Bring the kids along, but lets rekindle the romance on the road

23 - Gaborone Marathon, Gaborone, Botswana, 7 May 2017

My maiden Gaborone Marathon was a great one. I met, and ran with, great people. The support from the spectators on the road side was phenomenal. The moment I crossed the finish line, I decided that I would return to Gabs in 2017. However, in 2017 I would make it a family affair. I would run the streets of Gaborone alongside my other half, Agatha. Part of me still tells me that I had no choice. I had to bring her along in 2017. Ever since my 100BEFORE40 project gained momentum, Agatha started keeping a keen eye on the purse. She polished her accounting skills and constantly warns that I am on a mission to bankrupt the family with these running excursions. The only way to get the green light for some of these races is having her as a partner in crime or accomplice.

Having set my eyes on a return to Gaborone, I sold the idea of a family get away to Agatha, Kami and Kudzi. The idea was well received and we registered for the race as early as November 2016. This was going to be Agatha’s second half marathon and my 24^th marathon. Kami and Kudzi would lead the cheerleaders on the road side. 

We left for Gaborone a day before the race. Agatha did all the driving from Johannesburg while I sat next to her half asleep most of the way. We entered Botswana through the Tlokweng Border Post. Crossing into Botswana through this border post has always been a breeze. It was no exception this time around. We headed straight to the race venue to collect out race packs. The race pack collection was without incident. It was a quick in and out. There was no turning back from that point. Our date, or should I say fate, on the streets of Gaborone had been sealed. I say fate because Agatha’s training had been very suspect. She had not done a training run longer than 10km since her last half marathon, the Two Oceans (half) Marathon in 2015. On the other hand, I had a knee and ankle injury that were troubling me. But we had to do this race. We had been looking forward to it for a long time. No amount of under-training or pain was going to deter us.

We arrived at the start some fifteen minutes before the scheduled starting time. For some reason, we went to the starting pen for the 10km race instead of the 21km and 42km starting pens. We did not pay attention to the announcements. We were busy cuddling and trying to keep each other warm in the early morning Gaborone breeze. We only realized that we were in the wrong place when the 21km and 42km runners came flying past us. We then got out of the 10km crowd and ran for almost a kilometer to the 21km and 42km start line. By the time we crossed the start timing mats, the official race time was about 5 min 40 sec. We had to play catch up for a good 5 kilometers. The catching up was made difficult by the 10km runners who came flying past us. For a while we did not really know whether we had caught up with the other 21km and 42km runners or we were surrounded by the 10km runners.

Agatha was battling a bit. By the time we got to the 5km mark, we had walked at least four times. It was a bit frustrating for me, but I had to stick with her. After we passed the 10km race turn around point, our confidence was boosted a bit. We realized that we had passed a few of the runners that had started 5 minutes or so ahead of us. The road was open again and we could relax and catch up on the lost time. I was itching to go, but I was worried that if I left Agatha so early, she would not finish the race. It was still a long way to go. I decided to stick with her for at least half the distance of her race. I did exactly that. We talked about all sorts of things. We planned the next races we would run together and the big city marathons around the World that we would run if by miracle we won the lottery. We also managed to rekindle the romance a bit. Before we knew it, we had done 10 kilometers. It was my slowest 10 kilometers, but Agatha’s fastest. Agatha felt really bad that she was holding me back. She assured me that she would be fine and asked me to go. We then bid each other farewell (hugs and kisses in the middle of the road) and off I went. Even though I had left her, I could not stop thinking (worrying actually) about her. I was not convinced that she would finish the race. 

I sped up a bit to catch up on the time I had lost pacing Agatha. I managed to  catch up on the lost time, but all that effort somehow went to waste later. By the time I got to 25km mark, my left knee started complaining big time. The faster I went, the more painful it was. My sheen also became painful with every step I took. This was not new though. I had experienced similar pain the previous week at the Wally Hayward Marathon. However, there was not turning back for me. I had come a long way and quitting was not an option. Not when Kami and Kudzi were waiting for their super hero dad at the finish line. I slowed down and started taking frequent walk breaks. As if my injury woes were not bad enough, the heat descended on the streets like it was on steroids. The slower I went, the longer I was going to be in the scotching heat.

Like every running adventure, there was something remarkable bound to happen on the road. I caught up with a gentleman who had a few badges on the back of his vest. Two of them caught my attention. One stated that he had ran in 90 different countries. The other one stated that he had ran more than 500 marathons. I was in awe. There I was battling to get to 100 marathons. This man had surpassed my target by a whopping 400 marathons. I greeted him and asked him if I could take a picture with him. He obliged. We took the picture and ran together for about 2 kilometers. He told me that he had done more than 600 marathons. In 2016, he ran more than 50 marathons. He had also done 7 marathons on 7 continents in 7 days. This made my 100BEFORE40 adventure look like kindergarten stuff. The gentleman was very humble and kept telling me that I could also do it if I was not working full time and had the time to train and race. I told myself that even if I had all the time, I do not think I would afford it financially. Fifty marathons in one year was just too much racing. It would mean racing in different towns or cities and countries almost every weekend. I would have to win the lottery to afford that. I thanked the gentleman for his time and off I went.

I hobbled my way through the last 10 kilometers of the race. The pain in my knee and ankle was unbearable at that time. I focused so much on the pain and the heat. I even forgot a crucial part of my races, a picture of my signature 40km jump. When I got to the finish, I was delighted to see Agatha still standing on her feet. In hindsight, I do not know why I was worried about her not finishing the race. Agatha is one of the most determined people I know. She had set her mind on this race and she did not give up. She finished her race. She finished it in a respectable 2h45min.

As I hobbled through the last 100 meters or so, I was greeted by loud cheers from the friendly spectators. They were chanting “Ziiimbaaabwe, Ziiimbaaabwe, Ziiiimbaaabwe” in acknowledgement of the colors of my running vest. It was a surreal moment. Despite the time on the clock being 4h45min and the winners having finished more than two and half hours earlier, the spectators were still very supportive. I was quite pleased to see my brother Mr. Gidza (Girland Chibaya) waiting for me. He had finished the race 20 minutes earlier, but did not leave until he was certain that his fellow warrior had crossed the finish line.

I had conquered yet another marathon and was a step closer to achieving my 100BEFORE40 goal. Agatha had conquered her second half marathon. The kids had enjoyed their time out in the open. And that was it. The Gaborone Marathon 2017.

As you know by now, if it is not on Facebook, it did not happen. I documented this race on Facebook as follows:

#100BEFORE40 Marathon 7/17 Marathons for 2017, Gaborone Marathon, is done and dusted. Next stop, Victoria Falls Marathon.

While we are at Marathon 7/17 Marathons for 2017, I really enjoyed it. Mixed feelings. Ran a good stretch of the route with my better half (Agatha Kudzie), bragging to her how great I was, I am running 17 marathons this year bla bla bla. Decided to step on it and left her behind.

10km down the road, I met a gentleman who had badges on the back of his vest. The badges show that he has run marathons in more than 90 countries and belongs to the Club 500. I greeted him and we ran together for a kilometer or so. I fired all sorts of questions as I always do. It turns out he has run 612 marathons, and the impressive bit is that he ran 50 marathons in 2016. That made my #100BEFORE40 project look like a joke.

Then my mukoma, Girland Chibaya could not leave without making sure that all his warriors had crossed the finish line in one piece. Great stuff all round.