Running in installments during the April International Marathon

Running in installments during the April International Marathon

I left for this run not very sure of my run route.  One thing was for sure – I needed to register at least 10.5km on this Tuesday, so that I can wrap it up with another 10.5km the next day to make the 21km half marathon.  This came to be since the MOE* allowed the April international marathon to be run in two installments, equal or unequal, but installment run was allowed for the first time in the history of the event.  This exemption came about due to the severity of the ongoing rains.  It had been raining daily and at all times, that getting a run time window, let alone a long run time, was virtually impossible.  Breaking the marathon into two offered a real possibility to be out for a shorter time, and still achieve the longer run.

*MOE - marathoners of expert, the committee that plans our runs

I left at 12.35pm on this Tuesday.  I knew that I had at least 10.5km to do in this day 1, with a repeat the next day, if this was to be so.  Those of you who have done daily runs know that it is not an easy thing.  I was already dreading the mere thought of doing two consecutive runs.  And do not take my word for it.  I tried doing the 5-runs-in-5-days just two weeks ago and failed for the first time in the history of these challenges.  I could only make it for three-runs on Monday, Tuesday and Friday.  I skipped two consecutive runs on 17th and 18th – but with good reason.  I was booked for an internal meeting on one of the days, and external on the other day – both at the lunch hour run time.  But even the three were not easy on my legs.

The monthly April international marathon was scheduled for the last Friday of April, being April 26.  But it was a month of firsts, since for the first time in the history of the monthly international runs, we had to cancel the marathon due to the unrelenting rains, that were especially prevalent in the evenings.  We were all happy with the cancellations, glad that finally the MOE had given us a break.  We even went for the rainy weekend in high spirits.  A first month without a marathon.  We were looking forward to a new week with the schools back in session and a new month beckoning soon after, where May 1, a Wednesday, would be a holiday break.  What a great week ahead!

That was not to be.  Things took a turn on Sunday night.  It was just past midnight, repeat, midnight, when the national government announced that schools were not to reopen due to the effects of the rain.  They granted one week extension to the school holidays.  I came to learn about this later in the day, Monday, after I saw comments online about the chaotic situation on our roads and schools, with some students already travelled to school since they were not aware of the postponement.

There were to be new surprises, when later in the day the MOE sent a notification that the April marathon had after all not been cancelled.  It has just been postponed and would in fact be held in that week of April 29.  They sweetened the deal by indicating that the run would be done in installments over the two-day period that was remaining in the month of April.  Runners were encouraged to pick their run distance, divide it into two, and do the first bit of the run on the Monday, with a commitment to finalize the remaining bit the next day.

I have never faced an installment run before, where the distance is split into two.  That is why I was not very sure of the run route as I left for the Monday run on April 29.  A 10.5km is a direct run from Uthiru to Lower Kabete road through Kapenguria road and back.  However, that is only possible if the river just after Wangari Maathai institute is not flooded.  It has been flooded of later, and was impassible hardly ten days prior, when flood waters overwhelmed the support structures and filled up the whole valley including the road passage on top of the drainage culverts underneath.

My plan A was to get through to Lower Kabete road, and get as much distance as possible on day one, maybe even stretch it to 15k, then wrap up the balance 6k on day 2.  That depended on the river section not being flooded to enable me cross over.  If it was, then anything goes, and this has in fact happened before and not long ago.  

Take that April 12 run as an example.  I had encountered exactly this challenge.  I was set for a long undefined distance run, that was to at least get to Lower Kabete road.  It was not to be.  I reached that river crossing and found it flooded.  I saw some people wadding through the completely submerged tarmac road, dirty brown water reaching almost knee high as they struggled through the five or so metre crossing.

I had screeched to a halt.

“Oh emm gee!,” I shouted subconsciously.  

I found other stranded people contemplating whether to cross or stay put.

I stopped and assessed the situation.  I could see a flooded plain on the left side of the road.  The flood waters had formed a big lake on the once lush green agricultural land that had some banana stems, maize plants, and arrow roots.  They were all mostly submerged.  Only the upper half of the banana stems were visible.  The flood had thereafter formed a river on top of the tarmac road, as it flooded towards the left edge of the road, all across to the right side and onto a valley.

This stoppage interrupted my run rhythm on a day that I was having one of the best run paces in the year.  I was already at an average of 4.40min per km, which was quite something.  I am usually over 5min per km by this point on the run.  I had to go to plan B.  I made a U-turn and decided to tweak my way back.  

Running back the Kapenguria road hill early in the run was not fun, when my last 2km had been a smooth downhill.  I persevered and reached Ndumboini.  I then turned right and went to a run on Kanyariri road all the way to the Northern by-pass near Gitaru and back, registering a 25k in the process.  That was 17-days before this Monday run.  I was not planning for another U-turn at the river, but with the rains being as unrelenting as they have been, this dreaded U-turn and a new plan B was still a reality.

Back to this Monday run.  The weather was quite good, being just a bit sunny but with a cloud cover that was preventing the sun from its aggression.  I was to get to Lower Kabete road first, then decide on what to do next.  The aim was a 10.5km, the ambition as a 15km, the reality was yet to be determined.  All was well until I got to Ndumboini and did a loop towards UON Upper Kabete gate.  I was just turning back from the gate when I heard something like a drumming or a humming noise.  I had already met a big group of students, and thought that maybe there was a congregation of sort making these noises on this apparent opening day.

A careful listening and a reaction from the student crowd would soon give me the answer.  There was a rain approaching from Ndumboini stage coming towards the University gate.  That was the drumming that I had heard.  I would soon see the crowd of students, whom I had earlier run against, scamper in two directions.  One group ran towards the shopping centre where the rain was coming from.  The other group were now running back towards me, intending to shelter back at the Uni.  I was running away from the gate to rejoin Kapenguria road.  However, I was now not sure what to do – either turn back to the Uni gate and take shelter or run ahead to the shopping centre and take shelter.

There was no time to even think, since I would soon be hit by those cold outburst of a heavy rain that seemed to have come from nowhere.

“This is messed,” I said loudly, as I kept running, completely unsure of what to do.

“Why did I even decide to run today?,” I questioned loudly, “When everybody else is enjoying their lunch!?”

The waters were just too cold and I was already soaked wet by the time I got to Kapenguria road still in indecision.  

“What a day!,” I muttered, as I got to Kapenguria road, already soaked.  It is only the running shoes that were still pretending to be dry, but that would not last long with this intensity of rain.

“This is messed,” I found myself repeating.

Anyway, I was already rained on, and taking a shelter was not going to help me at this condition.  I therefore saw myself turn right and run down Kapenguria road toward Wangari Maathai institute.  Visibility was quite low with the heavy rain.  I kept going, muttering curses as I went along.  I soon got to the river crossing, the one that was uncrossable just two weeks prior.  

I found a big group of workers, struggling to take shelter on the trees next to the riverbank.  The rain was subsiding.  The workers seemed to be doing something on that river crossing, since I could observe a big pile of stones beside the road.  I guessed that they wanted to deal with the drainage issue.

The river waters had not yet risen to the level of the road.  The muddy waters were still forcefully permeating through the culverts below the road.  I could hear the rumble of the force of the pressure as the waters emerged on the right side of the road.  It would just be a matter of time before the waters overwhelm the culverts and start spilling onto the top of the road.  However, the road was clear and crossable for now.  

