About
Small group, immersive travel for sports enthusiasts.
Haraka Baraka was co-founded by Oscar Stapleton, who lived and trained in Amman, Jordan for 18 months during his Arabic studies at SOAS in London. While in Amman, Oscar immersed himself in the local running scene and trained regularly with the Jordanian national team, achieving a 5km personal best of 15:48 and forming lasting friendships with its athletes.
After returning to London, Oscar stayed connected with his training partners in Jordan. A year later, he invited his university running friends to join him there for a week-long Ramadan training camp alongside the athletes who had welcomed him so warmly.
One of those friends was Sébastien, a fellow SOAS student who had a strong connection to Morocco through family connections. Moved by the hospitality and depth of the experience, he was inspired to create a similar running-focused journey in Morocco’s High Atlas Mountains, where he already had connections with local runners.
Since then, Oscar and Sébastien have been committed to offering meaningful, culturally immersive travel experiences for sports enthusiasts, while giving back to the communities and athletes who shaped their own journeys.
Our story
Our Destinations
Haraka Baraka’s destinations, itineraries and team are curated from years of experience in the region and an extensive network. We offer the opportunity to see a country from a new perspective and immerse yourself in the culture through a shared love of sports.
We believe sports has the ability to act as a universal language; bringing together people from all different cultural backgrounds and creating unique travel experiences.
“I took the UCL running team to the spectacular training camp in the Atlas Mountains organised by Haraka Baraka in November 2024. It was a raw, immersive and transformative experience for us all in which we enjoyed local food, met incredible people and completed once-in-a-lifetime ascents and workouts. Working with Oscar, and particularly Sebastien, the organisers behind Haraka Baraka, was a pleasure from start to finish. As leader of my group it was my first time organising such a large scale event for our university team and it would not have been possible without their complete diligence and commitment for support throughout the process. The agency is in the sweet spot of having nailed a near-perfect product but still managing to maintain the attention to client levels that only starting companies can aspire to.”
— Antonion Escobar (left) / Trip Attendee (Toubkal, Nov 2024)
“I was lucky enough to embark on two truly unforgettable experiences with Haraka Baraka, in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco and in Jordan. On both occasions the meticulous planning of the team to incorporate extensive exercise alongside eye-opening cultural experiences made the trips something I will treasure for the rest of my life. Running with local guides and living for longer periods of time in remote communities is an incredible opportunity to immerse yourself into a different culture - something Haraka Baraka was able facilitate with their sensitive contacts and knowledge of the areas and their customs. Be it helping to rebuild community houses, cycling along the cliffs of the Red Sea, helping cook and eat glorious Moroccan tagines or running into the clouds of the remote Atlas Mountains, I could not recommend Haraka Baraka’s trips more.”
— Bethany Barnett (bottom right) / Trip Attendee (Toubkal, Nov 2023 & Jordan, Feb 2024)
“The team was amazing. Seb and our amazing guide, Youssef, made us feel very welcome from the get-go. Special thanks to Nourdin, a young Moroccan athlete who shared his running journey with us for the week. I was apprehensive before going as I had a small injury that I didn’t want to inflame. This turned out not to matter at all, as I was able to run at a slower pace or run a smaller distance, and much to my surprise, by the end of the trip, my injury seemed a lot better! To call the trip just a running one does it an injustice; from Youssef talking us through star constellations to the fashion parade, from the incredible (and large portioned) meals to meeting Rachid El Morabity, an ultra-running legend. We were all sad to see the end of the week. The hospitality of the Moroccan people whom we met was incredible. It was a great privilege to go on the trip, and I hope to return soon!”
— Saul Wells / Trip Attendee (Ifrane, Apr 2025)