I thought it would be a great idea to join the other runners from Johannesburg to Marakele Marathon (2nd March 2013) in Limpopo Province, sometime away from the kids. Besides I started this year with a bang when it comes to running and going to the races. I joined a running club so that I will have an Athlete South Africa (ASA) license and save on temporal licenses that I buy for each and every race by the way I did that for the whole of 2012 and it’s time to be financially smarter Boss. The journey to Marakele National Park started on Friday right after work. I did not go back home because I packed everything the night before and yes I was going with my husband. We drove to Centurion where we were going to meet with other running club members to take a shuttle. We were on time, because I am good with time management (blowing my own horn) and had to wait for everyone else “you know African time hey”, after three hours of waiting at last we drove off to Marakele.
On the way it was really nice and I was guzzling on coke, I really like it but looks like it does not like me because it makes me feel guilty afterwards hahahaa. We arrive at our destination at around past ten at night and our food was prepared already, it was a braai style. I ate beef, mutton and sausage accompanied by some salads. I was so full, and the meat is very heavy in my stomach. It was time to sleep and our sleeping time was really limited as we had to wake up at 04:00am to prepare ourselves for the race. When I wake up in the morning my stomach was still bloated and full. I tried to go to the restroom to relieve myself, ouch there was nothing. Usually when I run 21KM I eat something light like oat meal but there was no way I could eat. I was still full from the braai, I had to go with my big stomach and told myself that I would just do the best that I can do with this situation. People were very few in this Marakele race with me being used to crowds and crowds of people for a race, you know in Johannesburg some people just come to the race to walk and chat nothing serious just enjoying the environment. I was going to run the 21km; I reckon there were serious runners here not the amateurs like me. None the less that did not discourage me, I prepared myself for 21KM and I am going to do it and not the 10KM that’s it. I have planned to do it less than three hours no matter how bad my situation. The race started at exactly six o’clock in the morning on the unpaved road with gravel, sand and stones. Things are just getting worse and worse for me. When the race started I was tempted to run as fast as everyone else but I told myself I am the one who knows my situation and if I want to finish this race I should be just steady and constant. It looks like that worked for me until I saw myself alone in the forest; I do not know whether to say forest or jungle because I felt like I was in a jungle.
I looked at the back there was no one and I looked in front of me there was no one either. I started to panic a little bit and I had to sort of follow the water plastics that the runners throw on the road that we get at water zones to affirm myself that I was still on the right trek. I told myself to enjoy the environment by the way I always carry my camera, if I see something interesting I will take photos but have to finish under three hours.
After a while I noticed some other ladies as well in front of me and realised ohh they were also tempted to gallop like the professional athletes at least now there was hope for my situation. As I am passing them I was supporting them with some remarks of hope just to hold on and keep up, something like “that’s a good pace you are having there hey”. As I was cruising now I saw the rhino poo but did not see the rhino and sometimes very far away I saw a baboon. I think is good I did not see the rhino “alone’?! No it was good, I cannot really imagine what I would have done mhm. I was starting to forget now my heavy stomach as I was enjoying my running, no, let’s say cruising, running I do not think will be perfect for this moment.
When I was one km away from 10.5KM mark, I saw more of the people that we started together the race coming back, it was a lap race and I thought to myself, I was not really bad as I supposed. I took them photos as they were running passing me and they also cheered me that I was doing well. I was the heaviest in that group hey; I mean my club group that did 21KM race dah. In the race I always get people I call race friends, those that either we have the same problem or they motivate me to be better. My first race friend for the Marakele Marathon was a white lady, wow! The woman was beautiful, the body was perfect for a fifty year old, yes I asked her how old she was. There was no way she could not answer me because I just could not stop showering her with praises and I mean genuine praises, from woman to woman. I am telling you, you could take her and a 21 year old and cut them both their heads off and ask a person who is older will say is the twenty-one year old. Definitely I asked for her secrete for looking so divine. She blamed it on genes, but inside I was like but you are in the race meaning you are the woman who really takes care of herself. As usually after that brief conversation she left and ran, could not see her, vanish in the forest, story of my life. I am used to that by now hahahaaa, oh my word, my my, my. I continued with my race, yes it’s mine, I have started it and I am going to finish it.
Here is my race friend number two a white male, looked younger than me and I did not ask him how old he is, I know, do not ask how, just know hahahaaa. I am never wrong with my race friends hey, you know that awkward moment of trying to talk to someone and you can see that you are annoying them and sheepishly go away, has not happened with me yet. I cannot remember my opening line with this one; I just knew we were in the same boat rocking it. At this moment my knees were painful I felt like a pressurised can as if I will open the knee and release the pressure. This young guy was experiencing the same thing as me and was also his first 21KM. He was a perfect race friend for me because now I could share my race experiences with someone you know who does not know much about the race and feel like a know it all athlete, you know what I mean. We ran together and supported each other that even though there is a pressure in our knees when we run; we must not give up and just walk but we must keep on trying and testing if we can run again sometimes some other things in the race they do not last is just for that moment. Moments like these I call them the devil moments, those moments that want you to feel like you are defeated when you are actually a winner. In life we must keep on hoping and trying things out, just because there is a stumbling block in front of you today does not mean tomorrow the block will still be there just keep pressing on. You will be surprised to find the door that was closed yesterday today is opened and realised that you have missed out on a great opportunity if you have not gone back and check. Hope is what keeps us determined for the best in everything. We started planning together our finishing with this young guy and said we should plan to finish this race with charisma and energy therefore we should estimate a good distance that we can sprint to the finish line and we must not finish it limping, we do not want people to feel sorry for us. Wow! Me and this guy we are just perfect, I thought he will find it ridiculous but he did not and we made a joke that when we get there to the finish line we should tell the marshals that we were actually doing 42KM when they point us to the 21KM medals tables.