I decided to cross over and keep running towards Lower Kabete road.  I already knew that it would take just another 1 hour of rains and the return journey would surely come to an end on this river crossing since it would surely be a submerged road.  The rains had reduced by this time as I crossed over, and I therefore hoped that I would have the opportunity to cross back when without being stuck when I came back at some point.

I reached Lower Kabete road with my clothes dripping water.  It was still raining, though it seemed to subside.  I decided to turn right, instead of doing a return U-turn.  That now meant that I was going for the big 21, since once you make that right turn, there is usually no turning back until you get to the natural turning point at Red hill road.  I kept running, and by some bad coincidence, it started raining and it kept raining.  I cursed along, wondering why I kept going instead of turning back when I got to Lower Kabete road.  

Anyway, I kept going and decided that I would have to turn back soon.  I could not survive running in the rain.  I promised myself to do a U-turn as early as Farasi lane, but that did not happen.  It rained and I kept running.  I promised to do a U-turn at Ngecha road, but I crossed and kept going.  The rain continued.  I was to do a U at Zen gardens, but I did not, I kept going.  That meant that I surely reached Red Hill road and finally did the U-turn for my way back.

To my credit, it did shine for about 1 minute while going past Zen garden on my way back, and another one-minute of sun at Kenya School of Government, just before UON Lower Kabete campus.  After that, it was back to some drizzles as I tackled the Kapenguria road on my way back.  I was lucky that the river was not yet swollen as I crossed over.  The group of workers was still there, with their building stones piled up on one side of the road.  

There was no rain as I finished the run just before 3pm.  If anything, it seemed like it would even shine if the clouds could delay their advances in covering the sun.  A hot shower finally ended my misery on this Monday, as the timer recorded a 2:21:36 for 26.53km.  Would I do this again?  Of course not!  Running in the rain is a bad idea.  I should have done a U-turn at that first sign of rain at Ndumboini and saved myself from this misery, but then again, runners have a mind of their own – or lack of.

WWB, the Coach, Nairobi, Kenya, May 3, 2024 

December international that was mean!

December international that was mean!

While the November international marathon went largely without a hitch, the December one was different.  It was done on the same route, but it got to me bad!  Blame it on the new route that came into the works during the October international marathon.  This new route takes you from Uthiru towards Ndumboini, and then down Kapenguria road, past Wangari Maathai institute all the way to Lower Kabete road.  

The usual runs, before October, would then direct me to the left to head towards Mary Leakey school to eventually join Kanyariri road, to then run along that tarmac to some turning point on the Northern bypass for a U-turn back to Ndumboini and eventually back to the starting line.  This December run, for the third time in as many months, would instead require a right turn as you join Lower Kabete road.  Then the run goes along Lower Kabete road all the way just past Zen gardens, then a U-turn back to the starting line.

This new route may sound simple, but it is not.  It has turned out to be one of the meanest routes that I have ever ran on.  I was initiated in October, did a second run in November, and hoped to nail it in December, but it was not to be.  The October debut was a struggle, as I got to learn the route.  The November run was more of a confirmation that this run could be modelled into the ‘new normal’.  December was to confirm that this route could be conquered and officially unveiled to the rest of the runners as the new route.

The November run, held on the twenty-fourth, was more of a memorial, and I would like to forget it in a hurry.  I even did not blog about it!  I left for that run on that Friday at lunch hour, instead of the usual evening run time.  It had been raining like crazy in that month, as blamed on the El Nino weather phenomenon (for those who do not know better), but the real culprit was climate change (who those who know better).  

In that month of November, it was raining daily, every time, every hour.  We occasionally had a few hours of no rains, and it is during such hours that we had to squeeze in the runs.  Friday lunch time was one such time slots.  The weather was good, and I just left and went for the run, not thinking much about it.  I went through the motions and finished the run at about 2.45pm after 2:16:02 on the road on that 25.25km distance.  My average of 5:23min per km was good enough.

I had largely switched off during that run.  I was still in deep thought over the events that had taken place that Friday.  Just a few hours ago, we had all assembled at the main hall.  The mood was somber, if anything, tearful.  I have never been in such a quiet meeting.  You could hear a pin drop.  There was no cheering, no clapping, no applause, no whispering, in fact, you even felt out of place to just think of clearing your throat.  The memorial service had started at ten.  The departed colleague had succumbed to breast cancer.  She was just a mother of one young child.  The service ended at 12.30pm.  I was downcast.  I could not have gone for the scheduled run that evening, I was feeling drained.  I decided to just go for the run after that service.  I was mostly robotic in my motions that day.  I was in Karatina one week later for Evalyne’s sendoff.

It is therefore the December marathon that was the run to confirm that the new route was a candidate for the new marathon route.  The MOE*, cognizant that December was a short month, had scheduled the Dec run on the second Friday of December, instead of the usual last Friday of the month.  Bad coincidentally, this last Friday would see me attending the last day of a three-day first aid training course.  This Friday was the last day that had the practical and theory exams that determined those who finally got through to be certified as first aiders for the next one year.  I could not make it for the run that should have started at four, when the exams were ending at four-thirty.
*MOE – marathoners of expert, the committee that organizes our runs

The December international marathon would finally come knocking on my door on Monday, December 11, 2023.  I did not feel ready.  I just did the run because it was a run day, and was also probably my last work day in the year.  I was scheduled to leave the city on or after the holiday of the next day.  In fact, this initial plan of starting the holiday the next day was put to the test just a week prior, when it became clear that I would have to miss the staff party on that Friday if I was to leave early.  I therefore had to extend my workdays by another three days after the run due to this last minute change.  Nonetheless, this was not going to change the date of the run.  The run was on.

December had also started with those daily rains, day and night, anytime, every time.  They kept being unpredictable.  Running continued to be timed whenever the weather permitted, instead of by schedule.  Finally, it was run day.  The sun was bright on that Monday at noon.  I was not taking any chances.  I found myself in the changing room and was out for the run at 12.35pm.  I had been on this route two previous times.  I should have been a walk in the park, but this was no walk.  It was a real run.  A real international marathon, where athletes are made… and crashed!  A run that you fail to take seriously at your own peril.  A run can dent your records… forever.  It is a run not to take lightly.

It was a good run, all the way to the U-turn on Lower Kabete road just past Zen gardens.  I even extended my run slightly to the Red Hill road underpass, where I did the new U-turn.  I was momentarily back to Lower Kabete road to run its length past Kenya School of Government, and the UON Lower Kabete campus.  And it is that section on Lower Kabete road that did the most damage to my run on that day.  The section was just hilly without a break.  It went on and on and on, every leg step being more tired than the previous.  It was a stretch of road section to forget.  I laboured on and managed to finally get to Kapenguria road.

However, the turning left from Lower Kabete road into Kapenguria road only offered a short seven minutes relief, as I went slightly downhill.  It was soon time to face the infamous 2km Kapenguria road hill.  The usual marathon routes have been crafted to avoid this particular encounter.  The new route unleashes this selfsame uphill in an equal measure, just when you are already tired after the long hilly section of the Lower Kabete road.

I was already deep in the run, with 19km already conquered, in just under 100 minutes.  Whatever was remaining had to be done.  What else was I to do?  Give up on the run?  Drop out!  Cry out loud!  That last one I actually did do.
“For crying out loud,” I cried out loud, when I reached Wangari Maathai institute where the next hill towards Ndumboini looks at you with a dare.  
With no choice, other than that crying out loud, I ran on and kept going.  I ignored the road repair crew who had reduced the road to a single lane for all traffic, and just kept pushing the legs uphill.

