Sangha of Auspicious Companions

Ultrarunners in Secondhand Trainers: the Rickshaw Drivers Taking on the World’s Toughest Races

In Antsirabe, Madagascar, rickshaw drivers who pull cycles or carts by hand for less than £3 a day are outrunning elite athletes in international ultra-marathons. They train in secondhand shoes and are guided by a French club president who believes potential has nothing to do with privilege. Haja Nirina, who runs 10 kilometers to work each morning and cycles 60 more on his rickshaw, finished second at the prestigious La Mascareignes — a race among 1,400 competitors from around the world — beating runners with sponsorships and professional gear. “I don’t run for the money; anyway, in Madagascar, nobody can make a living from sports. I run because I love it,” he says, his modest home lined with trophies that he was once advised to sell for scrap metal. What began as a 1997 rickshaw race offering prizes of rice and chickens has become Crown Athletics Club, where a microcredit program helps drivers buy their own rickshaws so they can train without losing half their daily earnings to rental fees. This remarkable journey reveals what happens when someone sees athletes where others see only poverty, awakening a potential that the athletes were unaware of themselves.

Be The Change

Think about someone you know who may be aspiring towards a particular goal or skill, or who you feel has potential in a certain direction. Gift them something today that can help them unlock that potential or further their skill.