And yes we did finish it less than three hours, I enjoyed myself that I forgot to check my finishing time and remembered after a while and realised was around thirteen minutes before three hours so maybe I finished around twenty minutes before three hours I am not sure I was carried away by the moment.
 |
| Kumba Iron Ore Runners Club |
 |
| Nice vista at Marakele National Park |
I looked at the back there was no one and I looked in front of me there was no one either. I started to panic a little bit and I had to sort of follow the water plastics that the runners throw on the road that we get at water zones to affirm myself that I was still on the right trek. I told myself to enjoy the environment by the way I always carry my camera, if I see something interesting I will take photos but have to finish under three hours.
 |
| The sun rise at Marakele National Park |
After a while I noticed some other ladies as well in front of me and realised ohh they were also tempted to gallop like the professional athletes at least now there was hope for my situation. As I am passing them I was supporting them with some remarks of hope just to hold on and keep up, something like “that’s a good pace you are having there hey”. As I was cruising now I saw the rhino poo but did not see the rhino and sometimes very far away I saw a baboon. I think is good I did not see the rhino “alone’?! No it was good, I cannot really imagine what I would have done mhm. I was starting to forget now my heavy stomach as I was enjoying my running, no, let’s say cruising, running I do not think will be perfect for this moment.
When I was one km away from 10.5KM mark, I saw more of the people that we started together the race coming back, it was a lap race and I thought to myself, I was not really bad as I supposed. I took them photos as they were running passing me and they also cheered me that I was doing well. I was the heaviest in that group hey; I mean my club group that did 21KM race dah. In the race I always get people I call race friends, those that either we have the same problem or they motivate me to be better. My first race friend for the Marakele Marathon was a white lady, wow! The woman was beautiful, the body was perfect for a fifty year old, yes I asked her how old she was. There was no way she could not answer me because I just could not stop showering her with praises and I mean genuine praises, from woman to woman. I am telling you, you could take her and a 21 year old and cut them both their heads off and ask a person who is older will say is the twenty-one year old. Definitely I asked for her secrete for looking so divine. She blamed it on genes, but inside I was like but you are in the race meaning you are the woman who really takes care of herself. As usually after that brief conversation she left and ran, could not see her, vanish in the forest, story of my life. I am used to that by now hahahaaa, oh my word, my my, my. I continued with my race, yes it’s mine, I have started it and I am going to finish it.
Here is my race friend number two a white male, looked younger than me and I did not ask him how old he is, I know, do not ask how, just know hahahaaa. I am never wrong with my race friends hey, you know that awkward moment of trying to talk to someone and you can see that you are annoying them and sheepishly go away, has not happened with me yet. I cannot remember my opening line with this one; I just knew we were in the same boat rocking it. At this moment my knees were painful I felt like a pressurised can as if I will open the knee and release the pressure. This young guy was experiencing the same thing as me and was also his first 21KM. He was a perfect race friend for me because now I could share my race experiences with someone you know who does not know much about the race and feel like a know it all athlete, you know what I mean. We ran together and supported each other that even though there is a pressure in our knees when we run; we must not give up and just walk but we must keep on trying and testing if we can run again sometimes some other things in the race they do not last is just for that moment. Moments like these I call them the devil moments, those moments that want you to feel like you are defeated when you are actually a winner. In life we must keep on hoping and trying things out, just because there is a stumbling block in front of you today does not mean tomorrow the block will still be there just keep pressing on. You will be surprised to find the door that was closed yesterday today is opened and realised that you have missed out on a great opportunity if you have not gone back and check. Hope is what keeps us determined for the best in everything. We started planning together our finishing with this young guy and said we should plan to finish this race with charisma and energy therefore we should estimate a good distance that we can sprint to the finish line and we must not finish it limping, we do not want people to feel sorry for us. Wow! Me and this guy we are just perfect, I thought he will find it ridiculous but he did not and we made a joke that when we get there to the finish line we should tell the marshals that we were actually doing 42KM when they point us to the 21KM medals tables.
 |
| Finishing it with style |
And yes we did finish it less than three hours, I enjoyed myself that I forgot to check my finishing time and remembered after a while and realised was around thirteen minutes before three hours so maybe I finished around twenty minutes before three hours I am not sure I was carried away by the moment.
In this race I have learnt that is not good to eat lots of red meat before a race for me from 15KM and above the red meat is no, no. I was still traumatised you know by red meat so much that today is my 20th day without red meat in my mouth and I used to eat it at least three to four times a week. And I also know that in this life whatever you are going through there is always someone in the same situation as you are, you just need to be strong and keep on. Now I understand why there is alcoholics anonymous, is people with the same challenges fighting them together for united we are strong divided we are weak. I love the human kind.
I hope you will enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writting it.
I hope you will enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writting it.