It was a relief getting to Ndumboini.  From there I knew that nothing, repeat, nothing, was standing on my way to the finish line.  And twenty minutes later, I finished my run at 2.50pm, after 2hr 22min and 54sec on the road.  My average speed had gone down to 5:27min per km.  I was happy that I was still standing after this run – another monthly run in the bag, oh, the last monthly run of 2023.  Lessons learnt from these twelve monthly marathons in 2023 – running is not easily, find a recurrent run event that keeps you on the road to force you into a routine, and finally, celebrate your run achievement every time, whatever it is.  You are doing better than you imagine.  Merry Christmas!

WWB, the coach, Eldoret, Kenya, Dec. 22, 2023

Running half naked – when running is a must

Running half naked – when running is a must

If there ever was a decision that I made just in the nick of time that turned out to be ‘healthy’, then today’s decision would be that.  Before this decision, the morning had generally been calm.  It promised to be a good day, even sunny if anything.  However, I knew that my troubles had started the day with me the moment I finished that cup of coffee with accompaniments at about eight-thirty in the morning.  It did not even take me thirty minutes to start being nauseated.  I could hardly settle down by ten, when I almost started drooling and made several trips to the washroom to clear my mouth.  It is then that I made the decision to take the day off and walked home.

That twelve minute walk seems like forever.  I finally reached home and virtually crashed the door down since my mouth was already filling up.  I went straight to the washroom where I threw up violently, almost suffocating from the continued outrush through my mouth.
“The hech,” I said loudly to the quiet house, trying to regain my breath.  Things had escalated quickly.
If I had delayed my walk home by even a second then many bad things could have happened either at the office or along the way.

I did many more spits and regurgitation in a span of thirty minutes while making the endless trips from the living room to the toilet.
“This is worse than I thought,” I thought loudly.
I was ready to get a vehicle to a medical centre.  I could not continue this way.  Any more outpouring and I was surely outa here.

My first aid training pointed to only one thing that could manifest and progress this fast – food poisoning.  There is something that I had got straight from fridge-to-mouth, and that accompaniment is what was the likely culprit.  This f-t-m was a shortcut that I now regretted.  I would normally have passed my fridged stuff to the microwave first, but not today.  I wanted to have a hot-and-cold, and now I was in for a bitter mouth and bile in the mouth.  I finally took some hot water, with the first round f the water triggering another outpouring from my belly, before my situation stabilized when I decided to take a nap in a seating position, empty pail next to the bed, just in case.


I was however lucky that this attack episode was today, and not yesterday.  Yesterday was a Tuesday.  It was the day that I decided to resume my runs after the Sunday, October 29 Stanchart marathon.  I had intended to have a week of rest after the marathon, but things happened and the break turned out to be two weeks.  I was therefore fairly well rested from that grueling 42k at Stanchart.  The intention for this lunch hour run was to do at least a 10k ‘welcome back’ marathon.

The spirit of running took me on a turn for the worse at Lower Kabete road after Kapenguria road.  I should have done a U-turn at this point and earned myself a comfortable 10k run on this dry lunch hour, the first in a long time.  It has been raining like 24-hours for the last week.  If anything, I should have as an alternative, turned left and done the Mary Leakey route and earned a 13k with no sweat.  Unfortunately, the run spirit directed me to turn right onto Lower Kabete road and head towards UON Lower Kabete campus.
“What are you doing?,” I asked the thing that was now controlling my every step.
“Turn back, you runner!”

There was no turning back.  I kept going.  My steps were strong.  I was energetic.
“Where are you going!  Turn back!,” the thing spoke.
I ignored.  I continued.  I soon passed by UON campus.  I then passed Kenya School of Government and the Post Office.  I kept going.  I at some point passed by Farasi lane school signboard.  I stuck to the sidewalk which was not there the last time I ran on this road, over five years ago.

I did not even know the end game on this lunch hour run.  I was supposed to squeeze all the run of the day to fit within the one lunch-hour hour, but here I was going and going.  The terrain was generally downhill.  I finally reached Ngecha road.  This should surely be a turning point, but no.  The spirit of run persisted.  I soon passed by Zen Gardens.  It brought back some good memories when training events used to be held in that compound… before COVID brought all that to an end.

“Turn back damn it!,” something in me begged.
I ignored it.  I kept going.  Even the walkway crossing the tarmac to the other side of the main road did not force me to turn.  I ignored the walkway and kept to the uneven path besides the road that did not have a walkway and trod on.  At this rate, I would soon be heading to the Redhill road and then Spring Valley Police station.  And of course the Lower Kabete roads terminates at Sarit Centre, and these landmarks were now becoming more real possibilities than before.  However, that would mean that the run would no longer be a lunch hour run, but a full marathon.

Finally, just before the Redhill road, I decided that enough exploration was enough and did a U-turn.  I am not sure what my ambition for this run was, but I told myself that I was exploring this side of Lower Kabete road, where I had hardly run for many year.  The roll down was equally easy on the legs which encouraged me on… but spoke too soon!  I almost came to a standstill when I did the U-turn.  The terrain of the return leg immediately turned out to be an uphill.  The struggle that I faced on those 5km back to the ‘tarmac’ junction to Kapenguria cannot be described on this generally hot lunch hour.

There would only be a short reprieve as I rolled down past Kabete Children home and KAGRI towards the river.  And I mean a really short reprieve, since I would then be facing the infamous Wangari Maathai hill section all the way to Ndumboini upto the Waiyaki way.  I almost collapsed in those 2km of real hill.  By then my once average time of under-5min per km was now thrown out of the run track.  I was likely to end up with an over-6, if this hill was to stretch even by a millimeter.

I soldiered on and managed to reach the finish line through lots of willpower despite my tired legs, stopping my timer at 24.12km in 2.03.44.  I was tired, but not as tired as the Stanchart.  I was not the only one tired at this late time of the lunch hour.  I found another run also taking a breather at the finish line at the Generator.


Josh has been in the marathon team for long.  We are in fact family friends.  I used to visit him sometime before COVID, when he stayed in Kikuyu town.  However, COVID spoilt many things including visiting each other, but I had kept in touch.  I know his family.  His spouse and child both run, and I have met them at some Stanchart events.

“You are still at Kikuyu?,” I asked, as we both sat at an umbrella just outside the Generator house, taking a short rest before we got back to work.
“Nope, niko kwangu huko Ngong’”
“Oh, you setup your own?”
“Sure, for the last two years,” he said, then continued, “You should plan to visit soon.”
“The year is still young.  I will purpose,” I answered, “How is Norah and that young runner of yours”
“Both are OK, lakini Norah hates Ngong’ with a passion!”
“Why so?”
“Wizi ni mob, houses get broken into all the time.”
“I thought you are in an estate with centralized security and all?”
“No, we bought plots and built.  Everyone just stays on their own, though we have neighbours.”

As we continued the chatter, now almost fully rested, he narrated a recent incident.  He was out of the country for duty, with the junior having gone to visit a relative, leaving Norah all alone.  On that fateful night, the bad guys jumped into his compound, which has a perimeter wall, but the wall is not very high.  The wife heard something like a commotion at the chicken coop, with the chicks making noises.  She shouted and raised an alarm.

It was not long before the neighbours woke up in their various compounds and started coming towards the direction of Josh house.  His immediate neighbor who has a domestic worker also heard the noises and sprang to action.  He jumped the separating wall and stumbled onto the thugs.  He noted three characters.  The unexpected confrontation startled the thugs who ran away and jumped hastily through the opposite wall of Josh’s compound, into another compound that is not yet inhabited, and soon disappeared into the dark night.  Quiet was restored for sometime, with the neighbours each talking loudly in their compounds, assuring all that all was well.

