Unveiling… more than we bargained for

Unveiling… more than we bargained for

The idea of having our own marathoners running kits was mooted in March 2019, just after the Kilimanjaro international marathon.  It was while on our way back when we were doing reminiscence on the goods and bads of that marathon that the issue of running kits featured.

“Did you see the Swaras?  They retained their attire even in Tee-Zed,” Edu would say at some point.

“True,” Faye confirmed, “I even saw the Jashos there!”

“For the international runners like us…. Eh… we had nothing to show for it,” was all I could say, amid another stretch while nursing the painful legs, even as the minibus sped along the 380km route of the return journey from Moshi.

That topic died at that point, but not for long.  The issue would soon re-emerge on the WhatsApp group, when the members started sharing the pictures of Kili.  That we needed our own kits was now a topic of discussion.  

Many other discussion points ran on that group, but somehow the issue of kits would be back on the leader-board.  In early May we decided to do something about it.  I send a message to the runners.

“… as an expression of interest,” my message continued, “all are requested to send 1k to me for this mission”

By then we had nothing.  Just the desire to have our kits.  We would then progressively move towards discussing designs, and then debate quite a lot on the issue of colour, which would eventually be resolved by a poll won by a simple majority.  The material was fixed.  There was no debate on this.  

The other aspects of the kit would become optional – name of back of kit, flag on sleeve, size, number of Tees needed.  We did not even know whether the k would enable us have these kits, but we had to start somewhere and we were determined to make this happen.  Even our runners in the diaspora – Tanzania – were with us in this project.

Said what?

Many reminders later, and we would collect around fifteen ks.  Many reminders later, and we would have the final poll done and results published.  Many reminders later, and we would have all the information needed for the Tees finally availed to our colleague Ericsson who had volunteered to ensure that the kits were ‘published’.  Then the topic just died again in early July.

The issue of the kits would get back on the radar when the MOE announced the seventh international marathon and settled on July 26 as the date.  The decision was that the kits would be availed to the runners on that day.  However, as late as that run Friday, we did not have confirmation from E-sson that we would get the kits.  

To set ourselves on a plan B, just in case, we had sent a final call to runners and informed them that the kits ‘may be’ provided after the run.  This was a complete change of tone from the strong message of a week before, where we had stated that we would unveil the new kits ‘before’ the run.  In fact, the seventh international was code-named ‘the unveiling’.

Still exists

It is usual for the MOE to scout a route before any marathon, just to confirm that it is doable and that it still exists.  This is especially necessary with the ongoing road construction on Waiyaki way and Gitaru-Wangige roads.  The task of this scouting fell on me, and that meant that I had to do a ‘scouting-21’ on evening of July 12.  

I was able to confirm that the route still existed in a ‘runable’ state and that it still measured 21k, in fact 21.28km.  The scouting was done in 104 minutes.  I reported an ‘all clear’ for this marathon and the announcement was cleared for dissemination to marathoners.

A new introduction was also included in this edition of the marathon – a ‘mock marathon’, open to all runners.  This was to be a 15k course on the route, just to give runners an advance feel of this ‘new’ international route, which has been a route on our event calendar since last year.  

The July 19 mock saw the B-and-B doing the 15.58k to Kanyariri shopping centre and back in 106 minutes.  The mock was also a good prep for the real thing that we would be doing in the next seven days.

Finally, because we have suffered having to finish the runs way too late, when it was too dark, the MOE introduced a new rule.  All runners had a compulsory turn-back whenever the 5.30pm time check got them.  To sweeten the deal, it was agreed that runners who may be beaten by this rule could start their run earlier than the usual 4.40pm start time.

Surely, the MOE had done and considered all aspects of this run.  It was therefore now a matter of just waiting for the run, and hoping to ‘unveil’.

Time flies

The bread that Beryl brought for the evening energizer before the run was still lying on the table when I asked the group of four to start moving towards the Generator starting point.  There was no time to take a final carbo-load.

“You can’t do me like this,” Bee would complain even as she grabbed her bottle of water ready for the 500m walk to the generator.

“Rules are rules,” I reminded her.  We had decided that we would be on the ‘early-starters’ group.  The one that would start at 4.00pm.  Bramuel and Ericsson were the other members on this group.

“Wow, you guys look great!,” Edu complimented loudly, interrupting our preparation to start going to the starting point.  He was having a glimpse of our newly ‘unveiled’ Tees.  He was collecting the balance kits for the team that would be starting at 4.40pm.

“You can say that again,” Bee stated.  Expressionless.  She had just suffered a setback by getting a kit that was smaller than what she had ordered.  The guys had assured her that the kit was ‘quite good’, but she had ignored the voice of three and followed her inner spirit and ‘refused’ to kit up.  She even described its size of ‘tumbo cut’.  Surely, B, how dare you!

