18/06/2026
Every marathon I run leaves me with two things, a finish line memory and a city that gets under my skin. Nairobi did both and then some more.
I came to run. But between the early morning training walks, the race day adrenaline and the quiet hours in between, Nairobi kept offering me something I hadn’t planned for. Architecture. Specifically, one building that refused to stay out of my frame was The KICC. The Kenyatta International Convention Centre. That extraordinary cylindrical tower, 32 storeys tall, crowned with its iconic “flying saucer” roof, has been anchoring Nairobi’s skyline since 1973. Designed by Norwegian architects as a bold statement of Kenya’s post-independence vision, this building remains East Africa’s most distinctive landmark. A convention centre, a hotel, a rooftop viewpoint and apparently, an irresistible subject for a Nigerian marathon runner with a camera.
I photographed this building through red flowering trees at dawn before a training run. Through bare winter branches on a grey afternoon. From a parking lot with cumulus clouds piling up behind it like theatre curtains. From street level, rising quietly above the city’s green canopy. From my hotel window. And finally, through her own gate, the formal, unapologetic reveal.
Same building. Different moods. Different Nairobis.
That is what running does for you. Running slows you down enough to actually see a place. You don’t see a city from a tour bus or a hotel lobby. You see a city on foot, at dawn, slightly breathless, looking up.
Which of the photos is your favorite?
Nairobi, you were everything the road promised. 🇰🇪🏃🏾♀️