Finally, the domestic worker who had done the chase knocked onto Josh’s house.
“Norah, Norah!,” he called out, knocking the door, “Ni mimi, Simon.  Mikora imeenda.  Unaweza fungua mlango sasa.”
Norah finally gathered the courage to open the door, with the reassurance from the chatter in the neighbourhood and with Simon’s knock.
“Nimefukuza hiyo watu, wameenda,” he continued next to the still closed door.

Norah opened the door, relieved, but still shaken.
“Eh, nilikuwa nimeshtuka!  Haki ahsante sana, Simon,” Norah greeted him, door now open.  The dim light of the moonlight aiding in visibility and the light in the house now lit.
“Hiyo mikora ilikuwa tatu, iliruka kwa ukuta kama mashetani,” he described laughingly.
“Phew!  Ahsante!”

What a good ending, I thought.  No one was harmed.  And for sure no one was harmed and nothing was stolen this time round.  Previously, some of their chicken had been stolen in the dead of night by similar or same thugs.

But wait a minute, there is a part that I nearly forgot….

When Norah was now about to say her goodnight, she looked down the frame of Simon to note that he was armed with a slasher, but was also stark naked!
“Simon, eh, kuna endaje?,” she gestured downwards.

Simon seemed perplexed at the question, not sure he understood, before he followed the gesture of Norah's hand.
“Oh, oh, oh,” Simon responded and looked down on himself too, realizing for the first time that he was naked.

He abruptly and unexpectedly dashed off in full flight, without a word, and jumped over the fence to his compound, leaving Norah bewildered and at a loss of words.  She heard a loud thud on the other side of the compound as Simon fell over.  She did not know whether to get back to the house and lock or what was going on exactly.

It did not take long before she heard yet another thud as Simon jumped back to Josh’s compound now dressed up, still recovering her breath.
“Unajua nilikuwa nalala tu hivyo.  Lakini niliposikia nduru, nika amka tu hivyo na mzee nje,” he explained himself, and soon even forgot about the double-jump over his fence, and continued, “Lakini hiyo mikora iliruka ukuta kama mashetani!”

WWB, the Coach, Nairobi, Kenya, November 15, 2023

The run that I did not finish… almost

The run that I did not finish… almost

Runs can be mean!  And no other run has turned out to be meaner than the August international marathon of Friday, August 25, 2023.  This was meant to be a run like any other.  I had already done seven other similar runs and they had all turned just fine.  I did not think anything of this eighth run on the 2023 calendar.  If anything, my last run early in this same month had been a 30k on the same route within 2hr 43min, and it came and went without much ado.

That last run had been my motivation as a prepared for this August run.  My mind was already preparing for a repeat of this 30.  My scheme was to do a 42k full marathon this Friday.  Let me explain….

I had started my day by walking to a medical centre at Kangemi on Waiyaki way.  It was a routine 3km walk to the centre and another three back.  Something had, however, been off with that particular visit.  I had arrived early, as early as nine, and found the centre just preparing to start their operations, which they should have started at eight.  I even picked ticket numero uno.

I was momentarily at the pharmacy, where I presented my medical card and started waiting for the attendant to finally call me up.  The centre had gone paperless and I therefore did not have a prescription to present.  It was somewhere doing rounds ‘in the system’.  He called me up at some point, after a forever wait.  He soon pointed to some paper and asked me to sign.  He then asked me to pick my card as he presented back one copy of the signed receipt.

The procedure did not seem right, but I still picked up the card.  I was just about to leave, when I decided to ask him if he had done any billing.  I know the billing process should have required the scanning of a fingerprint and all, which had not happened yet.

“Oh em gee!,” he exclaimed, “Imagine, I forgot!  Place the card on the reader again.”

I was taking my black tea some one hour later after that event that it dawned on me that that pharmacist had not given me the medicine.  It was therefore with lots of curses that I did another 3k walk back to Kangemi to go and get the medicine, before I ‘cursingly’ walked another three back to the office.  Anyway, bad things happen to even good people, so it was just one of those bad days.

I took a lunch hour coffee while still feeling good and ready for the run.  I had already registered 12km on my legs so far, and was already scheming to add another 30k run to the mix.  That would give me the magical 42k – a full marathon all in one day!  Can there be any other better day than this?

I started the run at 1600 hours.  Mathew had already informed me that he was not joining in.  It was therefore going to be a lonely run, but a runner gotta do what a runner gotta do, so it was all well.  The weather was just perfect.  Just a bit of sun, but not that type of sun that burns.  It was the type that jus keeps you warm.  The air was still.  I wished it was a bit windy, but not today.  I would have to run on the still heated air but with a moderate solar heat, so not bad.

My troubles started on the fifth kilometre as I was running downhill towards Wangari Maathai institute on Kapenguria road, after having gone past Kabete Poly, crossed the Waiyaki way and had joined Kapenguria road.  I had already passed through the Ndumboini stage and survived the matatu and motorbike madness that keeps that road junction impassible.

Contrary to expectations, running downhill is never easy.  However, it should also not be very tedious.  In my case I could hardly ‘roll’ down.  My legs started developing a strange sense of tiredness.  I did self-talk to the effect that the downhill would soon come to an end, and I would eventually face the uphill towards Lower Kabete road.  It did not get better.  The uphill became worse than I thought.  It was just painful climbing that hill, where I was sprinting hardly twenty days ago.

Another self-talk propelled me upto Lower Kabete road and I did the left turn to run on the mild hill towards the rough road to Mary Leakey school and eventually to the University farm.  It got worse!  Worse I tell you!  And it did not improve, it kept getting worse!

My legs could hardly move, even as I finally crossed through the Uni farm and emerged at the tank on Kanyariri road tarmac.  It is at this point that I almost just turned back to my left to get to Ndumboini and back to the finish.  But even that very thought was a bit of a stretch!  My real intention was just to DNF* at this point and take a motorbike back, and there were plenty waiting at the roadside boda boda stage.

*DNF – ‘did not finish’, one of those things that happen to others, and you wish does not happen to you

I looked at my timer.  It had recorded just 13k.  Here I was ready to stop my run at just 13k!  I was not going to think any twice about this decision.  This was it.  I had had it for the day.  Of course, I could try and squeeze some run into the equation and run the about 4k back to the finish and register a 17k marathon.  But any thought of the way ‘run’ was just painful at this point.  However, it is this very thought of doing ‘just 17k’ that shamed me into action.  I do a 17 on a typical lunch hour run!  How can I register the same on a monthly international marathon?

I found myself caught up between a ‘13k DNF’, a ‘17k marathon’ or doing something about this run to still salvage it.  My mind instructed me to salvage it and forced my hardly movable legs into action.  I turned right and continued onto Kanyariri road, counting every painful step as I went along.  For the first time I kept a close watch on my watch, waiting for a 15k turnback point to eventually show up on the screen.  I was going to make a turnback at 15k and be heading back home, if I was even going to get to that point.  It was that bad!

I finally, amid hardly-movable legs, made a U-turn at the 15k mark somewhere along Kanyariri road and started running back towards Ndumboini.  My legs were tired and painful with every step.

“What did I get myself into,” I found myself saying out loudly at some point as I faced the Ndumboini hill.

“What did I get myself into,” I kept repeating audibly as the hill slowed me down almost to a standstill.

