8 minute read
Fresh air fitness: Exercising outdoors in Rwanda
We all know exercise is good for you, but when you get your fitness fix outside it has been scientifically proven to supercharge those benefits. The ‘Land of a Thousand Hills’ offers plenty of opportunities for fresh air sports such as mountain biking, jogging and swimming or combining all three in an Ironman event that will get you feeling good in body and mind.
Outdoor gyms
When Covid-19 forced the temporary closure of gyms across Rwanda in 2020/21, Kigali gym owner Yannick Ntwali used the downtime to create a new outdoor group and personal-training studio site in the leafy, hill-top neighbourhood of Kimihurura to welcome back customers once restrictions were lifted.
Soho Fitness launched in December last year and distinguishes itself not only in its healthy outdoor setting, but also its trainer-led workout that changes daily and is targeted at time-pressed members who want a fast, effective session. Yannick, who runs the gym with his wife, devised the workout programme and it owes much to his background as a competitive boxer in Europe with three-minute rounds each broken up by a minute’s rest in between. The exercises incorporate elements of weight training, CrossFit, gymnastics, calisthenics and no-contact boxing drills and are designed to challenge no matter what your fitness level with trainers on hand to scale the moves and the intensity.
Motivation is never an issue. Turn up whenever you want to train and you’ll either compete with other members or, at quieter times, have a one-to-one session with a trainer.
Monthly memberships entitle you to train whenever you want during opening times and also give you access to the regular CrossFit and boxing classes the gym organises. If you want to give it a try, you can book individual sessions or buy a 10-day taster membership. Visit soho.fitness for more details.
Mountain biking
With its rolling hills, steep ridges and valleys, Kigali is a cycling playground. Such potential for two-wheeled adventure was one of the many features of the city that appealed to Matthew Brokenshire when he arrived with his family from the UK to live and work in 2017. Matt soon got in with the local cycling community and found there were thrilling rides to be had within easy reach of his home in the northern suburb of Nduba. “It is one of the most accessible cities for trails I know,” he says. “In 15 minutes from anywhere you can be on the mountains.” The rides got longer, and Matt came to realise Rwanda was an “incredible place for adventure” with his favourite routes including near Lake Muhazi and along the Jali Ridge “where you can often see the volcanoes in the distance… super epic in the mornings”.
Always a thrill-seeker – swimming the English Channel and the Straits of Gibraltar are among his past endeavours – the Brit looked to ways he could push his new-found passion for cycling to the extreme. The result is two challenging but very different Rwandan annual cycling events with Matt part of the team that set up both.
The Race Around Rwanda is an endurance event over a 1,000km course to be completed as fast as possible with the majority of riders tackling the often-rough terrain on gravel bikes. The Rwandan Epic is a five-stage mountain bike event with a set start and finish each day. Both events were launched three years ago year and attracted amateur and professional riders representing around 30 countries, including a high proportion of local riders.
Matt says: “Each year we alter the routes to keep the course fresh and to test the riders in different ways. My favourite sections are usually the mix of high fields of Gishwati with the volcanoes in the background – but the weather certainly plays a part in the enjoyment.” There is always plenty of support for riders from locals along the way and Matt hopes with cycling a way of life here the number of Rwandans competing in the races will continue to increase.
For those who don’t think they are ready for five days of cycling, the last stage of the Rwandan Epic – which takes place around Kigali – has become a standalone race, the Rwanda Open. Matt says: “It encourages those wanting to test out mountain biking with a more gentle start.”
For entry details for the races, visit rwandanepic.com and racearoundrwanda.com
To keep up with the latest news on both events, head to @racearoundrwanda and @ rwandanepic on Instagram.
Kayaking
Since its launch late last year, lakeside adventure lodge Umva Muhazi has proved a popular rural escape from Kigali – it is just a 90-minute drive from the capital – as well as a picturesque stop-off on safari adventures further east into Akagera National Park. The development has been designed to have a featherlight footprint on the surrounding natural beauty with its rammed earthbuilt luxury bungalows – a sustainable construction method using locally sourced soil that keeps the rooms cool during the heat of the day and insulates in the evening chill – tucked away amid the lush lakeside vegetation. The setting on the banks of the narrow, winding Lake Muhazi allows for some intrepid outdoor exercise with Umva organising kayaking from its own jetty as well as mountain biking and hiking on the lakeside trails. Once the adventures are over Umva refuels guests with its famous six-course evening meals with many of the ingredients freshly picked from the onsite farm and greenhouse.
For more information on room rates and the activities available for guests, go to umvamuhazi.com
Ironman
An ironman triathlon is considered one of the toughest one-day events out there. A good way into the sport is Ironman 70.3, which effectively cuts the race’s distance in half. Competitors still have to complete a 1.9km swim, a 90 km bike ride and a 21.1km run before they hit the finish line. It is a global sport with more than 150 qualifying races in 50-plus countries each year. That list of host nations now includes Rwanda with the launch last year of the Ironman 70.3 Rwanda event in which around 260 athletes arrived in the scenic Rubavu district with the swimming stage taking place on Lake Kivu. Bonita Mutoni, of organisers Global Events Africa, says the 2022 race was a “roaring access” and she anticipates this year’s event on August 5 to be even more successful with word spreading on the friendly local welcome, stunning setting and the chance for competitors to win valuable qualifying points for the season finale, the VinFast Ironman 70.3 World Championship, in New Zealand in December next year.
Bonita hopes this Ironman 70.3 Rwanda will attract even more than the 127 Rwandans who took part last year. “We are looking to attract more than 500 local and international athletes,” she says. The event – which has RwandAir among its sponsors – has put Rwanda on the sports tourism map with many competitors staying to experience further adventures in the country once the event is over. Bonita adds: “Rubavu is an untapped gem on the shores of Lake Kivu with much to offer as a premium sports destination for water sports and scaling mountains. The terrain here is perfect for a sport like Ironman.”
To register for Ironman 70.3 Rwanda and to find out more about the race, visit ironman.com/im703-rwanda
Car-free Sunday
The Rwandan government has shown its support for the benefits of outdoor exercise with the introduction of car-free Sundays in Kigali. Every first and third Sunday of the month between 7am and 10am a series of major roads from Imbuga City Walk, the city centre along Rwanda Revenue Authority offices in Kimihurura and to Amahoro National Stadium in Remera are closed to traffic. For those three hours the roads become a playground for Kigalians to run, cycle, roller-skate or just stroll to their hearts’ content. Head out with friends or family or join in on one of the many communal running events. The centre of events is the large roundabout in front of the Radisson Blu hotel and Kigali Convention Centre where you’ll find pop-up exercise classes, a host of unusual sports to try – foot tennis anyone? –as well as refreshments on sale. The event has proved so popular that there are now more regular car-free events on the calendar with the bi-monthly Kigali night runs providing a chance for a 5.4 km jog in the cool of the evening with music and more than a thousand other runners to spur you on.
Nyandungu Eco-Park
The transformation of a degraded urban wetland into the largest addition to public green space in Kigali is a boon for biophilia (connecting with nature). The 121-hectare park located between the city’s Gasabo and Kicukiro districts has 10km of walkways of bike lanes to exercise while taking in the natural beauty of the thriving ecosystem here. Along with the restored critical wetland habitat, the park, which opened in July 2022, features 17,000 newly planted indigenous trees, a native fig forest, a series of ponds and a medicinal garden. It’s a beautiful and sustainable addition to Kigali’s green exercise options.
The park is open from 6am to 6pm every day of the week. Entrance is free and there is a car park and restaurant on site.
