Mission Statement:
The Somaliland Marathon welcomes all runners, regardless of sex, creed, colour, or national origin and aims to promote sport in Somaliland through the organisation of an annual marathon and 10km race in the capital, Hargeisa. As well as encouraging more Somalis to participate in sport, the marathon will showcase this wonderful and hospitable country to visiting foreign athletes.
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Enda Nevin – Race Director Enda, who is from Ireland, has lived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he worked as a project manager for an international organisation. He has travelled extensively through the horn of Africa and has run two marathons in Beirut, one in 2016 and the other in 2017, raising funds to build a playground in a Palestinian refugee camp and a community centre in a temporary settlement for Syrian refugees. Enda works and lives in Beirut. He was logistics and procurement manager for an International Non-Governmental Organisation and is currently working with the UN in Beirut. He has been based there for the last tree and a half years. |
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Savannah Simons- Deputy Race Director Savannah has lived and worked for a Somali organisation in Hargeisa for over 3 years. In Somaliland, she co-founded the Lions Women’s Football Initiative and organised community events including Activity and Sports Days. Previously ranked in the top 100 for GB tennis, she works at sporting events including Wimbledon and the French Open. She is currently studying for a Master’s degree in Behaviour Change, with a view of applying behavioural insights to participation in sport. |
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James Willcox – Travel & Logistics Partner James is the founder of Untamed Borders, an adventure travel company providing unparalleled access to some of the world’s most interesting and inaccessible places. The company specialises in trips to Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, former Soviet Central Asia, the Caucasus, Middle East and East Africa but also arrange bespoke trips to other off-the-beaten-track destinations. James has guided hundreds of people in hard-to-reach destinations including Somaliland as well as other parts of Somalia including Puntland and Mogadishu. In 2016 he led the first commercial trip for over 25 years to the lighthouse on the tip of the horn of Africa. His talk at the RGS about this trip can be seen here. He is also one of the organisers of the Marathon of Afghanistan.
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Olly Sills – Partner Liaison Manager Olly Sills has worked in education his whole working life, both as a private tutor and previously as a manager of study centres for disadvantaged children in London. He represents the Darlington Gacmadheere Foundation, the main charity partner of the Marathon of Somaliland, and has a strong family connection to Richard Darlington, (Gacmadheere) who gave up much of his adult life to the field of education in Somaliland. Olly has visited Hargeisa and travelled around the surrounding area. He has also just completed an Ironman triathlon. |
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Ahmed Mohamed Ali – Logistics Officer-Somaliland Ahmad was born in Hargeisa, Somaliland. He travelled to the UK when he was 14 years old to finish his high school. Ahmad is a keen footballer and while in the UK, Ahmad played football for Cardiff School Boys and Cardiff South Wales Boys for Football. Ahmad went on to study chemistry and completed a Masters of Chemistry from the University of Salford. Ahmad now lives and works in Hargeisa, where he, along with other investors, established the first cooking oil company in Somaliland. Ahmad is an active supporter of our charity partner, the Darlington Gacmadheere Foundation and is our man on the ground of the event. |
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Asma Saed- Womens Liaison Officer Asma was raised in Hargeisa, Somaliland, where she now works as Head of Finance for a research company. She loves sports and is a community motivator for women’s participation, providing support to women and girls looking to improve their health, nutrition and physical activity levels. She co-founded the Somaliland Lions Women’s Football Initiative and has organised matches across Hargeisa. |
