Running for maendeleo Friendship, hope, and respectability among Kenyan distance runners in Japan

This is a dissertation about the lives of Kenyan distance runners in Japan, and their quest in achieving maendeleo. A Swahili word generally translated as ‘development’, maendeleo can also mean a sense of forward momentum and progress on both societal and personal levels. For many of these Kenyan athletes, winning races, setting records, and the potential accolades and fame that come with it are not the primary drivers. This thesis tackles the question: How and why do some young men and women from Kenya share a conviction that running in Japan is a tried-and-true path that can enable them to convert ephemeral income into more enduring assets and a better future? An examination of four principal themes (maendeleo, Kenyan and competing notions of masculinity and femininity, discussions on hope, and problematizing friendship) addresses this main inquiry. I contend that the movement of Kenyan runners to Japan is not simply a pursuit among a category of youth hoping to ‘escape’ Kenya, but rather individuals taking a ‘detour’ to realize their own versions of an ideal future, which for most will be back in Kenya. Despite how precarious or unhopeful the circumstances of some runners may look in a given moment, almost everyone demonstrates a capacity to tenaciously endure while presenting an optimistic disposition. Each runner continues to find ways to generate maendeleo when, where, and how it matters the most, while also satisfying expectations centered in Kenya of what it means to be a respectable man or woman.