Rain against Runner 2 – The winner

Rain against Runner 2 – The winner

“Congruent,” I responded when asked by a fellow runner how the lunch hour was.

“Exactly like last time,” I elaborated, “I was rained on again.”

This conversation took place 1hr 11min after we had our initial chat with Karl.  At that time, just as we prepared to start the run, we had jokingly ‘revisited’ the now publicized rain-soaked run of Thursday, 14-days ago.

“Are you sure you shall not be rained on again today,” he had asked, as we geared up at the locker room, ready to take off.

“I am used to being rained on.”

My Wednesday run, two days ago, took an almost similar pattern to the infamous Thursday run.  I left the compound while it was bright and a bit shiny.  My pace was quite good and I was hoping to do some record breaking run, having been out of the road for the 14-days since that rain soaked run.

Little did I know that things would take a turn for the worst, same script as Thursday, just at the same place as Thursday.  The drizzle just started, just like that, as I hit the 2.5km mark at Ndumboini.  Then it started raining, from nowhere, and this time round it was not the 'drizzles and being followed from behind by the rain' – no!  This time it started raining and it continued raining, heavily, I must add.  I crossed the river while the visibility was getting low due to the rain.  The hill that follows the Ndumbo river is not interesting when the rain is doing a number on you!

The rain did not relent.  I crossed through the university farm land while it persisted.  I passed by a number of people, probably ten or so, sheltered under the trees along the footpath.  I kept going expecting to be hit by the hailstones next, since that is the region I was now heading for.

Alas!  The weather just changed and instead of a hailstorm, I was faced with reduced rains, then showers, then as I took the turn leaving the uni farmland, the rain just stopped completely at the point where I had taken shelter last time.  In fact that geographical section was dry with no signs of rain at all.

“Look,” severally, I saw passersby draw attention to me.

I was soaked and dripping wet.  My hair(less) was wet.  My shoes were bloody muddy.  They were wondering whether I had just come from a dip in some water pool on such a ‘dry’ day.

I survived the ‘humiliation’ of being ‘strange’ all the way to ‘tarmac’, where once again the weather changed.  It got cooler, and was drizzling by the time I had reached the river.  The uphill from river to Ndumbo was characterized by light showers.  By Ndumbo it was dry all the way back to my starting point.

If we needed a tie breaker, since the Thursday run, then this is it – I won but be the judge.

Three strong points for ‘rain’

1. It tricked me by concealing its intentions before I started the run

2. It hit me harder this time round

3. It made me quite a ‘sight’ being the only wet runner on a dry day when the weather changed

Three strong points for ‘runner’

1. I persisted through the run and did not stop to take shelter

2. The ‘hit’ zone was shorter

3. I did not let the change of weather distract me from my run plan

Barack Wamkaya Wanjawa, Nairobi Kenya, Mar. 16, 2018