Earlier this year, I was inspired by Run Myf Run‘s mission to #RunEveryStreet in her district. I had started to feel quite uninspired with my running and needed a fun challenge. I signed up to City Strides which imports data from various apps and maps out all the streets you have run. However, I quickly realised that streets in Gaborone were not recognised as streets. I contacted City Strides who were extremely helpful but sadly established that Botswana was not included on the OpenStreetMap platform which they use. Not to be deterred, I took a screenshot of my neighbourhood from Google Maps and after each run, I traced the route using my wobbly finger.
Marapoathutlwa, loosely translated as “Bones of a Giraffe”, and more commonly known as Block 8, is an area on the western side of Gaborone. By the city’s standards, it is one of the newer neighbourhoods. When my mum was teaching me to drive about 20 years ago, we used the newly built roads in Block 8, and at that time there were no houses, at least that I remember. The perimeter of the residential area of Block 8 (shown above) is about 8.5km, but once I had run all the roads (with several repeated), I had covered about 150km over 6 weeks.
What To Expect When Running In Marapoathutlwa
You Can Wear Trail Shoes. I’ve always run on the main arteries of the neighbourhood which are all tarred or paved roads. I knew there were still sections of dirt road but I was completely unaware just how many there were! By the time I was done with this project, my shoes needed a good wash! So I definitely could have used my trail shoes for several of my runs.
You Won’t Get Bored. Before this project, I’d probably run only 15% of my neighbourhood, always escaping to what I deemed as more exciting places. But this project made me realise just how many unique combinations I can make so each run is different. Now you know your girl still wants to keep exploring the city, LOL, but it was great to find there are so many interesting running routes closer to home. So if you like a bit of variety, you will certainly get that here.
You Will See A Bit Of Everything. There is a whole lot going on in Marapoathutlwa! Let me start with the schools – there are several different schools from kindergartens to primary and secondary schools, both state- and privately run. When you’re a runner, you quickly realise just how many schools there are because of all the traffic in the mornings – navigating cars, schools buses, kids, parents and teachers can get tricky, if you haven’t timed your run well.
There are big chain stores like Choppies but also several dimausu, which are small outdoor kiosks/tuck shops selling hot food/ snacks, drinks as well as convenience items like matches, soap, etc. When I asked the lady in the orange semausu below if I could take a picture, she was quick to remind me she also sells electricity vouchers, mobile data and you can pay for DSTV! There are also small markets along the main roads selling fruits, as well as several workshops.
There are a number of different churches, mostly Christian, but also a Hindu Temple, which you’ll recognise from many of my posts as I love running past there.
There is a Government clinic as well as a Chinese Health Clinic offering herbal medicine and acupuncture. As is tradition in Botswana, there is also a customary court for our area. You may remember I once participated in a running challenge to raise funds for a “home away from home” for children receiving cancer treatment in Gaborone? That’s located here. There’s also a lovely little park established by the Masitara Foundation. But to my complete surprise we have a Sahrawi Embassy! The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is “a partially recognized de facto sovereign state located in the western Maghreb, which claims the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara, but controls only the easternmost one-fifth of that territory.”
There is a huge range of housing varying in terms of shape, size, structure and style. There are some lavish houses and apartments, but also several medium to low cost housing, as well as official housing for police, teachers and Council employees. But whether it’s a luxury house or a more humble abode, many residents have made an effort to plant trees and bright bougainvillea along the streets. A number of homes also have creative and water-conscious gardens.
You’ll Spot A Few Dogs. When I started weaving through all the smaller streets, I came across several dogs. Most were minding their own business, sitting sheepishly outside their yards or rummaging through bins, but it was initially intimidating. Luckily, I didn’t have any bad incidents but dog owners need to do more to ensure dogs are kept in their yards, not just for the sake of runners, but also for kids who are playing on the street, as well as for the safety of the dogs themselves. Following this project, I wrote some safety tips for running when there are roaming dogs around. But as you can see, dogs are not the only ones running these here streets!
Final Thoughts
I loved this project – so much so, that when I was done, I ran every street in another area, Peolwane. I enjoyed getting to know the ins and outs of Marapoathutlwa and experience such variety, from the things I saw, to the vibe I felt on different streets, to the contrasting road surfaces I ran on. But probably the biggest gain from this project was a boost to my confidence. I was initially nervous to run on unfamiliar roads by myself. But the more I ran, the more comfortable and confident I became navigating strange roads on my own. This new found confidence definitely contributed to me being comfortable running solo in Ghana last month.
Finally, I can’t end this post without a special mention of the Garmin Forerunner 245 which was generously given to me by Extreme Brands, Botswana’s Garmin Distributors, around the time I started this project. When I started, I ran with a piece of paper highlighting street names I had to cover. That’s until I discovered the navigation function of my watch. Using my Garmin app, I created routes for specific areas and synced them to my watch. As I ran, my watch would guide and prompt me meaning I didn’t have to internalise all the streets or use a piece of paper anymore. Genius! It got complicated if there were too many short twists and turns but for the most part it worked well and is such a neat feature especially if you’re running some place new.
