Meet Fatema: The Race Director Who Led LNMB 2026 to the Finish Line
When more than 250 pairs of running shoes hit the ground this year, few of the runners knew just how much planning had carried them to that starting line. Behind the seamless race day stood Fatema, a fifth-year MBChB student at the University of Nairobi and Race Director for Leave No Medic Behind 2026.
This week, we celebrate her.
Taking on the role for the first time, Fatema likens it to running a company. “You can kind of look at it as the CEO of the operation,” she says. “My role is to make sure that each docket is doing their work, things are moving, things are getting arranged so that we can have a successful race day.”
But leadership meant far more than delegating. It meant stepping in when teammates were buried under exams, jumping between dockets when help was needed, and holding every moving part together toward a single goal. As a first-time leader, she had to learn to make quick decisions and trust her own judgement. Was she meant to be strict or accommodating? Somewhere along the way, she found her balance.
There were conflicts to navigate, expectations to manage, and moments where pushing forward felt hard. So what kept her going? Her answer was simple. “Hope.” Hope that sponsors would eventually say yes after rejections and unanswered emails. Hope that fellow students would believe in the cause. Hope that supporters would show up.
That hope paid off. One of her proudest moments came just hours before the race, when demand for LNMB merchandise ran so high that the team sold out of T-shirts entirely. “We had to close down sales on the website the night before the run because our stock was finished,” she says. For any organizing committee, that is the best kind of problem to have.
This year also stood out for who showed up. Alongside the roughly 250 participants, LNMB recorded one of its strongest turnouts of doctors and faculty in recent years, including Prof. Odongo, Prof. Kosge, Prof. Ojuka, Dr. Barasa, Dr. Colleen Araka, and a team of around twelve from Daktari Wellness. Seeing doctors move beyond financial support to actually show up on race day was, for the team, both encouraging and a reminder that the mission still resonates across generations.
As the bibs are packed away, Fatema’s message to everyone who ran, volunteered, sponsored, or bought a T-shirt is short and heartfelt: “Thank you for showing up and showing out.”
Because LNMB has never really been about running. It is about community. Students supporting students, doctors supporting future doctors, and people coming together so that financial hardship never stands between a medic and their education.
This year, Fatema helped make sure of it.