“I train consistently - and that gives me naturally mental health.”

Olivier Garrivier from France is the head chef of Le Karavia, living and working in Lubumbashi. He runs four times a week escpecially in the mornings to see the sun rising while sweating.

Can you introduce yourself to our community…

Im Olivier, 43 years old, a french chef and passionate runner, living and working in Africa.

When did you start with running?

Im running since I was 10 years old, back in France. I stopped running for 10 years between 20 to 30 and got back after.

What do you enjoy about running in general and in particular running long distances?

Running brings balance into my life. It’s such a pleasure to wake up early, listen to bird songs, enjoying the landscape and the sun rising while you are sweating.

How often do you run? 

I run 4 times a week, at least for 1 hour.

What are your favorite places to run in Lubumbashi? 

I love running in Lubumbashi Golf Club, especially when I pass close to the lake near the swimming ducks!

What are your biggest achievements as a runner?

My best achievement was running the Paris marathon in 2016 with a finishing time of 3h21min47sec.

What is your motivation to run the Semi de Lushi this year?

The Semi de Lushi is for me a good opportunity to break my daily routine, to meet other runners in Lubumbashi and assess myself at an age of 43 years.

How do you train physically and mentally?

I train consistently - and that gives me naturally mental health.

What is your goal for the race?  

I don’t have a specific goal for this race. I just want to have some good sensations and meet friends.

Your take on nutrition and running as a chef…

For sure, when I prepare training for a marathon, I behave on nutrition and especially decline the sugar in any of my food.

Anything else, you would like to share:

Don’t forget, it’s not a race, it’s a state of mind!