Sunday, October 25, 2009 - Nairobi, Kenya
Was I ready?
I had not practised for one week. In fact the previous weekend I had travelled to the lake side city for a holiday, and came back to Nairobi on Wednesday with a bad cold. I could not therefore do the last three practice sessions for weekend, Monday and Wednesday. On Friday before the big day our team usually does a lap of honour - a 3km group run to get to know the team members and have a pre-run photography. My departmental colleague and I failed to get the team on the route since we left the compound late. My cold was still nagging and the mid-day draught was not helping either.
When the alarm woke me up at 4.30am on Sunday, I was not sure whether I should take on the challenge of the long run or just retire with the excuse of having a cold. I could hardly talk since I had lost my voice. However, the one-year of practice kept nagging me to just do it, though I started doubting if I would achieve my pre-race ambition of running within 1hr of the champion and improving on my last year's run time of 3:26:27.
Travelling to the venue
After a light breakfast, I left my residence while the morning was still. I was the only person on the road at this time of the morning. I arrived at the main gate to find two colleagues already there, and the minutes that followed saw other team members arrive at the assembly point. At 6.00am the bus left for the Nyayo Stadium - the venue of the race. The mood in the bus was somber - we just kept to ourselves with little talk. Even at this early time in the morning, we found most roads leading to the venue already closed.
We alighted at Nairobi West shopping centre and walked across Langata road to the stadium, where many athletes had already gathered despite this being just 6.30am, with the first event set to start at seven.
We had two members on the 42km run, and so after depositing our luggage at our designated cheering point at the upper terrace of the stadium, just next to the VIP stand, the two of us headed to the 42km assembly point. We found a big crowd there and were just in time to sing the national anthem then start on the warm ups.
The starting point
Athletes started pushing towards the starting line, though they were being reminded to stay at the assembly point (50m away). No one seemed to move behind, despite the first event being the wheel chair race. By some luck, the late coming wheel chair race participants were let through the thick gathering of runners, as they moved to the front line to start their race.
At 7.00am the horn sounded and the wheel chair race began. The 42km runners jostled to the starting point, despite being reminded that they had ten more minutes. The pushing continued and the officials threatened to cancel the race. We knew they would do no such thing and so the athletes keep piling pressure on the front runners, with the crowd almost overwhelming the security personnel who had formed a human shield at the starting point.
The run begins
The horn sounded a second time and the 42km run began. I was somewhere in the last grouping even as the run started slowly due to the many runners who had filled up the road with no space to overtake. Two hundred meters later, we were faced with the railway flyover which is a gentle hilly section that saw many runners drop behind. I maintained a consistent pace and hence kept overtaking the masses as I went along. I got to a group that had my pace on the section Uhuru highway to University way and back. I stayed with them until the Parliament road loop, when I outpaced them. At the Railway station U-turn, I overtook a few runners, but one expressed his disgust and sprinted past me. He kept ahead of me while looking behind every now and then to make sure that I did not catch up. However, at the railway flyover, another gentle hilly section, he was kind of surprised that the hill could be that demanding, since he suddenly just dropped pace then dropped out. What happened to the 'run your own run' principle that we have been taught at training? I kept my steady pace upto the stadium. By this time the 21km run had started and I could see the runners on the opposite side of the road taking the same course.
Distance markers
By the stadium, I knew that I should have done 10km, and was eagerly awaiting the 10km marker, since my timer was showing 42min - which was quite fast for this distance. I run for over 75minutes and was a the first U-turn at the end of our course without seeing the 10km marker. My study of the map had indicated that this turn should be at the 18km mark.
On my way back to the stadium before taking the same route back for the second circuit, I overtook few of my 21km run colleagues, while those on the opposite side of the road acknowledged me. The weather was perfect for the run - cool, a little bit cold and no sunshine.
The second circuit
As I took the second circuit on Mombasa road, it started drizzling and before long we had light rains. The tarmac become wet and my clothes got soaked. For a moment I thought that the run shall be cancelled if the rains persisted. However, I knew that the first person, whom I saw on the opposite side of the road, was surely heading for the finish line.
The rains subsided as I did the U-turn at the extreme end of course on Mombasa road. I then had to do about 8km to the finish line. My body settled on some pace and I kept going without noticing much on my surroundings. I remember making the last turn on Langata road towards Nyayo stadium. I remember getting to the stadium gate... and that is all that I remember.
Give him salt
How I did the last lap inside the stadium to the finish line remains a story that I was told. I found myself at the first aid tent with a voice saying, "Sit him and give him the ORS". Someone supported me to a sitting position, from my lying position, and handed me a 200ml tub of the salty solution, which I drained in one swig. I could now recognize the lady who added, "I told you he will be fine"
"Give him another," she commanded. And so I downed another saline, after which I stood up to find a colleague waiting on me. I was now full of energy as I walked to the medals table outside the stadium, where I handed over my timing chip and got the 42km finisher medal. I then walked back to our stand in the stadium to acknowledge cheers from colleagues - who congratulated me for a good run. There was no way of knowing my run time (or even if I finished the run). Certificates were not being given out for this year's event, since they were to be got online in the new week. I do not remember stopping my timer, which however had been stopped at 3.13.02 with the pedometer reading 41.74km.
Record breaking
When I finally got my online certificate, I was in surprise that runner no. 790 had clocked 3.07.51. I had surely over-pushed myself on this one! The winner of the event, who was runner no. 709, clocked 2.10.12, being the best time ever recorded at the Nairobi event on the new course. (The women's event was won in 2.28.57, with 1.01.44 and 1.12.18 being the men and women winning times in the 21km run)
So runner 790 managed to challenge runner 709 in the hour - achieving his pre-run ambition. I took the bus ride back to my place for a shower then bed rest, even as the winner took off with KShs.1.5M (US$20,000) and another KShs.0.25M (US$3,400) bonus for the course record.
The 2009 event shall be remembered as the rainy run where the organizers failed to have a single distance marker on any route, though they improved on provision of water, which was availed in all, but one point.
Next year am being pushed to break the 3.00hr record, though I do not know if I can take it - but let the people decide.
WWB, Nairobi, Kenya, November 2009