As an alternative, she had a run gear that was almost green, but nothing like our very great looking luminous green Tees, which had our choice of name branded on the back.  The Kenyan flag was printed on the left sleeve.

We would get a few more “Wows!” from passersby as we raced to the Generator starting point as the early starters.

Run or wait?

We flagged ourselves off at 4.15pm.  We almost delayed the run and just waited for the 4.40pm group since we were already late for our intended four o’clock run.  Nonetheless, we started our run and our quartet slowly made its way out of the gate towards Kabete Polytechnic and crossed Waiyaki way.  By then Bramuel was on the lead, with Ericsson on tow, while the B-team remained behind by a few metres.  Bramu would drop out of contention by the third kilometer at Ndumbo, leaving our trio to tread it on.

As we started off the hill at 4k, Ericsson overtook our B-team since Beryl decided to reduce the pace to the bare minimum.  I got worried for a moment.

“Are you OK?  Will you make the run?”

I had been on this exact route with Bee hardly seven days ago.  On that day she was tops.  Running up this selfsame hill quite effortlessly.  But today?  Not today.  She was really struggling.

“I am OK,” she said amid labored gasps.  The hill taking toll, “I shall… shall tell… tell you all after… after the run.”

We kept going, upto seventh k at the University farm, where we walked briefly.  Then resumed our run, then walked some more.  This was quite unlike last week’s run, when we actually did run all the way to Kanyariri shopping centre on the 8k.  Nonstop!

“I know… know that I have… have let you… let you down,” she said when we passed Kanyariri shopping centre.

“Why comes?”

“My… my run speed… speed today!”

“Nothing to worry, we shall make it,” I then added a universal truth, “Run days are usually different and no two runs can ever be the same”

While she absorbed the impact of the statement, I looked at the watch that now read 5.10pm and informed her that we had a compulsory turn-back point coming up.  That was going to be a reality unless we got to Nakuru highway in the next twenty minutes.  The fear of the turn-back surely worked, since I now saw B increase pace and start tackling the ongoing hill with new zeal.

“Turning back is not an option,” she said.

“Rules are rules,” is all I could say.

Compulsory turn-back

We reached Nakuru highway at about 5.22pm, a good eight minutes before compulsory turn back.  That meant that we had the all clear to go round Gitaru market through Gitaru-Wangige road and back to Kanyariri road.  That is exactly what we did.  Relief on our faces.

We met Janet and Nick on the uphill towards the Nakuru highway as we finished our circling of Gitaru market.  The time was just about 5.45pm.

“You must turn back,” I told their approaching footsteps.

“Wewe Coach wacha wana,” Janet responded, “Tufike hapa halafu turudi?”

“Rules are rules,” is what I managed to say, even as their footsteps got fainter as they kept going behind my back.

I joined the pace set by Beryl and we started our run back.  We now had only seven kilometers to our destination.  We kept going, mostly running, with the terrain now being downhill.  The luminous upper body of Ericsson remained visible about four hundred meters ahead.  

The announcement

Our run continued until the final hill at Ndumbo.  We walked briefly on the hill and soon resumed our running before the end of hill and continued to the finishing point. 

“Stop the timer!,” I reminded Beryl as we stepped on the ‘Stop’ sign at the gate.  She did stop her timer.  Mine had just been stopped.  The time was 2hr 31min 38sec.  The Endomondo on my phone indicated a distance of 21.29km.

“Now, let me tell you why I was a bit slow”, she introduced the confession time, as we walked to the three other finishers ahead, “I have another hike at Elephant hill tomorrow.”

Our finishing ‘group selfie’ of five would soon show the tired faces of B-team, JV, Ericsson and Phillip.  Talking about Phillip, he was the only one whose Tee had his name printed on the front.

Just when we thought that we had had it all, we would soon be given two unexpected announcements while at the dinner party held after the run.  That Fay is out of our runs for the rest of the year as she joins ‘team diaspora’ was devastating.  Her only consolation was that, “I shall represent you in the Amsterdam marathon.”

The second announcement was unprecedented.  It would be said by the very coach, “I shall also be out of the next three internationals.  I shall be out of Nairobi until mid-November.  I am handing over the reins to Edu.”

WWB, the Coach, Nairobi, Kenya, July 26, 2019

Half-a-half – the run that needed interpretation

Half-a-half – the run that needed interpretation

It is exactly one week later, and the story has not been written.  This is quite unusual.  The story would usually be out immediately after the run, even before the leg muscles have had a rest.  So why did this Friday, June 28 international half fail to make it to be blog?

The sixth international, codename ‘half-a-half’ was meant to commemorate the half-mark of the year, with a half a marathon run.  It was meant to be that simple.  It turned out not to be.  This codename did not last long before it was corrupted.  Koki started it off.

“What is the distance of the run?,” she asked on email.

