Maasai Warriors from Tanzania will be taking on the London Marathon this weekend to raise awareness and funds for their home villages. According to the BBC, six warriors will compete in the race to provide safe drinking water for their village.

The warriors will not cave into modern technology such as shoes or tech running clothes, instead they will run in their traditional clothing, which includes using old tires for shoes. I guess they are following the principal of not trying anything new on race day!

The Maasai lead a semi-nomadic lifestyle where cows are a valued asset.

They are known for their running abilities and traditionally live on a diet featuring blood and milk.

Isaya, who is leading the Maasai team, said previously: “Our elders told us that we can do it because we have been running all over for killing a lion and herding cattle.

“We can help them by getting them clean water so right now all of us are training very hard because we want to do it to make life easier for the Maasai people.”

So far the group has raised about L13,000 (British Pounds) it is estimated that the project will cost between 20,000 – 60,000 British Pounds to provide safe drinking water. The Massai Marathon is made possible through a conservation/development group called Greenforce. They have created a website that is dedicated to raising money and keeping in touch with supporters.

You can also see their official YouTube video:

On a related note Yahoo! News is reporting that the Massai diet and fluid strategy is to drink cow’s blood.

They will run in traditional dress — a red “shuka” blanket toga and car-tire sandals — carrying spears and shields showing their running numbers, and will sing and dance along the 26.2 mile route through the British capital.

“And we will do the whole marathon with no water,” Isaya adds. “We often travel for many days, eating only twice a day, and we have no water.”

“If we have no milk or meat, we cut the cow’s neck and let out the blood to drink. If I drink enough blood — maybe two or three liters — it gives me a lot of energy and I can go for days without food or water.”

Their goal time is under 4:30.

[tags] London Marathon, Maasai, Africa, Greenforce, Marathon [/tags]