Mt. Cameroon Race of Hope – Conquering a Volcano

The Mt. Cameroon Race of Hope pits runner against elevation, loose volcanic rock. 50 degree temperature changes and sheer will. For a lucky few there is gold in them thar hills

if they can make it up the mountain and back down fast enough. The prize money for this race is equal to roughly 4 times the average salary in Cameroon and so it is with great determination and hope that 100s take the challenge in search of a better life. This film, Volcanic Spirit, is the story of some of these intrepid runners.

From the press kit:
The Mount Cameroon Race of Hope is the most extreme running race in Africa—maybe the world. I know. I climbed the mountain myself in 1995 when I spent a great year living in Cameroon. For more than a decade, I wanted to share some of the remarkable features that I enjoyed about the country. Today, VOLCANIC SPRINT is the first sports documentary shot entirely in Cameroon to play at film festivals around the world.

Climbing the tallest mountain in West Africa took me a day and a half. In our film, the leaders do the round trip in about 4 hours and 40 minutes—with no GPS watches, CamelBaks, or private trainers. Some runners did the 26-mile, 20,000 vertical-foot round trip wearing plastic shoes!