DAR ES SALAAM, Oct. 5 -- ON any given weekend in Tanzania, just as the rooster crows and the sun is still stretching itself awake over the Indian Ocean, you can hear the pounding of rubber soles on tarmac.

Marathons and fun runs have become our new national ritual.

From the Kilimanjaro Marathon to the Rock City Run in Mwanza, from the Dar Rotary Dar Marathon to the countless charity races with names longer than the actual courses, we have turned jogging into a social movement.

Corporate logos flutter on vests, water bottles are handed out like communion wine and managers who havent run since the days of Form Four exams suddenly rediscover their knees.

Some stagger, some glide, but all of them reach the finish line with the holy trinit...