Charitable Dyslexia Race returns to Arusha for third running season

The 2026 season of the annual charitable Dyslexia marathon returns to Arusha this October, targeting over 1000 athletes as well as various children from various schools around the region.

Tanzania continues with efforts to raise awareness on Dyslexia and this time the region is organizing a third instalment special athletics event to that effect, intending to make this year’s event a springboard towards nationwide expansion from 2027 onwards.

The 2026 Dyslexia Awareness Run, racing under the theme of ‘Run for Literacy,’ is expected to raise dust on the 25th day of October 2026, starting and finishing at the Ngarenaro Sports Complex in Arusha.

Dyslexia Tanzania is usually organizing the marathon being one of the platforms for engaging children and parents to support Children suffering from Dyslexia in Arusha and Tanzania as whole.

“We have several platforms that can allow children suffering from Dyslexia to display their talents,” explained Caudence Ayoti, the founder of Dyslexia Tanzania, who points out that they previously held talent shows for the children.

“Dyslexic children are not exactly slow learners but they are the ones with special skills that cannot be expressed through normal education environments, but most of the remarkable inventions in the world can be credited to people with Dyslexia,” said Caudence.

She pointed out that big names such as Steve Jobs, the man behind Apple and iPhone, was dyslectic yet achieved the biggest goals in technology advancement.

Now the annual race seasons serve as a platform for raising community awareness regarding Dyslexia. This time the organizers also bring special experts to conduct workshops on dyslexia and what to do about the condition.

Event coordinator, James Christopher said they anticipate more than 1500 runners to race in the third season of the Marathon.

During the first season, held in 2024, more than 600 participants raced in the Dyslexia run, though the target was 1000, later in 2025 during the second run, nearly 1000 runners registered.

Now this time around, the organizers are setting a higher target of 1500 runners, because the event incorporates various other active inputs including games and seminars for a more inclusive event.

On the other hand, the organizers are now considering extending these special Dyslexia marathons to other regions across Tanzania. In 2025 they started with Dodoma.

Globally, at least 20 percent are dyslexic and the same figure may apply to Tanzania as well because usually 1 out of 5 people fall under the category.

“The third season in 2026 includes more races including 2.5 kilometers and 5 kilometers in addition to the main event of 10 kilometers run, which makes all people be able to participate,” stated Christopher.

Reports from Dyslexia Tanzania, reveal that the condition affects many children especially during learning sessions in class, but in reality, the dyslexic pupils are usually the ones with differently wired form of learning and in fact, most happen to be geniuses.

“The society does not understand the dyslexia condition, because it is a new concept,” said Claude, adding that while it is normal in the US and Europe, Tanzania and Africa must now start learning about the ailment.