It is now about two weeks later, but I cannot tell you how I even managed to finish that run.  I do not know what was happening to me on that day.  I just know that I eventually reached the finish after 21.15km in 2.04.44, recording my PW (personal worst time).  I was just a few more steps before I could have collapsed.  I am glad that I finished run before this happened.  On reflection, I now know that even those 12km walks that I did earlier in the day counted.  I had initially assumed that they would have no bearing on my performance but I was wrong.  Even a seasoned runner can be wrong.

WWB, the Coach, Nairobi, Kenya, Sep. 8, 2023

Valenthon that was tougher than Kili

Valenthon that was tougher than Kili

If all had worked out, I would now be recuperating from a run at Kilimanjaro mountain.  But things did not work out.  I did not manage to travel to Tanzania, despite the best of efforts.  I still missed the bus.  It is for that reason that it is a run day Sunday in Kili but I am still in Nairobi and surviving another hot afternoon, a second hot afternoon.  Though I missed the Kili, I still had my own International marathon on Friday, February 24.  This was yet another monthly marathon arranged by the MOE*.

I know that folks are wondering what happened to the January international, since there was mention nor a blog story about it.  I will tell you why there was no story about it.  It turned out to be exactly as what I had written about in November and December, that is, I was alone on that long 21km route and I lived to tell.  I did not want to duplicate a story already written in November, so I left it untold.

I have just seen postings of the performance by the Kenyan team members who went to Kili and who did their run today, Sunday.  I congratulate them.  I do not envy them.  I know how hot the run must have been, though they had the privilege and opportunity of being supplied with water, soda and fruits.  I did experience a similarly tough run on Friday, albeit without any water or nourishment in that hot Friday evening.

Let me thank Mathew for ensuring that this story is written, otherwise I would be skipping the writing and referring runners to the December event if I would have run solo on this hot February.  In fact, I was prepared for yet another solo run, with Edu having conveniently cancelled his participation hardly 3-days to the event.  He was the only team member that was capable to taking up the challenge.  His excuse this time round was an evening meeting on the Friday, but I knew better.  While the meeting was convenient, the real reason was the fear of being roasted in the scorching sun.  He even let that sentiment slip, but it was too late to state that this was not his reason for cancellation.

I started the run at four from the locker room, and headed to the ‘real’ starting point at the generator.  I did not expect anyone to be joining me on this run.  I just ran there as a routine to get this run officially started.  It was a pleasant surprise to see Mathew, a second time runner at that starting point.  The last time I did a run with him was sometime in November, when Edu was also in that trio.  We had run the Mary Leakey route on a 13km distance in an evening.  It was a general slow run.

We were meeting for a second run, four months later.

“Where is your water?,” I asked, as we prepared to reflag the run.  I had my own 500ml water bottle, whose content was already warm, despite having filled in some cold water hardly ten minutes prior.  The weather was just blazing hot.

“Will I need it?”

“Did you not read the notice?  We said that every runner must carry some water.  This heat is nothing to joke with!”

“I will buy some along the way,” he shrugged.

We started the run, as he confirmed that this was his first run on the 21km route.  It was a slow run ab-initio.  We ran together through the designated route to Waiyaki way and crossed over to Ndumboini.  We went down Kapenguria road, past Wangari Maathai institute and ended up on Lower Kabete road.  From there we turned left and ran about a kilometre, to once again turn left through the rough road past Mary Leakey and eventually traversed the university farm.  We finally emerged at the tank, and joined Kanyariri road.  We turned right and kept going, slowly, though I could at times increase pace go gain over five minutes, only to stop and wait for Mathew to join in.

Running on Kanyariri road from the tank to Gitatu underpass and back was the hardest part of the run, with all the sun and the tiredness continuously setting in.  Eventually, Mathew took a break to buy his water at ‘the tank’, which is the junction to the rough road towards University farm.  On the return leg we would however not go back to the farm, but instead keep to the Kanyariri road tarmac all the way back to Ndumboini and do the same route back to the starting line.  I had hardly touched my water.  It was already boiling inside that plastic bottle.

I did a few tweaks and variations of the run to give myself some extra mileage as I also allowed Mat to catch up.  Finally, after almost 2hr 30min in the hot sun, that was now slowly fading off as the sun sets, we did finish the run.  I stopped my timer at 02.27.01 after 24.30km, with an average of 6.03.  I did not know that running slowly can be that tiring.  But that was not my Kili tiredness moment.

The tiredness moment came when I was walking home at about eight in the evening.  My body was just too lethargic.  I struggled to get to the home and literally collapsed into the house.  I took a litre of coke soda, but that did not seem to quench my thirst.  I tried to eat something, I do not even know what, but I was just not myself.  At some point in the night I did fall asleep.

I woke up yesterday and found an open bottle of soda by the bedside, and some half eaten food.  I cannot even remember how I left these leftovers, yet my mind had convinced me that I had partaken them all.  At that moment of waking up I surely confirmed that dehydration was real.  Worse can really happen if an athlete lets dehydration have its way.  This was the worst feeling that I have had in many years.  I survived the last Kili over the 42km in 2020, but it did not feel this bad.  The aftereffects of the Valenthon were just from another world!

*MOE = marathoners of expert, the committee that organizes for marathons 

WWB, the Coach, Nairobi, Kenya, Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023

25 on 25

25 on 25

It was not my intention to run on the day when the Christian faith was in a birthday party, but it just turned out to be.  After all, it is very long since I did a run, as ‘very long’ as nine days.  The last run was the December international marathon aka ‘the boycott version 2’.  On this date of December 16, my running team, once again, boycotted the run, after doing the same in November.  I knew that this would happen since the three regular runners had said or had done everything that they could to ensure that they missed this run…. and they did give it to me the best way that they thought fit.

Let me start with Karl.  He had peeped through my door on Thursday, a day to the run, at about 12.30pm.

“I feel like I can go a ka-tooo kooo run, maybe to tarmac.  Can we go?”

I would usually have said yes, since the tarmac run route just goes from Uthiru, through Kapenguria road all the way to the Lower Kabete road, where you do a U-turn and back.  The run is anything from ten to thirteen kilometres, depending on the tweaks that you add to it.

“But why would you be running when we have the big run tomorrow?,” I asked him even as he kept holding the door ajar.

“Kesho siko, naenda shags, Mwingi, I have something to do.”

So that is how I got the first regret over the attendance of the Friday run.  Of course I did not join him for the Thursday run.  I was not messing the international.

The second semblance of an apology came from Edu.  He had been on a daily run on this month of December for whatever reason.  Marathoners do things that are sometimes not understandable to the rest of us, marathoners and even non-marathoners.  I had met him one week prior, as we were preparing for this run.  This was during the staff party that was meant to mark the end of the year, the first such party since 2019.  Corona had put a break to gatherings and mass events since that time.  The very corona that is now technically eradicated or a live-with disease, or did I hear that it has had a resurgent from where it first started in China?  

The corona that causes COVID-19 disease, which has now infected 661.7M people globally with 6.68M deaths, hence 1% deaths of the confirmed infections.  Kenyan numbers now stand at 342,470 and 5,688 respectively.  Of course, deaths from road accidents in Kenya this year has surpassed this number.  That is why I believe that corona ended and other things took over, but let me get back to the story.

