Nairobi International Marathon 2008 - Conquered

Sunday, October 26, 2008 - Nairobi, Kenya

Having been in hibernation whole day yesterday - I did not get out of the house till 7pm when I walked 100m to the supermarket to get something to eat - I knew that I had conserved all my energy for the big day. Before I went to bed at 10.30pm, I ensured that my race T-shirt had the race number affixed. The timing chip (champion-chip) was also affixed to my race shoes. I tried both the top and shoes and confirmed them okay.

3.30am - Woken up by the alarm clock. Gave my divine thanks and asked for race mercies. Made breakfast, took breakfast then back to bed by 3.50am. My reasoning was that by 7am race time I shall be through with all natural calls.

5.00am - woken up by a second alarm. This was now the real thing. Put on my official race T-shirt, champion-chipped-shoes and a pair of shorts that I had specifically selected for the event. The short select had enough pockets, which I now distributed my items into i.e. staff ID, national ID, medical insurance ID, some money, cellphone, stopwatch, kerchief, tissue.

5.30am - Left my residence for the 10minute walk to the main gate where we were to take the staff bus by 5.45am.

5.55am - Bus leaves the work place with an enthusiastic team. We take Naivasha road to Ngong road, then join Argwings Kodhek road by a diversion to Yaya Centre. We kept picking our colleagues through the route.

6.30am - We arrive at the stadium via Mbagathi road. We are lucky to be allowed to the stadium gate where we alight while the bus leaves for its designated parking. At Nyayo stadium the air is all about running. The 42km full marathon assembly area already has a sizable crowd, most with race numbers that confirm their participation in this event. All are warming up. I join them. Every so often I visit the restroom.

6.45am - All are asked to stand up in honour of the national anthem, which is played by brass band and transmitted to the whole stadium and its vicinity by public address system.

6.55am - Start of wheelchair race is 5minutes away. The 42km group is asked to assemble behind the wheelchair race participants. We are informed that we have 10 minutes to race time. The crowd is now large and there is some pushing as the athletes try to be on the front line. We are warned to stop pushing, but this warning is ignored.

7.00am - Wheelchair race begins. The marathoners are asked to gather at the starting line. Pushing and jostling continues. Athletes are warned to be patient but the adrenalin is running high and patience is no longer a virtue. They count down: 4min to go, then 3min, 2min, 1min.

7.05am - At the sound of gun shot, the full marathon race begins. Am somewhere among the last group of athletes. This does not bother me since I already have my race strategy etched in memory. I know that I will start a little slow for the first 3km, then settle to my desired pace for the rest of the course (hopefully).

7.10am - The run has started. We have left Nyayo stadium towards city centre but shall detour to Uhuru park before we tour the city. This course is about 10km from start point to the opposite side of the start point on our way back. I jog alongside my two colleagues. We had agreed to pace-set/pace-check each other since we had largely trained together.

8.00am - We are back to the opposite side of the start point. From here we have to go straight through Mombasa road, back to start point and repeat this circuit. I estimate this as a 32km course. I have calculated that I need to do the race at 5min per km, hence 3hr 30minute run to the finish line. My calculation also indicates that each length of the Mombasa road is about 8km. I take a first break about 4km into Mombasa road, after which I join my trio of runners. However, by the turning point, we have split our separate ways.

8.30am - Do the first turning at the extreme end of Mombasa road. These cheating Standard Chartered marathon organizers have failed to indicate any distance markers. We are largely running blind without knowing how far done and how far remains. I just estimate that I must have covered 18km in 1:25:24 this averages 4min 45sec per km. This is not too fast, so I convince myself that am at the right pace. Through out the run I keep collecting a 250ml water bottle at each water point, which are meant to be 5km apart.

9:07am - Am back to the starting point where there is a turn back to Mombasa road to repeat the circuit. After two hours of run am still feeling okay and ready to go. I have done this stretch in 37min. I hope to beat the 37min as I head back to the extreme turning point on the repeat. However, the repeat stretch start weighing heavy on me as I start feeling some leg pain. To add discouragement to the run, just one minute after I have made the turn to do the repeat, the 42km winner is heading for the stadium's finishing line. How can he be finishing when I still have 16km to go!

