Julius Achon 

Julius Achon
Nationality: Uganda

Julius Achon grew up in the small village Awake, 40 miles northeast of Lira in northern Uganda. Julius was raised in poverty during the civil war. At age 12, he was kidnapped by the Lord’s Resistance Army, a militant coalition that rebelled against the Uganda government, and was forced to become a child soldier. Three months later, Julius managed to escape and ran 300km back home.

He was eager to build a better future. When he saw a plane flying over he asked his dad how he could get into that plane. His father told him he should become a runner. So Julius started to run and compete.

He had no money for shoes or transportation, so to be able to join a race at county level he decided to run 72 kilometers to make it to the start of the event. It didn’t make him feel tired at all because his main reason to make it into the race was to win a free scholarship.

“I wanted one time to be in the Olympics and be flying on the plane as my dad was telling me.” So the next morning Julius ran three races without shoes and won.

His talents landed him a scholarship in 1990 to attend school at Makerere High School in the capital city of Kampala. 

At age 17, having attracted the attention of several Ugandan sports officials, he entered the 1994 World Junior Championships as the only athlete chosen to represent Uganda in Lisbon, Portugal, and ran the 1,500m.
That was the first time he flew by plane although he still didn’t have any shoes. Fortunately, he could borrow a pair from a Kenyan runner and won a Gold medal. His performance caught the eye of John Cook, an American track coach who brought him to George Mason University in Virginia on a scholarship.

Julius went on to compete for Uganda in the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games, both times serving as captain of the Ugandan Olympic team.
While training near his village in 2003, he encountered a group of orphans and couldn’t help but take them into his home. That was the beginning of the Achon Uganda Children’s Fund.

Today Julius lives in Uganda’s capital of Kampala and travels frequently to his home village of Awake, now the site of the Kristina Health Center, a rural clinic that serves hundreds of severely sick or injured patients every month. Julius was elected to Uganda’s parliament in 2017 and continues to serve today.

His running and coaching career helped him to connect with others and put strength together.
He gives shelter to orphans he found during a morning run, he built a medical centre, and together with Olympic athlete Eloise Wellings he founded Love Mercy in 2010. She promised to fulfill his dream of restoring hope to his village in Northern Uganda and their united efforts empower rural communities in Northern Uganda to overcome poverty after decades of civil war.

Their two main projects, Cents for Seeds and the Kristina Health Centre, increase access to education, health care, and income generation and are funded entirely by generous donations from the public.

“Growing up I never slept on a mattress until I was seventeen,” Julius says.
Now kids who take part in a race that is organized by Julius’ foundation and sponsored by Nike, can win a mattress!

In 2019 people could join the November Adventure, a 10-day adventure through northern Uganda, where they met women in the Cents for Seeds program, ran with Julius and visited the banks of the Nile.

Login

User email *
Password *
User email *
Password *
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Last Page

Get listed for the Global Running Adventures Award

Are you an adventure seeking runner who has completed a self made project or is eager to start one?

Submit this 3-minute application to qualify for a FREE profile page, including your bio, achievements, past/upcoming adventure, story and cause.

Wanna give people an opportunity to participate in your exciting running project or expedition-like adventure?
Here's your chance to share it with the world for free!

You qualify for the FREE Profile Page if you meet the following criteria:

  • you have a self supported running project completed, in the making or are planning to start one
  • your project will support a good cause that relates to you personally
  • you need media, sponsors and a network to get all the possible support to succeed
  • you're enthusiastic and motivated to realize your goals! 

Just a few questions to get a better picture;-)
I'll read and respond to each and every application, and I'll get back to you within a few days.

What do you apply for? *
Who do you want to nominate? *
please fill in their name
What is the email of the person you nominate? *
please fill in their email
Fill required fields
Your name *
Your email *
Fill required fields
Stage running journey *
if you nominate someone else fill in for him/her
Fill required fields
Adventure start date *
you can change it later if you're not sure yet
Adventure finish date *
you can change it later if you're not sure yet
Fill required fields
Name of adventure *
you can change it later if you're not sure yet
Adventure description *
give a short description of your adventure idea
Where did/will the adventure take place *
you can change it later if you're not sure yet
Fill required fields
Link to adventure resources
you can fill in your website or any other resource
Why (did) you want to do this? *
give a short description of the reason for your adventure
Link to cause
you can fill in a website of a charity or any other resource
Fill required fields
Are you interested in any of these forms of partnership? *
Get full exposure to your niche for 100+ days, resulting in real long lasting relations and leads.
Do you know anyone who might be interested in partnering?
Please fill in their name and email.
When someone applies you both get a free Award event ticket:-)
Anything else you like to share?
here you can share/ask additional info about the application