisational and funding challenges he couldn’t participate in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Over the last few years; François has participated in several marathons within Kenya and received invitations from Europe, America, and India. However, he could not travel until recently without a mandate and a passport. “I was about to get it in 2019, but then COVID happened; offices shut, and I only received it in 2023,” he shares, showing me his Conventional Travel Document (CTD) issued by the Republic of Kenya, which resembles a passport and allows him to travel anywhere….except, ironically…. his country of origin.
I asked him if he would like to return to DRC if he could. François’ response is measured. “Maybe to meet my family,” he says and adds: “What I fled is still happening there. In fact, it has now become worse.”
François’s journey as a runner is marked not only by his lack of documentation but also by his limited access to resources. Despite owning his barber shop now, he cannot afford to quit work to train full-time, nor does he have a formal coach, nutritionist, or physiotherapist — elements crucial for a successful athlete. “All I have is hundreds of Kipchoge’s training videos, my running shoes, and the drive to run,” he admits.
Yet, even with these resources, he managed to run 512 km from Nairobi to Mombasa to fundraise for 5000 refugee children affected by COVID-19.
“Seeing how COVID-19 affected kids’ education in our refugee community hit me hard. I never got the opportunity to finish my schooling, which I regret. So, I thought, why not use my love for running to help out?” he shares.
A lot of people might get discouraged by all the bureaucracy involved in setting up an event like this on their own. But not François. He navigated to the Mombasa County website and emailed the relevant authorities to present his initiative. “They agreed, promising to organise everything. All I had to do was focus on my training,” he said.
For his preparation, François adhered to a rigorous and demanding training schedule. His training primarily started at midnight. After warming up and preparing for an hour; he aimed to run 100 km within 10 hours. “My pre-training ritual included a strong cup of tea and bread. During runs, we carried water and electrolytes, taking breaks every four hours for 15–20 minutes to consume fruits. Post-training, my meals were simple due to limited financial resources, often consisting of ugali with cabbages or fish fillet when affordable,” he added. This relentless routine continued for months, culminating in a practice run from Nakuru to Eldoret, covering a distance of 155 kilometres in 14 hours.
Consistency, Courage and Commitment
Without psycho-social support, François relied on his courage and commitment. “Fulfilling my promise to Kenyans and the world to run from Nairobi to Mombasa was crucial, so relaxing wasn’t an option. I faced discouraging comments, especially in mainstream TV channels’ comment sections, where people doubted my marathon endeavour, calling it akin to ‘suicide’. This weighed heavily on my mind before the marathon started.”
However, on the day of the run, François was ready. Despite the challenge, he felt a deep sense of gratitude for the support he had received from many people. His mind was clear and focused on the goal he had set for himself. His route began at Haile Selassie’s roundabout in Nairobi’s CBD. It took him through Tsavo National Park, where forest rangers were assigned to guide his path, culminating at Treasury Square in Mombasa — 512 km, 54 hours.
Along the way, he not only won over hearts but also raised money for the education of 5000 refugee children.
“Many people doubted me before the run, especially when it was publicised. There were expressions of shock, even fear. One person questioned, ‘Haven’t we already seen enough deaths due to COVID?’ But this is why I run — to disprove the sceptics, to show that refugees are equally capable and deserve support and opportunities,” François asserted.
François plans to have another run in early March from Machakos County Commissioner Office to City Hall or Nairobi governor’s office in CBD through Mombasa Road to raise funds for 3,000 refugee children.François has been visiting various dignitaries/government officials requesting support and collaboration, which some of them have promised to provide.
Running Beyond Africa: François’ Upcoming Journey
Beyond this marathon, François has invitations and plans to compete in the XTERRA Run World Championships in September in the USA and in the SLO12RUN in Slovenia in June. All of this is in preparation for François to achieve his ultimate dream: to break the Ultra-marathon world record set by his idol, Kipchoge — who timed 2:01:09 at the Berlin Marathon last year. “I think I can do it with the right support — proper management, coaching, and sponsorship,” he asserts.
As François passionately talks about the inspiration he gets from Kipchoge, I ask him: “How do you feel when you run?”
“When I run, I feel that I am truly a ‘Msafiri’ (traveller in Swahili); I have control over my destiny …..I connect deeply with myself,” he says.
As our interview nears its conclusion, I realise how little I’ve truly stepped into his shoes, let alone run the distances he has toward his dreams. His journey, marked by the heavy emotional and political baggage of being labelled a refugee, has not slowed his stride.
“What message would you like to share with the world?” I pose my final question. He seems prepared and responds with three points.
“To my fellow refugees, I want to say, “You can achieve anything; we only need to unite and extend beyond our immediate communities and nationalities.”
To the Kenyan government, “I am grateful for your support, but we refugees need more than just support; we crave opportunities currently beyond our reach due to documentation issues. We can study, engage in business, run, and even shatter world records. It’s time for our capabilities to be encouraged and recognised.”
And this is for myself: “I dream of breaking the world record. I appeal to all NGOs and INGOs to support me and to help me achieve my dream so that it can inspire other refugees to show the world our boundless potential. I envision a world where a refugee breaking the world record is not just a dream but a celebrated reality… Oh, what a triumph that would be.”
