Longtom Marathon - March 29, 2008

This entry was written on March 29, same day as elections in Zimbabwe. I was going to wait til those results were announced as well to post this, but I've grown tired of waiting...

This morning at 7 am, there were 21.1 kilometers (13 miles) of incredibly gorgeous mountain roads stretched ahead of me. Two hours and one minute later, they were behind me as I crossed the finish line in the stadium in Lydenburg, Mpumalanga.

I began “training” for the marathon about five weeks ago and averaged 1 run a week, mostly due to rains or working late, interrupted by an incredible trip to visit Julie, my girlfriend. Any funds I collected were donated to an organization called KLM to benefit carefully scholars in Mpumalanga. See the entry labeled Kids and No more Chia Pet.

As this was my first half-marathon, it was very interesting. Since I had been running on flat sandy ground, the ups and downs of the mountains were quite a novel experience- especially the three major climbs in the course. The downhill portions were rather nice, though they presented their own challenges. For me, the most difficult portions for me where kilometers 3-5 and the final three kilometers in the race, which I took seriously enough to finish, but was enjoying it throughout (I think I even managed to smile in photos), looking at the scenery and chatting with other volunteers who were running the race with me. There were 68 participating, about half ran, the other half walked and two participated in the Ultra… a race of 56 km (34 miles). I had a great time and it was nice to be able to run with other volunteers, most of who had not run a half marathon before. I started with one, then was a bit faster on a climb and then another volunteer joined me, and then another. We stayed together for about 16 km and then with three kilometers left one sped up and I stayed with him, but his burst lasted until the 1,5 km mark, where I continued the pace and finished.

I ended up with one of the top 10 times of the volunteers and one of the top three in my group, which I was quite satisfied with, because I had only hoped to finish. What made life even better (besides the free food/water/powerade) was the free massage that we could get at the end of the race. I don’t think I’ve ever had my legs massaged before, but it was pretty good.

Right when I finished I was rather tired, but after some liquids and about five minutes, I was feeling really great. Sure my calves hurt and I had a small blister, but I had energy, which was kind of surprising. I stayed around to watch other volunteers finish the race while continuing to drink copious amounts of free liquids.

Now I’m sitting at the Backpacker’s (Sort of like a hostel) in Sabie and just finished watching a fire display. (Fire on the ends of chains twirled quickly, fire breathing, etc.) I made sure to replace the calories I lost by eating lots and splitting a six-pack with another volunteer. All of us are in various stages of pain and some of us walk a bit differently, but it has been great to see everyone and hope that you enjoy the pictures, whenever I'm able to access and use them. Thanks to Mr. Fine for use of the photos I have up already.