9:45am - I reach the extreme end turning point in 38min. A minute slower but I can feel that am getting tired and slowing down. My total run time is now 2:40:18. Just as am about to hit the turn and cross the champion-chip sensors, an athlete on my strides grabs my water bottle. She does whatever with it (I guess she takes some, spits some, pours some on her head). Just as permission-less as she had taken it, she hands back what has remained of it, just after we make the turn. Five minutes later, another athlete grabs what was left from my right hand and proceeds to drink it empty. I can understand his situation and am not complaining. I also start noting the fact that the last two 'water points' were actually 'no-water points'. No wonder! 15minutes after the turning point and an athletes that I have just overtaken tells me enthusiastically that "we shall meet there", as if we had a pact! I acknowledge and encourage him on even as I pass his now standstill frame.

These last 8km are torturous. My legs begin to pain while a stomach stitch persists for about 5minutes, forcing me to slow down before resuming my pace. I can see the stadium in the horizon somewhere. Just before the next water point (where there is water), I am about to overtake an athlete who must have forgotten to put on an attire (okay, a complete attire) down there. A street boy whistles out loudly and shouts 'wowi'. I overtake her just before taking a new water bottle. I remember a local musician having lamented that 'the world has a crack somewhere' considering the things that you see on planet earth - I make one look-back glance and agree with the musician (totally).

All the athletes that I overtake are just walking, talking and having fun. Am tempted to join them but I know that once I start walking my race shall surely be finished. In my mind am running from Westlands to 'tarmac', which I have done twice in the last six weeks and which is exactly 8.4km. I imagine passing the 4km mark at Ngecha and then the 5km at Telkom Exchange then the 6km mark near the Embassy then the 7km mark at Posta. My thoughts are interrupted when I hit the last roundabout on Mombasa road to join Langata road. I can see the stadium on the other side of the road, though I still have to tread the 500m to the turning point then the last 500m to the stadium and the final 400m in the stadium.

10:29am - I enter the stadium to run the 400m to the finish line. 100m on the track and I hear the cheers as the caps get waved in the air, at one point of the stadium. I notice my colleagues. I wave back for about 100m. They are not stopping the cheering anytime soon. The stadium is now focused to those 'crazy' cheering people, while I am encouraged to give the race the last ounce of energy left in my system.

10:31am - I cross the finish line as the champion-chip causes two beeps to be heard as I cross the last sensors. I stop my timer at 3:26:42. Am still good and does not feel any 'walls' or 'jammed' legs. Am handed a 200ml can of some energy drink, which I gulp in almost one go.

10:32am - I head outside the stadium to get my medal. At the 42km finishers tent, which is sparsely crowded, I oblige as an official cuts off the champion-chip from its strap on my right shoe. He hands me the small white gadget, which I hand over to the officials at the tent who in turn give me a medal. The medal has the wordings: 26 October 2008 Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon 2008 - 42km finisher. The lower part of my race number, where we were required to write our names and telephone contacts, which had been deliberately perforated is also removed and retained.

10:35am - I move to the adjacent tent labeled '42km Finishers certificates'. I hand in my race number 208 in exchange for a certificate written: Finisher's Certificate. IAAF, AIMS, This is to certify that the above named with race number 208 finished the 42.195km Marathon Distance in the Standard Chartered Nairobi International Marathon with an official time of 3:26:27. The race was run from and to the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on October 26 2008. Signed IAAF Race Director & Chairman Athletics Kenya. I notice logos of nine sponsors displayed just below 'Standard Chartered' & 'Seeing is Believing' logos.

Unlike last year, this year's certificate does not indicate the position of the runner. However, page 8 of the 'Runners Guide' says that 'The top 100 finishers will have the perforated tear off strips removed from their race numbers by an official'. That means that I was anywhere between no. 11 to 100. (The top ten finishers got cash awards ranging from KShs.1.5million to KShs.10,000. I did not get any money!)

10.40am - I re-enter the stadium and get up to the terraces where the cheering squad was. Just as I approach, the cheers for the next team member disturb the peace in the stadium as the caps are waved in the air once more. I even hear the 'waifa' slogan (am told it is 'wiper' pronounced in cheering language). After the colleague has crossed the finish line, I enjoy my moment of glory as I get congratulatory greetings from colleagues. We now await one more colleague and we are done. We enjoy endless supply of water and glucose as we wile away time.

Am I on course next year on October 25, 2009? Am not yet decided, but probably yes - to improve the timing. However, if opportunity to practice shall not be available, then no more long runs. Compared to the 21km that I did last year, the trick on the 42km lies on endurance, which you gain through practice - no practice no 42km (i.e. at least 12-week of intense practice, prior to the run - and consistent runs for one year before the 12-week countdown). You may recall the US$1,000 bill that preparation for this event cost me.

The author welcomes comments, questions and suggestions on the article