There Is A Nice Little Running Track In Cameroon's...

Yaounde, Cameroon

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Posted:  Thursday, August 10
Runner:  Isaac Endeley

There is a nice little running track in Cameroon's capital city, Yaounde. Known as Le Parcours Vita, the track is located by the Mont Febe Hotel, between the Presidential Palace and the golf course. By my estimation, it is about 1.5 kilometres long; parts of it are paved and it has several obstacle courses. At one point there is a small wooden bridge straddling a ravine under which, I imagine, a gentle stream flows in the rainy season. At the main entrance to the running track is a quaint little placard bearing a French inscription indicating that it is a "gift" from His Excellency President Paul Biya to the citizens of Yaounde. The President is obviously concerned about the health of his people and on a good Saturday or Sunday morning you can find a few cabinet ministers as well as other high-ranking state officials jogging around the track trying to sweat off all the champagne they might have consumed the night before. If you don't find too many ordinary citizens using this "gift" from their President, it's probably because the average Cameroonian consumes beer rather than champagne and prefers to sweat it off on the soccer pitch or perhaps in the daily grind of mere survival.

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