Legend or tricksters?

Meet the Night Runners (BBC documentary; 2019)


There is an East African tale amongst the Luo people of spirits who wonder at night to disturb households. These 'night runners' throw sand and stones on their roofs, make rattling sounds on their zinc roofs and make eerie sounds in the deadpan of the night.

The BBC African crew did an exposé recently of this phenomenon. 

These 'night runners' are just people who like to create mischief and get a thrill out of scaring the hell of their victims. They do not steal peoples' properties but sometimes get caught and get beaten up for it. Because it is humiliating to be labelled a 'night runners' at the risk of being chased out of the village, they end up in debts trying to pay off their captors. 

The 'night runners' allege it is a first within their families as they had seen their fathers, mothers and grandparents do the same. At one point, it looks more like an addiction that is difficult to break. After being exposed or injured, they insist on quitting only to return their old ways in no time.

Toma Bay, Western Kenya.
Lake Victoria in the background.

Using night vision cameras and interviewing runners as well as their victims, the documentary brings its viewers into the dark and secret world of 'night runners'. Using drones to film to the landscape of Toma Bay, in Western Kenya, the capital of 'night runners', the crew managed to give us a close-up view of remote East African picturesque landscape as well as the view of Lake Victoria.

Unfortunately, there are allegations that the runners who appeared in the recordings were paid actors. A middle-aged self-confessed runner came forth later to say that she was invited to play the part. Others insist that 'night runners' are supposed to run naked unlike the ones seen in the secret filming footages where there were dressed in white men's clothes and there appeared new, suggesting further that it was staged. 

The crew is trying to tell that the 'night runners' are just pranksters who are addicted to creating mischiefs while the people insist it delves into mysticism and the dark secrets of the African past.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

No pain no gain?

The jury is still out on why runners from certain part of Eastern African, especially of a certain tribe in Kenya do extremely well in middle and long distance races. People of the Kalenjin tribe who comprise 0.6% of the world population have the honour of holding more than 40% of the world honours in distances of 800m and above, all the way to marathon. Many theories have been suggested for their lion's share on these records.
The familiar reasons that have been told to us are their physique, training in high altitude, their low socio-economic status and running as their trump card to freedom, bla, bla...
Now, I heard of a new quasi-genetic explanation for their superiority - their tolerance to pain!
In 1968 Mexico City Olympics, the unforgettable heroic saga to victory of a certain athlete, Kipchoge Keino, started the flood gates of subsequent champions emerging from that side of the world. After the preliminary rounds, Kip was to partake in 3 events, namely 10,000m, 5,000m and 1500m. He collapsed during the 10,000m finals. His doctor diagnosed him to have cholecystitis (gall bladder infection) and advised him to call it quits. Kip defied doctor's orders and ran the 5,000m to win the silver medal. Again the doctor discouraged him to run another race. The gallbladder was apparently at risk of rupture, so the story goes! In spite of the stinging pain at every breath of fresh air, Kip persevered.

The 1500m finals of Mexico City Olympics turned out to be a tale of human endeavour. Jack Ryun of USA, the then world record holder for the event with his 'kick' was favoured to win. Starting as last in the first lap, Kip zoomed past everybody to, not only to beat Ryun but to break the Olympic record with his gall bladder infection. There was a 20m gap between him and Ryun.
A theory suggested for their tenacity is the ritual of the Kalenjin tribe adolescents had to go through as they came of age. This ritual is an elaborate ritual of circumcision with skewers and tying the prepuce in a bow tie fashion. The boys' face are applied with mud which dries up. During the circumcision, the boys are not allowed to grimace as evidenced by flaking of mud on their faces. Failure of this test would result in severe beating and loss of licence to find a partner, hence reproductive opportunities. They are required to run everywhere with the pain. Women are required to undergo their own circumcision rituals.
In the long run, only those with high pain threshold had been selected to continue the progeny!
The newer generation of Kalenjins, of course, do not wish to be tortured this way. Even their parents are quite happy with their offspring having the cut into adulthood with modern analgesic techniques. Does that mean that the Kenyan runners would one day eventually loose their prowess?

So, no pain no gain. Of course they would be aches and they would be pains, only the ones who persevere will live to see the finishing line....
Ref: WYNC's Radiolab, Shorts: Cut and Run