Kwanini? Series
Running
The Kwanini? Title by Jackie Lebo named ‘Running’ is the first release from a larger project that seeks to highlight one of the biggest undocumented stories in modern sports history. What exists is fragmented reportage – statistics, anecdotes and inconclusive studies that try to extricate the one thing that makes Kenyan athletes so dominant in middle and long distance running. Against the backdrop of the system that is Kenyan running, the personal stories – the human face of athletics – are the most compelling. Jackie Lebo’s writing questions what motivates people to start running, how their families take it and how they are able to balance life and athletics.
About Jackie Lebo
Jackie Lebo is a writer, producer and photographer and serves as the Team Lead at Content House. She has been researching on Kenyan running for the past six years. In 2012 she produced the documentary Gun to Tape, a film following the Kenyan athletes David Rudisha and Edna Kiplagat in the run-up to the London Olympic Games. She also served as curator for a photo exhibition titled Kenya’s Olympic Journey. Her book on Kenyan running will be published in 2014. Jackie’s writing has appeared in the Financial Times, the East African, The Africa Report, Kwani?, Chimurenga, The Caine Prize Anthology, Marathonguide.com, Sport and Development online and the Prague International Marathon book. Jackie’s photographs have appeared in The Africa Report, 10tal and Farafina. She was Associate Editor and photographer for 24 Nairobi, a project that brought together 16 writers and photographers for a new perspective on the African city