Epic 516‑day journey: Ugandan athlete runs from Cape Town to London
Ugandan Deo Kato is completing his run from Cape Town to London, which has lasted 516 days, reported the "Guardian." The athlete covered 7,732 miles to raise awareness about racism and the plight of migrants traveling from Africa to Europe. On Sunday, crowds of runners in the UK capital will welcome him.
In an interview with the newspaper, Kato admitted that despite some very unpleasant and dangerous incidents, the experience of the run restored his faith in people. Among the kindest moments, he mentioned meeting a 15-year-old boy in Botswana, who ran with him briefly along the Kalahari highway.
Kato admitted that the young person reminded him of when he was a teenager.
Another moving moment, he recalled, was when a group of Kenyan children heading to school spontaneously joined the run. "They wanted to keep running with me," he said.
During the run, the 36-year-old also experienced several dramatic events, including spending three weeks in a prison in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, and dealing with heavy rains and muddy roads in Tanzania.
According to his account, upon reaching Europe, he often experienced racism.
The "Long March to Freedom" monument in Cape Town, which symbolically represents the 350-year history of the struggle for freedom in South Africa, was where Kato started his run on July 24, 2023.
On Sunday, the Ugandan is set to reach central London, where on Downing Street hundreds of runners will join him. The end of the route is Hammersmith, in West London, where Kato lives daily.
