The Legend of Samasoni Nimarota

Samasoni Nimarota never planned to run a marathon. Yet in 2016 he completed the inaugural Sāmoa International Marathon in Savai'i with no training and no preparation, creating one of the event's most memorable stories.

That year, only two runners were officially entered in the marathon: Bobby Caerni and Daniel Afoa. Bobby went on to win the race, the very first marathon held in Savai’i.

With the race starting at 4:00 am, Daniel Afoa asked Sam to accompany him on the long and dark stretch between the lava fields and Pu'apua village.
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While the one police vehicle followed the leader, Bobby, Sam stayed by Daniel’s side. What started as a simple gesture turned into a full marathon—Sam kept running all the way to the finish.

Despite having no long-distance training, Sam completed the race in 4 hours, 39 minutes, and 49 seconds—an impressive time that still ranks 14th out of the 45 runners who have completed the Sāmoa marathon since 2016. He finished just 15 minutes behind inaugural champion Bobby Caerni despite having done no marathon training. 

Sam’s strong general fitness helped him. He was already an excellent swimmer and a regular competitor in triathlon events and trail races in Apia. Still, the marathon took its toll—bad blisters on his feet slowed him down significantly.

Reflecting on the race afterwards, Sam said, “I had no plan to run the marathon. I was just keeping Daniel company through the dark stretch between the lava field and Pu’apua. But once the sun came up, I kept going. I wanted to finish.”

Sam and Daniel remain the last local runners to run a marathon in Sāmoa. 

What began as a simple act of support for a friend became a marathon finish that still ranks among the best performances in the event's history. Nearly a decade later, Sam's unexpected run remains one of the great stories of the Sāmoa International Marathon.

The legend continues.


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