The 2017 Chobe Marathon: The Gods Must Be Crazy
Marathon # 147
Barefoot Marathon # 13
Date: August 3, 2017
My results: 6:42:59
By Dr. Barefoot Sidy Diallo
I completed in Botswana my 13th truly barefoot marathon and felt closer to the persistence hunters among the Kalahari people.
I ran in Botswana my second barefoot marathon in the cradle of humankind, which reminded me the film The Gods Must Be Crazy, hence my finisher photo with the soda bottle. The marathon brings us by the way closer to the Kalahari people, because it’s the way we instinctively practice persistence hunting. I explain in my book Running Barefoot for Human Survival my feelings about the Kalahari people. Excerpts:
“The first 10 minutes of the 1980 movie, The Gods Must Be Crazy, of South African director Jamie Uys, are about the lifestyle of ‘civilized’ humans in a major city. The rest of the film features the events experienced by the Kalahari people, 600 miles (966 km) away to the north, after the discovery of a bottle of soda jettisoned from an aircraft. Many of those who have seen the film usually only remember the sequences of the second part.
In hindsight, the unnoticed message of the South African filmmaker was premonitory of the onslaught of the epidemic of chronic diseases, as a direct consequence of the ‘civilized lifestyle.’ We have a lot to learn from the Kalahari people, especially about their way of life in harmony with nature and how to keep an ideal BMI...”
Running Barefoot for Human Survival is available on Amazon in paperback and e-book format (French edition: Courir pieds nus pour sauver les humains).
See the 2017 Chobe Marathon results. The race was one of 7 marathons I ran in 7 African countries in 8 days. The other races are:
Barefoot Marathon # 13
Date: August 3, 2017
My results: 6:42:59
By Dr. Barefoot Sidy Diallo
I completed in Botswana my 13th truly barefoot marathon and felt closer to the persistence hunters among the Kalahari people.
I ran in Botswana my second barefoot marathon in the cradle of humankind, which reminded me the film The Gods Must Be Crazy, hence my finisher photo with the soda bottle. The marathon brings us by the way closer to the Kalahari people, because it’s the way we instinctively practice persistence hunting. I explain in my book Running Barefoot for Human Survival my feelings about the Kalahari people. Excerpts:
“The first 10 minutes of the 1980 movie, The Gods Must Be Crazy, of South African director Jamie Uys, are about the lifestyle of ‘civilized’ humans in a major city. The rest of the film features the events experienced by the Kalahari people, 600 miles (966 km) away to the north, after the discovery of a bottle of soda jettisoned from an aircraft. Many of those who have seen the film usually only remember the sequences of the second part.
In hindsight, the unnoticed message of the South African filmmaker was premonitory of the onslaught of the epidemic of chronic diseases, as a direct consequence of the ‘civilized lifestyle.’ We have a lot to learn from the Kalahari people, especially about their way of life in harmony with nature and how to keep an ideal BMI...”
Running Barefoot for Human Survival is available on Amazon in paperback and e-book format (French edition: Courir pieds nus pour sauver les humains).
See the 2017 Chobe Marathon results. The race was one of 7 marathons I ran in 7 African countries in 8 days. The other races are:
- 3/143. The 2017 Ladybrand Border Marathon, South Africa: 5:20:03
- 4/144. The 2017 Maseru Bridge Marathon, Lesotho: 5:16:20
- 5/145. The 2017 Sand River Marathon, Swaziland: 5:53:06
- 6/146. The 2017 Hwange Marathon, Zimbabwe: 5:45:20 (barefoot)
- 8/148. The 2017 Impalila Island Marathon, Namibia: 6:48:08 (barefoot)
- 9/149. The 2017 Zambezi Waterfront Marathon, Zambia: 7:44:05 (barefoot)
Upon completing a barefoot marathon in Botswana, Dr. Sidy Diallo felt closer to the persistence hunters among the Kalahari people: The Gods Must Be Crazy.
The 2017 Chobe Marathon results
Dr. Sidy Diallo ran barefoot the 2017 Chobe Marathon in Botswana: The Gods Must Be Crazy.
Dr. Sidy Diallo's medals of 7 marathons in 7 African countries in 8 days.
Dr. Sidy Diallo with the other participants in the 2017 Southern African Challenge
Herd of elephants crossing a road in Botswana