While there was no Live coverage of events in Tanzania today but some media organisations have shown pictures following the relay. CCTV-9 were the first to show stills of torch bearers running along the 5 km route. The Tanzanian mayor, Adam Kimbisa, said he was happy to see the torch being carried through the city on the only African stop on its world tour. "It is a great honour and privilege for Tanzania to host this torch” he said [BBC]. There were a few protesters along the route but little sign of the disruption seen in Europe and the US. Some held placards criticizing China’s business practices in Africa but most of the hundreds of spectators were in a celebratory mood despite heavy rain throughout the day. CNN later showed some video pictures of the relay, but most British media filled its bulletins of other runners; that of the thousands who took part in the London Marathon. More than 30,000 jogged through the streets of London to raise money for countless charities. There were also large crowds who had braved the rain and low temperatures to cheer them on. The weather was in direct contrast to last year when runners had to endure blazing sunshine and temperatures as high as 22 degrees Celsius [BBC] .
While the Olympic torch relay has been rerouted by demonstrators, the marathon had to be rerouted today after a gas leak resulted in a 200 metre exclusion being set up. Some runners wore Tibetan flags in support of pro-independence activists and monks in the region of Tibet but politics were largely ignored by media reports. The race saw many unusual participants including Maasai warriors who were raising money for their Tanzanian village. The winner of the 42 km race was Martin Lel of Kenya who completed the men's race in a course record of 2 hours 5 minutes.
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