The distance had been prominently displayed just below the run route, on the email that publicized the run.  ‘21.3km’ it read.  It was the Google earth map that has traced and came up with that out.

Two emails later, and she would still be wondering if this is ‘half of a half’ or ‘half-half’.  I did not imagine that such a simple three-word codename would generate so much debate.  I would soon have to clarify to the whole of the runners that this half-a-half was what they wanted it to be.  It could be half a marathon at half year mark, the initially intended meaning, or it could be a half distance of the half marathon, or even half of the half distance that one usually runs.  

“Just make it what you want it to be”.

The turnout was better than I had expected.  Raising nine athletes on such a cold June evening was quite something.  Faye, Judy and Beryl, formerly of the B-and-B team, represented the gals.  The coach was on the ‘boy child’ group, together with Karl, Jeff, Nick, Bramuel and later Edu would join in, though not from this initial group at the starting line.  

This is the very same Edu who would later after the run make me lose a bet and force me to buy a round of drinks for the folks.  This came about after I had vowed that Edu could not make it for this run, after all he had just done another 21k run two days prior to this event.  However, this vow would turn out to be my undoing, as I regretfully discovered later in the run.  

But wait a minute!  Why am I even surprised?  Edu has a way of letting the run run his life.  While some of us control the run, the run controls him.  He is the only one whom I know, who has the habit of timing his pace to the precision dictated by ‘the gadget’.  Instead of the gadget tracking his pace, he paces as per the gadget.  

Several times I have run with him, only for him to reduce speed, to almost a standstill and tell me that we are going too fast.  All this said while looking at ‘the gadget’ on the wrist.  Then he would all of a sudden sprint it off and say that we need to catch up with the average, because… You guessed right, ‘the gadget says so’.  Nay nay, that is not my style!  My style is to start the timer, forget that it exists, and just let go.  I stop the timer after the run and confirm the stats – that is me.  However, Edu is Edu.

When we flagged off at the generator at 4.45pm, five minutes later than scheduled, we did stipulate a compulsory turn-back at the 1hr point.  Those who would not reach the turnaround point at the highway by this time would have to turn back when they get to their 1hr point.  The route was the same old ‘new international’ route.  

This route runs from Uthiru, though Ndumbo-ini, onto the Kanyariri road all the way to Nakuru highway on the 10k mark.  Then runners run the outer perimeter of the Gitaru market partly on Wangige road, and get back to Kanyariri road on 13k at the other side of the market.  From there, the same road that brought you to this point takes you back to the starting point some 8k back.

We left off as a group, but soon Karl and I were on the leading pack by the time we reached Ndumbo at 3k.  I was however alone after the Ndumbo downhill on the 4k, as we started the 6km of uphill that leads to the highway.  He would later confess that he could not cope up with the uphill pace.  I was the first to reach the 13k mark after circling the market and getting back to Kanyariri road.  

Then I decided to stop and wait for the pack, after all, it was a group run of sorts.  Karl would pass me by, some ten minutes later.  He told me that he was not stopping or waiting.  I shooed him on.  Momentarily, Beryl then Bramuel would reach this point and would be forced to turn back due to the 60-minute stipulation for compulsory turn back.  I kept waiting.  

Another ten minutes later and the group of Faye, Jeff and Nick would emerge to find me standing at the 13k junction.  I was taken aback to see Edu in this group.

“Coach, I am here,” he declared as he passed by my stationary form.

I knew the implication of that statement.  It would hit me later.

I joined into their run, staying at the back, after they had confirmed that no one else was behind them.

By the 15k at Kanyariri High School, the boys had run off and left Faye and I behind.  Faye would soon come to a stop.

“A stitch!  The stitch!”

I would join into the stopover.

“Take a brief rest.”

She did take a minute of two of rest, then we started the run once more.

A second stitch stop would hit her, hardly a kilometer later.  For this one, we decided to just take a walk for about five minutes, then resumed the run when the stitch had subsided.  We kept moving and were soon facing the Ndumbo uphill on the 18k.  Clearing this hill would surely mark the end of the run.  

It was now getting dark.  We were just about to get to the 1900hour mark.  The hill ended and we would in a moment be facing the now very dark road at the Vet loop, past Ndumbo.  Our destination was now just the other side of the highway.

We joined Beryl as we were about to hit ‘the wall’ near Kabete Police as we crossed the Nakuru highway on our way back to our finish line.  By this time it was already totally dark.  Despite this, Faye decided to sprint off the last kilometer from Kabete Polytechnic, leaving the B-team to walk it back to the finish line.

We would hit the finish line with a time check of 2.13.05.  This was the earliest that I have ever finished this group run.  We set a new record of all our runners finishing by that time.  Two hours later, and I would be paying off the bet that I lost.  Lesson learnt – do not wager on super-humans.  That mantra shall come in handy during the seventh international at the end of July.

WWB, the Coach, Nairobi, Kenya, July 5, 2019