Running in The Gambia: routes & tips
- Owner
- Nov 9
- 4 min read
Note: this post is a work in progress! Because there’s little publicly available information about road running, or any running, in Banjul/The Gambia, I'm sharing my experiences and collating the snippets of information I manage to gather. I'm a happy amateur runner living in Fajara since August 2025.
When & where to run in The Gambia
Sports and fitness are common in The Gambia, but long-distance running doesn't seem to be a thing here. As far as my observations go, there are only two types of people who run outside: first, there are many fit young Gambians, military or otherwise, who run in short loops around the soccer fields, the golf course, and the beach. Second, there's the odd tourist or expat. We're in the off season now, but I expect to see a few more of those once the tourist season starts in November.
After living in Mumbai for three years, I didn't find it particularly challenging to locate decent places to run in The Gambia. It’s so much cleaner and quieter here! Still, it took me a few weeks to find out where I'm most comfortable and how to best avoid erratic drivers and the horrendous car fumes. Like in Mumbai, the climate in The Gambia is tropical, which means early mornings are the best time of the day for running. It doesn't get light until after 6:30 AM so that's when I usually take off. If I go for longer runs, I might start out in the dark, which is actually when I'm most likely to see other runners on the road. You can also run after 5 PM, when it usually cools down a little bit, but I don't feel particularly fit at the end of the day and I'm working late so I haven't tried it out much.
The beach
The most obvious and popular place for casual jogging is the beach, but it really depends on the tide how comfortable that is. I once managed to run all the way from Kotu to Brusubi, about 6K, but I got lucky with the low tide. Other times I barely made it two kilometers because of the loose sand and water paths running all the way inland. So I recommend the beach only when the tide is low and then mostly for the scenery or perhaps the additional challenge of it.
Paved roads
The OIC road is the brandnew highway running from Banjul all throughout the greater Banjul area to the airport for a glorious, uninterrupted 30km stretch. If you're looking for smooth asphalt that's where to be, especially in the early morning, until about 7:30 AM when it's really quiet. Most stretches have some kind of safety area where you can run relatively undisturbed. The highway overpass is the best place for hill training I found so far.
Running tracks
Sadly, the Independence stadium is not only hard to locate on the map, it’s also closed for construction. And it has been for a while, according to a video I found online where local athletes complain that they have to train on the golf course instead. The good news is that the golf course is basically public land but the bad news is that it’s not really conducive to running unless you like to make it more of a trail run. Another alternative is to simply run around the stadium, which they allow until 8:30 AM. It’s about 800 meters total.
The safest “track” I found so far is in the Medical Research Council compound, which features a 2km loop on mostly paved roads. But this is not public land and the only reason I feel like I’m allowed in, and how I manage to pass the guards, is because I have friends who live there.
Otherwise, the whole Senegambia-Kotu-Fajara-Bakau-Cape Point area is relatively green and peaceful, and there are plenty of opportunities to map out a 10km loop or more. In The Gambia, I find that areas are largely unrestricted—not a lot of “private land”—with plenty of roads (though mostly unpaved) in every direction. No matter where I’ve gone, nobody has questioned or disturbed me.
Organized races anywhere?
I’m pretty sure by now that organized races, such as 10k runs or (half) marathons, are uncommon in The Gambia. There are a few events I heard about, including a full marathon distance race sponsored by (who else?) Africell. Africell is the most ubiquitous company around here. They painted half the town magenta.
Organized races I heard of:
October 11, 2025 — 10K Run for Autism (organized by GASAN, unsure if there was open registration)
April 25-26, 2026 — Banjul marathon (distances between 5K and full marathon)
Running clubs/Hash House Harriers
So far, I haven’t heard about running groups or clubs. Running as a hobby may have exploded in the rest of the world but definitely not here. I’m hoping that some group will materialize and I’ll meet some likeminded people, but I don’t have any leads yet.
There is an active Hash House Harriers group that’s easy to find on Facebook. Apparently they’re only meeting during the high season, every Monday evening. But I already heard that they’re not really a running group, more of a social gathering. So I’m not getting my hopes up.
What NOT to do when running in The Gambia
Don’t run between approximately 8AM and 5:PM if you can avoid it. The (paved) roads get crowded and dusty and it’s hot.
Don’t worry about the street dogs—there aren’t many and they haven’t responded to me at all so far. Then again, I was followed by two dogs for 20km once, which was enough for me to avoid Cape Point altogether.
Don’t run around the Senegambia beach area, which is the most touristy spot. There are many people (I guess they call them bumpsters) who will try to talk to you and even follow you, or just yell a lot.
Don’t forget to bring water on long runs. Granted, I’ve only been running during the hottest and muggiest time of the year, but I’ve needed much more water than ever before. On the other hand, there are small shops everywhere and they sell bottled water, so maybe just don’t forget to bring a little bit of cash if you don’t bring water.