That on December ninth.  It was the end year party, when the dress code was ‘the 70s’, and Edu was adorned with an Afro wig, a waist high pair of trousers with suspenders, with others in similar for guys and girls with short short-skirts.  On this day of the end year party, when I was in a grey suit and tie – which was surely a theme dress.  If anything, I had overdone it since I was even in a pre-70s attire anyway.  I did meet Edu and we talked briefly as we picked the food and drink stamps.  He had mentioned that he would be travelling out of the city from the next week.  He did not mention anything about the marathon.  I was left to add the one-plus-one on this.  For information, that suit was in readiness of a major award, more on this upon enquiry.

Lastly, it was Beryl who did a number on me.  We had had a Wednesday evening run, just two day prior, with compulsion coming from my side, since it was my run day and she had to follow suit.  She had confirmed that she would participate in the Friday run, but not the full distance.  I had my doubts.  She has not participated in any international since the corona pandemic.  I was doubtful that she would be doing a second run, albeit even shorter, two days after this run.  I did not say as much.  It was therefore no surprise when I got a WhatsApp message on the Friday of the run that was brief and to the point, “Have a good run, we shall speak after the run.”

It was therefore a second time in less than three weeks that I was facing an international run alone and lonely.  The things that I do for the team!  The run was the usual.  From Uthiru through Kapenguria road to Lower Kabete road for a brief run, then turn to the Uni farm past Mary Leakey school, then join Kanyariri road to Kanyariri centre for the right turn all the way to the underpass on Wangige road and back straight to Uthiru.  The weather remained warm and a bit sunny.  I cleared the 24.45k in an average of 5min 00sec per km in a 1796-1935m elevation range.

I subsequently vowed not to do nothing for the team.  And took the end of year leave to prove the point.  I was relaxing and enjoying the good holiday, doing nothing, when the run bug bit me on Saturday night.  I therefore woke up early, at eight-thirty, on this Sunday and just left for the run.  I was doing this run at the home of champions, though I did not expect meet any champion on this morning.  After all, it was Christmas day, and most people were preoccupied with the day’s festivities, be it in church or in the hood.  I met lots of singing from the churches along the route.  I hardly met people on the road, even the motorbikes were relatively few on this day.

I was doing my usual circuits on one side of the Sosiani river, with Eldy town rising to its fullness on the other side of the river.  The circuit is just over 5km.  It is mostly hilly, but it is so far the only route that I could formulate, that avoids the vehicular traffic as much as possible.  Avoiding a competition with motor vehicles is one of the things that you want to do with your runs when you have an option.  I did four full loops and a conclusion run on the fifth one that did not go all the way.  I finished the run just before eleven, having covered 25.69k at an average of 5min 11sec per km.  The elevation of the run ranging from 2054m to 2104m.  I just hope that the run bug spares me and allows me to take a rest until I resume the runs officially in January week 2.

Merry Christmas!

WWB, Eldoret, Kenya, Sunday, December 25, 2022

November International boycott… when action is louder

November International boycott… when action is louder

The MoE* had communicated the Friday, November 25, 2022 date for the November international marathon as early as October, just after the Stanchart Nairobi International.  I was therefore confident that this scheduled run would attract many runners who had about a month to prepare.  The card was also full of choice – anything from 2km to the big 21km.  There was therefore something for everyone.

*MoE – Marathoners of expert, the committee that organizes marathons

Three weekly reminders later, and the day for the marathon was at hand.  This was the day.  It was a Friday with a good weather, unlike the evening rains that had ‘spoilt’ a few evenings earlier in the week.  A semblance of cloud cover brought about an overcast day in the afternoon, but the rain clouds remained absent.  The sun would force itself out of the clouds by four, and it remained bright thereafter all the way to sunset.

I expected a big turnout, but things would take a turn at about two.  Beryl was the first to make her way into my office, all smiles…

“I come in peace,” she knocked onto the frame of the open door.

“What a good marathon we shall have!,” I responded.  She surely must have been quite serious about the run to make it for the run this early, with two more hours before the start.

“I come with a peace offering,” she exposed a shopping bag and extended it in my direction.

There in lied the catch.  Nobody gives a peace offering when there is no war.  I however let it slip as I had an immediate encounter with Edu, who was just close behind.

“Coach, imagine I have a meeting at four,” he said in a manner of greeting, as Beryl took a seat.  I was now settled back to my seat.  Rummaging through the shopping bag.

I looked up.  He was still filing the door.  I had known that this type of statement would be coming sooner or later.  This is because Edu is usually the most enthusiastic of the runners in the team.  He would already have reminded me at least thrice that we had a marathon and that we shall be running.  He had done no such thing.  He had not contacted me at all since Stanchart.  

If anything, I had even met him on Thursday, just a day to the run.  I was finishing off my lunch hour run on the 17k, while he was walking leisurely with colleagues.  He would normally have even blocked my way and reminded me of the Friday run, lest I forget.  Not this time.  He just waved me along on this Thursday.  Those right there were signs that he was not running this international, but I still hoped otherwise.

Now it was all clear.  Edu was not doing the November international.  Edu would momentarily be gone, as I was now left with the peace offering to savor.

“Imagine I have to see my sis off,” she broke the silence, getting my attention off the bag of fruits.

“You mean!?”

“Yea, my sis is travelling abroad, and this is the day to say our goodbyes.”

Which coach in his right mind can refuse to grant a runner such a request? 

With no other confirmations for this Friday run, I knew that I was surely on my own.

When I started the run at four, I just left and did not look back.  I did not find or see any other runners, nor did I expect to find or see any other runner.  I was doing this on my own, for the team.  I was doing the run for all.  While the first 5k seemed relaxed and comfortable, as I run from Uthiru across Waiyaki way to Ndumboini then Kapenguria road, my real troubles started after the river on Kapenguria road.  My stomach just started paining.  I had not taken any other solid meal apart from tea and bread for breakfast, so this was a pain that I could not explain.  It was not a stitch, it would not be a stitch.  I wished it would go away.  It did not.

I was barely able to run as I traversed the university farm just past the 10k mark.  I was going to have quite an uncomfortable run, but it was now too late.  I would just have to endure to the end.  And the end was still far!  I was hardly halfway through.

Sheer willpower and pain endurance kept me going all the way to the turning point below Gitaru-Wangige overpass, before making my way back on Kanyariri road, to Ndumboini, then back to Waiyaki way and finally to Kabete Poly just 2k from my finishing point.

It was a relief to just somehow finish the run.  I did not care about the time.  I was just glad that I had done it.  The average run turned out to be 5m09s per km on the 24.5km course that took me 2hr 6min.  I was by now too thirsty having been unable to take any water in the course fearing the reaction of my stomach to water in my state of distress.  The thing that kept me going was the thought of the assortment of fruits waiting for me upon completion.

WWB, the Coach, Nairobi, Kenya, Nov. 27, 2022

When ‘return’ does not mean ‘return’

When ‘return’ does not mean ‘return’

Read previous story about Addis here

I was having my last run before the Stanchart Nairobi International marathon scheduled for next Sunday, October 30, 2022.  This last rehearsal of today would see me go the Mary Leakey route and attempt to conquer 17k in 5min per km speed.  I failed in the speed test, just managing a 5min 04sec, but what is, is.  The run of this distance usually takes me from Uthiru to Kabete Poly, then I cross the highway towards Ndumbo shopping centre to then run down Kapenguria road.  At the end of Kapenguria is Lower Kabete road, where I turn left and run about a k, then turn left again to run through the dirt trails past Mary Leakey school and then across the University farm.  I finally emerge at Kanyariri road for yet another left.  This point at ‘the tank’ marks the return, a return that surely takes me back to where I started.

