The Mount Cameroon Volcanic Sprint

As the Washington D.C. streets turn from snow and sheets of ice to dirty slush, I'm comforted by the fact that I'm planning a return trip to Africa in June, this time to the West African nation of Cameroon. To beat the winter blues, I was kicking around looking for anything coming from the Cameroonian blogosphere.

So far, I've found a few gems: Dibussi Tande: Scribbles from the Den and Another Day in Shrimpistan. I was instantly drawn to Dibussi this week when I found his site and the first thing I saw was this, a short documentary video on the 'Mount Cameroon Volcanic Sprint'.

Wow. This race is badass. I knew from cursory investigations into my guidebook that Mount Cameroon was the largest mountain in West Africa, so this seemed to be no mere footrace. It's highest peak is 13,000 feet above sea level, and if that wasn't enough, it is an active volcano which last exploded in May 2000. Further, the race is a marathon: 26 miles (42km) from the start of the race in a nearby town of Buea to the peak and back down.

The last time I did a marathon in Africa I ran into a meat truck, so I'm happy this race took place in January when I was no where near West Africa. But when I get to Cameroon I'll definitely have to slap on a pair of trail runners and take a little jog up this imposing hill.