Until someone says otherwise, I’m going to declare that I’m the only person who has run every street in Marapoathutlwa! 🙂
Have you signed up to City Strides? Have you #RunEveryStreet in your area/district/neighbourhood? What about your town or city? I wonder how long that would take?!
I’m joining two fabulous runners, Kim from Running on the Fly and Deborah from Confessions from a Mother Runner for their link up – the “Weekly Run Down”.
The Gaborone Runner 
Congrats on completing this challenge! I’m sure it felt overwhelming when you first started. How cool that you were gifted the Garmin! Thank you for sharing your adventure–I’ve enjoyed following your progress and seeing a part of the world that is so different from mine.
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Initially, I was so ignorant. I thought this would be such a quick process 🤣 A week in and I’d hardly left the streets around my house. That’s when I realised this would take a lot longer!
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What a fun challenge! This is a great way to keep things new and exciting while running too. Thanks for sharing another fun adventure with us. Do you ever see other runners out there?
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Thank you Deborah! There are lots of runners around but most stick to the popular main routes! So when I did this Project and ventured onto all the small streets, I was alone for most of it, LOL.
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What a cool mission! I love your map too. Your wobbly finger did much better than mine would have. Did you start at different places or always start from home?
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Thank you! I was proud of the colourful map in the end 🤣 Most of them were started from home but I also drove to a few places and started the runs from there so I didn’t have to run so far all the time.😅
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I have definitely run every street in my neighborhood — it’s small! — and many of the surrounding ones, too. And yet there is always more to explore!
I have never tried to use my Garmin to navigate, but knowing how easily I get lost, it would be a good idea! However, I’ve always explored, whether it’s walking or running. I often like to just get out and walk, with no destination in mind.
You definitely live in an area of great variety!
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Well done for running every street. It’s funny, just when you think you know it all, you spot something new!
The Garmin also has a breadcrumbs feature which can take you back to the start if you get lost. I’ve only read about it so will have to test that out as I can get very lost!
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Yes, I do know about the back to the start feature. Except you actually have to start it before you run!
My neighborhood is about 3 miles around, so it’s pretty small. There are a lot of neighborhoods around it though — some I’ve run through, others I haven’t. It’s very hilly! And some of the shoulders on very busy streets are next to nonexistant.
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You always end the most creative and fun ways to get in your miles! This sounds like a great challenge and opportunity to run in a bunch of new areas.
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Haha! Thank you Kim! Really loved this challenge. Kept me going for sure!
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What a fun idea for a run challenge! I always tend to run the same routes in my town. I think it’s great you stepped out of your comfort zone to explore some new spots!
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I get bored easily so change it up quite a bit.🤣 And was happy to find I didn’t have to run far out of my neighbourhood to add some variations to my routes!
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While I have run many (most?) of the streets in my town, I Know there are several still remaining that I should explore. This may be a fun thing to help me get through the (dreaded) winter season LOL
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Do it! Do it! I found there were so many sneaky little streets I never even knew about 🤣 It’s really fun although the back and forth when you miss a tiny street in an area where you’ve covered all the rest can be annoying!
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What a wonderful idea for a challenge, especially with your own DIY layer.
Always love your running tours. That Hindu temple is just stunning. Great way to see how much the neighborhood has changed since you knew it
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The temple is stunning and just 2km from my house so I can make it part of most of my routes.💜 This place was just desolate. We used to leave our neighbourhood to come out here and practice my driving because it was so desolate – just a large area of land with roads.🤣 So seeing it now is quite unbelievable.
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I think you will confidently hold the title of being the only person to run all those streets for a very long time! What a cool project. I tend to run the same routes, but when I do branch out and explore I always enjoy it. I don’t think my area is quite as unique as yours, but there are probably a lot of interesting things that I’ve never seen. Thanks for the inspiration!
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You’ll be surprised at what you find! I honestly didn’t think I’d have anything interesting to write about, but then found so many things I’d never seen! The temple for example is about 2km from my house and I’d never seen it until I started running! It was just never on one of my driving routes.
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Ok, so that’s the coolest thing ever! I love that! I have probably run every street in my neighborhood, but I don’t think that’s quite the same!
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Thank you Jenn! It was a bigger neighbourhood than I realised when I started the challenge. So many sneaky roads 🤣
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I love seeing your neighbourhood and that’s cool about the watch as when Trudie and I work our way round ours (still ongoing) it’s a pain to clutch a bit of paper with the route all the time! But if you don’t, there’s always some bit of a road you miss!
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That piece of paper is also a life saver but YES the most frustrating thing was missing a tiny little road and having to do the whole section again just to get to it!! The watch works well when it’s quite straightforward not so much if there are lots of twists and turns so you can then save the paper for those sections.
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This is amazing. Congrats.
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