But hardly two days ago I had a different ‘return’ episode.  One that has refused to leave my system.  I booked my travel to a funeral of a sister-in-law, which I later learned was called ‘korera’.  Of course, the twist-of-tongue would make this to be ‘cholera’ for quite some time before getting the correct pronunciation.  That is a story for another day.  The first thing I had to do was to book a night bus on Wednesday night, being October 19, then book another night bus on Thursday night.  I was taking advantage of the Thursday holiday to attend this event.  I was set to be back on duty on Friday morning.

I accessed the online booking platform on Buupass and searched for a bus to Rongo for Wednesday.  I found four, two leaving in the morning and two leaving in the evening.  I chose the night bus that left the latest, being 2145hrs.  I had to make a selection between ‘one-way’ or ‘return’ on the same booking system.  I knew that I had to get back to the city, and so I did select the return option.  The next page on the system allowed me to select the seat for the travel on Wednesday, and another seat for the return trip on Thursday.  I paid the two fares combined using MPESA and momentarily got an SMS message confirming the two tickets, with their unique numbers and dates of travel.

I was set and ready for the sojourn and I did not have any worries in the world.  I picked my hardcopy ticket at Easy Coach station at Railways on Wednesday evening, but they could not give me a return ticket, stating that such can only be got at the departure station in Rongo the next day.  Anyway, I had my SMS tickets and did not mind getting the return ticket as I came back.  Of course, in the era of saving the environment, I still wonder why we have to get a printed ticket when we already have an e-ticket, but rules are rules.

The night travel to Rongo was uneventful.  The bus left Nairobi at 2200hrs and was at Narok at 1am for a 30-minute stopover break.  We passed by Bomet at three, passed through Kisii town at five and landed at Rongo at 5.40am.  I attended the event and later at six got back to Rongo town ready for the night travel back to the city.

I presented myself to pick a ticket at 7.30pm, ready for the bus scheduled for 8.45pm.  I showed the attendant the SMS message and he proceeded to do something on the computer behind the counter.

“Hi ticket hakuna,” he responded after 5-minutes of doing-whatever-he-was-doing, “Uli book kweli?”

“Si ndio hiyo SMS, ina onyesha nili lipa twenty-five hundred, ya kuja na kurudi Nairobi”

He reconfirmed the amount, then consulted his system once more.  He returned the same verdict, “Ulibook kweli, hakuna kitu kwa system”

We were about to start a singing game of ‘I booked’, ‘You did not’, when another person emerged from behind the counter.  He seemed to be the supervisor.

“Nini mbaya?,” he asked.

“Nili book lakini na ambiwa siku book,” I beat the operator to the response.

“Lete message,” he said, even as I gave out my phone to him to read the SMS.

“Lakini mbona inasema Narobi-Rongo route at 9.45pm?”

“Mimi nilibook return, na unaweza ona both tickets hapo kwa message, moja ya kuja, na nyingine ya kurudi,” I reminded him, though he was still holding the phone and the SMS message was gazing straight at him.

He instructed the operator to do some things as I listened.  He asked him to search for some numbers, then to check some other numbers, then finally, to check the bus from Nairobi to Rongo for this Thursday night.

That is when the eureka moment came.

“Ndio hiyo,” he said loudly, looking at the computer screen behind the counter.  I was opposite them and barricaded from seeing what they were seeing by some imposing metallic grills.

“Wewe uli book basi ya Nairobi hadi Rongo ya leo usiku”

Are you the hech serious!  How can I book a bus from Nairobi when I am in Rongo!

“Yani, ‘return’ ina maana gani?,” I asked, almost agitated but keeping my cool, since I really wanted some resolution to get me back to the city.

“Eh, hiyo, eh… wacha niangalie,” he responded and started to instruct the operator again.

“System inasema uli book Nairobi hadi Rongo tena,” he said, evidently also stuck.

“Lakini app ya Buu pass ilisema ni return, kwani ‘return’ si ‘return’?”

I then witnessed as they first issued and printed a ticket for me reading Nairobi to Rongo, then cancelled the same ticket with two lines drawn across its front face, then rebooked me on a Rongo-Nairobi bus.  I was soon holding a ticket reading Rongo to Nairobi for a bus scheduled for 8.45pm.  That time came and for sure the bus was there.  I was on another night travel hardly 24-hours later, reaching Nairobi Railway bus station at 4am on Friday.  I managed to be on duty on Friday at 7.45am, tired to the core, but glad that the weekend would soon be coming for me to get a proper rest.

So, when you do a return-booking, just be aware that return could mean ‘do the same trip twice’.

WWB, Nairobi, Kenya, Sunday, Oct. 23, 2022

Sprinters delight lives up to expectations… but wait!

Sprinters delight lives up to expectations… but wait!

The July international marathon of last Friday, July 29, 2022, had been publicized since the June international run.  We knew that it shall come to pass, and come to pass it did on that last Friday.  We were four when we started the 21k of the June run.  We had hoped for a bigger starting lineup in July, but that did not happen.  Even a 15-minute wait beyond the stipulated 1600hrs starting time did not improve the numbers.  Karl, Edu and I remained the only people still standing even at this delayed time.

We just had to start.  The day was cool, just about cold.  The ‘sprinters delight’ has been crafted by the MOE* as the day for runners to sprint away and break records, after the many group runs that have been done since March.  We expected PBs on this day, and we did not keep any secrets about this requirement.  We publicized this encouragement throughout the month of July as we sent email updates and reminders.  And… finally, it was the day to get it done.

*MOE = marathoners of expert, the committee that organizes run events

Unlike a group run whose pace is dictated by the slowest runner, the sprinters run is dictated by the person running.  You ‘close your eyes’ aka ignore every other runner, and just go for it.  Of course, you need to push a little harder than usual during such a run, since you need to break some form of record.  That was our collective mentality as we started our run at 1615hrs.

I was on my own by the first kilometre.  I did not look back and kept going.  The weather was just too cool.  The run seemed easy despite the terrain that is hilly from the start, with just a short reprieve from Ndumbo past Wangari Maathai to the river, on Kapenguria road.  After that river it is a general uphill to the 13km turning point under the Gitaru-Wangige road.  Even after that turning point the terrain remains generally hilly until you get back to the tank on Kanyariri road, ready to do a short kilometre of rundown to the bottom of Ndumboini.  You then face the last major hill that ends at Waiyaki way, then it is generally flat to the finish line.

The terrain did not disappoint.  It remained heavy on the legs, but it was a sprinting day, and so the run continued at a generally faster pace.  I met Karl and Edu on my 14.5km mark.  They still had to do a 1.5km run to the 13km turning point.  We raised our hands through the air in a manner of acknowledging each other and we went our opposite ways.

My run on Kanyariri road back to Ndumbo then to the starting line at Uthiru was as expected.  You just need to survive that 1.5km Ndumbo hill and once on Waiyaki way you are generally done with the run.  I was therefore generally done with the run when I crossed Waiyaki way and just ran past the Kabete Police station towards the turning point at N-junction.  I was soon at the finishing line at 1751hrs.  The data recorded on Runkeeper was 21.27km, 1.41.26, 4:46 average, 408m climb.

The only explanation for the fast pace was the ‘sprinters delight’.  I had previously tried to prepare for this run by doing several shorter distances but could not get to under 4.47 average.  Even another test run, after the fact, on a 17k route today did not get me to 4.46.  I was still on 4.47.  With no other sprinters run until Nairobi International Marathon of October 30, I can for sure say that this was the best run in the year.  

