How Gaudence set the bar high with a remarkable Mt Kilimanjaro feat

It normally takes between five to nine days for a person to ascend and descend Mount Kilimanjaro, however, Tanzanian athlete, Gaudence Lekule broke the record as the First African to do both in 8 hours and 20 minutes.

What began as a hobby has seen him climb Mount Kilimanjaro over 300 times! The tourist spot has now become his second home.

In September this year, Gaudence who is also an independent tourist guide, ran a marathon from Tanga beach to the summit of Africa’s tallest mountain for 65 hours to highlight the importance of environmental conservation in coastal regions in connection to the protection of the snow cap on top of Mount Kilimanjaro.

“This all began when I was a student at Bishop Moshi Secondary School. I started as a local tourist after I was consistently chosen to escort student groups to tour Mount Kilimanjaro. I loved it because it made me feel active and connected to nature. A short while after I finalised my studies, I worked for a tourism company who were impressed with the work I had done while in school,” he narrates.

Six months later, Gaudence continued his education at Tourism University in Arusha for three years to expand his knowledge in this sector. He learned about guiding and geography as well as animals and national parks both in and out of Tanzania.

“After I graduated in 2013, I began working with the same company that hired me when I completed secondary school.  At the time, I already had established a habit of running on the mountain. There was a tourist who visited Tanzania with the goal of setting a record for the fastest run to the summit and the agency he was in contact with had to find him a tour guide who would match his active energy to run with him. A lot of people recommended me and late that year, we started to exercise and this went on for months,” Gaudence narrates.

In February 2014, Gaudence ran alongside a tourist named Karl Egloff and the two of them made it to the top of the Mountain and started running back when Gaudence fell and his leg cracked. The tourist on the other hand kept on descending as he left his guide under the care of the doctors on the mountain and he was able to set a record of 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 23 seconds.

In 2016, Gaudence decided to finish what he had started with the tourist, but this time he went at it alone.

“What happened in 2014 was a needed lesson to brace myself for a much better experience because in 2016, I became the first African to run to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro for 8 hours and 20 minutes. It remains one of the most memorable experiences in my career,” he says.

This win opened doors for Gaudence as he started getting invitations to attend marathons across the world. They fell in love with his story which has seen him visit countries across the world including Russia, Norway, Switzerland, Berlin, and the Netherlands.

He describes ascending Mount Kilimanjaro as an experience that leaves him with unique memories every time he visits it.

“It’s one of the most beautiful tourism sites in the world. One of the things that makes it unique is that Mount Kilimanjaro is a freestanding mountain that stands on its own like a mushroom. It’s a place where tourists can experience all kinds of weather conditions that are evident the higher you climb. There is a cultivation area outside the main gate. It is followed by the rainforest, which is part of the mountain. The forest consists of the tallest trees that are not allowed to be cut down and what makes it beautiful is that in the rain forest, it can be raining on one side and dry on the other,” Gaudence details.

He explains that the rainforest zone is followed by the moorland zone, which is located at a higher elevation of 2,800m to 4000m above sea level, and it consists of heath-like vegetation and wildflower-filled terrains.

“As you keep climbing, this vegetation decreases and you get to Alpine desert where there is little water and like the name, it is dry and very sunny during the day and freezing cold at night. This zone is next to Arctic Summit zone, which is made of glaciers. There are no animals or plants on this with exception of ancient plans called lichens,” he says.

In September this year, Gaudence conducted a program called ‘From Zero to Top’ where he ran from Tanga to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. He used the route located in the coastal region after he had researched to ensure that it was safe.

Before the event kicked off, he contacted tourism authorities that would permit him and support him in terms of tracking him as well as preparing people who would come to his rescue should anything happen to during the run.

“I was motivated to do that run because I wanted to spread the news on the importance of conserving the environment in coastal regions in connection to the protection of the snow on top of Mount Kilimanjaro which had been melting as a result of climate change. I ran from the beach in Tanga to the summit for 65 hours at a distance of 468 kilometres.”

He ran day and night and rested only for three hours when he reached at Same district in Kilimanjaro.

“I diverted to Sumanjiro in Arusha and turned up at Nyumba ya Mungu and then I ran until I arrived in Kifaru. As I was on the way to Sumanjiro, it was sunny and dry because there were no trees around that place and the air on the other hand was also heavy. I began to feel tired and I also felt pain in my legs. The people who accompanied me like doctors and masseuses encouraged me to keep going,” he recalls.

One of the memories that pushed him to finish his run was the thought of his late young sister Karen, who he had worked with as his program manager.

“She played a part in the preparation of my September program and passed away in October 2022. The thought of her worked up my spirits whenever I felt like I was seconds away from giving up. Whenever I remembered her, I kept going until I found myself at the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro,” he unfolds.

At the sight of him when he had completed his run, people lifted him up, chanting his name and celebrating that win with him.

“I felt really warm inside and at that time, I truly believed that anything is achievable when you put your mind to it. I loved how they celebrated that very important moment with me,” he says.

His work as a guide has opened doors for Gaudence to not only explore Mount Kilimanjaro, but also climb other Mountains including Meru, Oldonyo Lengai and Kenya.

One of Gaudence’s goals is to break the record that was set by Karl and become the fastest person to ascend and descend the mountain.

“I advise Tanzanians to embrace tourism such as climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. It’s a beautiful experience that will leave them with memories to last a lifetime. Stories are going around that make people fear to explore it, it’s an activity that can be done with anyone as long as they have mentally prepared themselves,” he emphasises.