More than 300 people have run across the USA; no one has run the length of Africa. Deo Kato is looking to change that statistic. On 24 July, the Ugandan-born, London-based runner will be setting off from Cape Town with the plan of not stopping until he arrives in the English capital. That’s a distance of more than 9,000 miles, all of which he’s hoping to complete within 381 days.
The number is significant. Back in 1955, African Americans in Alabama staged a civil rights protest for 381 days. Kato’s message is a similar one: to protest against racial injustice and inequality within our society. Previous challenges have seen him run 10km for 381 days in a row (something that was subsequently taken up by other runners to become the longest protest run in history), but this latest challenge is on a much bigger scale.
‘In terms of physical preparation, it is very difficult to prepare for something like this,’ he says. ‘So I've been doing a lot of mindset work, mental strength work, rather than traditional strength work. It’s partly about respecting the distance and appreciating how long it's going to take me.’
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Motivating him will be the desire to tell the story of human migration. ‘Racial abuse often takes the form of terms such as “Go back to your country” or “Go back to where you came from”. Having done some research, I found that some of the earliest human beings were discovered to have come from South Africa, and they migrated from there to the rest of the world. My route will mirror this journey.’
As someone who was born in Uganda, Kato has plotted a route that passes through the country, which has become a hotbed of distance running talent. ‘I could have taken a different route, a much more straightforward route, which is like a straight line from Cape Town through Namibia and straight up. But because I was born in Uganda, and some of my family are there, visiting the country will give me a boost at the halfway point.’
And he may be in need of a little motivation because, as challenges go, they don’t get much harder than this. Consider some of the statistics. Nine thousand miles to cover; 53,400m of elevation (that’s eight times the height of Everest); temperatures likely to exceed 40C; and the requirement to run roughly a marathon a day, every day. It’s little wonder no one’s ever done this before. There are other dangers associated with running through Africa, too, although Kato believes some of these are born out of ignorance.
‘Certainly, there is danger,’ he says. ‘But you can find that everywhere you go in the world. Some of the dangers people associate with Africa are based on prejudice that’s been passed down. People believe that in Africa, there’s no real civilization. The danger of being killed or kidnapped is, I think, massively exaggerated.’
All being well, Kato will finish his journey at Downing Street, London on 7 August 2024. In the process, he’s hoping to continue to inspire the next generation of Black and Brown runners to pursue their own dreams. ‘The 381 movement is about showing the next generation that we can persist, even when things seem dire; we can have a positive impact. I totally believe that you need to have a great cause to achieve something like [running from Cape Town to London]. That is what's going to give me the belief to finish it.’
To help Deo Kato raise funds for his Cape Town to London run, visit: gofund.me/5ce10bea
Catch up on his running adventures on Instagram @deoruns