However, I have seen the body behave in ways unimaginable.  I had given up on ever running under 5.00 average for most of the year, only for the booster vaccine to kick in and to since be under 5.00 on every run.  That means that you cannot predict what shall happen on the next run.  The impossible can happen.  Just be ready for it.  Enjoy it when it comes.  After all, your best run is on the day that you are running that run… that is when the unexpected can happen.

WWB, the coach, Nairobi, Kenya, August 1, 2022

Booster vaccines boosts the run – the truth is out

Booster vaccines boosts the run – the truth is out

Yesterday was another runday Monday.  My first run in over one week.  The first run since that corona booster vaccine of last week.  The weather has been cold and unforgiving most of this month.  I have used the weather as the excuse of not going out there.  However, the run finally called me to action yesterday.  I first of all realized that we shall be having the July International marathon just next week, on July 29.  That meant that I needed to start my preps.  

Secondly, being out of the road for over a week is not recommended.  It is just a very long ‘time out’ by any definition.  The only time I have taken a week or more out of the run has been during the long holidays in December, when I go back to my roots and spend the endless days doing nothing, just savouring the good weather under the mango tree.  It is not yet December for those who may not have checked, hence I am not yet entitled to an ‘under the mango tree’ moment.

So, I get out of the warm office on this Monday and immediately gets hit by the cold mid-day weather.  I get almost frozen out before I even make the first few steps of the run.  I encourage myself on, saying that what must be done must be done.  I convince myself that the weather shall improve with time, or the body shall adapt to the cold with time.  I keep running and none of these two wishes come true.  It remains cold and the body fails to adapt.  I can feel the cold.  No wind, just cold.

I would usually have done a 10km run on Kapenguria road to Lower Kabete tarmac junction as the turnback point then back, but that did not happen yesterday.  I instead found myself going to Mary Leakey route, which is not a route that you would usually do over the lunch hour, since it is at least 13k.  It is difficult to fit 13k of hills into the one-hour lunch hour break, but sometimes you have to push the body to limits that you would otherwise not.  This was one of those lunch hours to keep pushing.

I have been to this Mary Leakey route for many years, and I was not expecting any surprises.  I was just worrying about the uphill towards Ndumboini on my way back after exiting from the University farm at the tank and turning to my left back to Ndumboini.  If only someone, I do not know who, could remove that hill!

Anyway, I was on the 10k mark when I started on that uphill that would end on the 11k mark.  From there it was just a turnback across Waiyaki Way and back to Kabete Poly to head towards the finish of the run in less than 10-minutes.  The run ended with an average of 5.07min per k on a 15.4km distance.  That was probably the fastest I have managed on that route maybe forever since this is not a usual run route.  The tweaks, including the 21k version curved out of this, is like the norm.

Today was not a runday Tuesday.  If anything, I had already taken a heavy lunch and was not set for any run.  I would usually do an evening run-walk upon being booked by a student of run.  I had not been booked and I therefore was not intending to do any runs on this Tuesday.  However, as it would turn out to be, I just decided to get out of the warm office at four, changed into the run gear, then was off for yet another run on the Mary Leakey route.  The evening run experience was just similar to yesterday’s in terms of the weather – cold and chilly.  

I was now even having a last minute decision to have a 5-runs-in-5-days challenge, though it had not been sanctioned by the MOE yet.  After all, last month this 5-in-5 happened just a week to the international run.  This is also the week before the July international.  I am nonetheless not sure if I shall have the willpower to do another 3 runs in the week, especially now that I am doing the longer versions of run.  But the speed on this Tuesday run was now even improved to 5.03mpk on a 17.11km distance.

Now, the only variable that I can attribute to these improved speeds is…. yes, you guessed it…. the COVID19 booster vaccine of last week.  That shot has boosted me in more ways than one.  I am now faster, based on a sample size of two runs out of two.  The booster that is meant to prevent severe illness and hospitalization from corona virus disease (COVID) is just the thing that probably all marathoners need!  The very corona virus that has infected* 569,036,399 people in the planet resulting into 6,390,296 deaths, with Kenyan numbers being 336,904 and 5,668 respectively.  Wait till I do the July international marathon codenamed ‘Sprinters delight’ when runners should do their fastest runs, and you shall prove my ‘boosted’ theory.  Free advice – Take a booster shot, it helps!

*worldometers website

WWB, the Coach, Nairobi, Kenya, July 19, 2022

5 runs in 5 days challenge – Day 1 of 5

5 runs in 5 days challenge – Day 1 of 5

I knew that it would be a tough week when the MOE* introduced the 5-runs-in-5-days challenge.  The email notification was direct and to the point, “This week’s challenge is the 5-runs-in-5-days starting today, and daily, until Friday”

*MOE = marathoners of expert, the committee that organizes the run events

“What is wrong with the MOE,” I heard a colleague marathoner asking soon after the email was sent around ten in the morning on this downcast Monday, June 13.

“What about?,” I queried.

“Imagine, they have set a 5-day run without notice!  They want to kill us before next week’s marathon, or something!?”

“Must be ‘or something’,” I responded.

I knew, being part of the MOE, that this was a last-minute surprise that was meant to invigorate the group that has been quite low since the COVID19 hiatus that started March 2020.  Worldwide corona virus related deaths were virtually zero at that point in time.  Two years and three months later and the global* death toll has now reached 6,332,729 from 541,127,668 confirmed infections, hence a death rate of 1.2%.  Kenya numbers were now standing at 5,651 and 327,145 respectively, hence a mortality rate of 1.7%.

*source: worldometers website

However, many things had happened since that fateful March 13, 2020 date when Kenya was put on a corona lockdown.  We now have at least four approved COVID19 vaccines in use worldwide, out of which the country has benefited from many free doses.  Mass vaccination has majorly put a halt to corona.  We no longer put on masks.  Social distancing is a vocabulary nearly forgotten and is likely to slip out of our normal lingua.  We no longer ‘gota’ to greet.  We have gone back to real handshakes.  I do not even remember the last time that I saw or used a hand sanitizer!

So, the MOE we just sprucing up things by throwing in this 5-day challenge at no notice.  It has never been done before, but the time was right.  The deal was made sweeter by the stipulation that ‘the distance did not matter’.  It was therefore a doable thing.

I knew that the first, second and fourth runs would be the most difficult.  The first run occurs when the body is coming from some restful period.  In my case I had not been on the road for a run since last Tuesday.  Seven days of no run would make run day number 1 a difficult one.  Number 2 run is usually difficult due to the pain of the first run.  The fourth run comes at a time when you do not want to let yourself down as you gear up for the final.  That anxiety can cause you to miss that run number 4.  The final run is just pure adrenaline.  It is the final and you must just do it.

The first run lived to its expectations.  The day was cold, if anything, chilly.  There had been no ray of sun from the early morning, if anything, it drizzled.  I was lethargic from a long rest period.  I however found myself at the locker room ready for the run.  I had already decided that the challenge shall all be run on the Uthiru-Kabete Poly-Ndumboini-Wangari Maathai-Kapenguria road-river-tarmac and back circuit.  That would give me at least a 10k per day.  That was a doable daily distance, hopefully.

I started the run at 12.45pm.  It turned out to be a cold run on a 12.6km course, over the lunch hour in 1:06:27.  I finished the run without a sweat, just due to the sheer intensity of the cold weather.  That does not mean that I was having it easy.  Far from it.  I was tired, thirsty, and hungry.  I however knew that the real test would be on the Tuesday run, the number 2 run.

WWB, the Coach, Nairobi, Kenya, June 15, 2022