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26 - The Victoria Falls Marathon, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, 18 June 2017

On Sunday, 4 June 2017, I joined my fellow Comrades in pounding the pavement from Durban to Pietermaritzburg. While many of them struggled and I felt their pain, I had it easy. They were pounding the pavement on the pavement. I was doing so from the comfort of my lounge, shouting, and screaming at them to keep going. I watched from the time the start gun went off and until the finish gun went off. Many dreams were realized on that day. Equally, many dreams were shuttered. I started wondering how I would have done had I been at the Comrades Marathon 2017. Lost in these thoughts, I remembered why I had decided to call it quits with the Comrades Marathon. It was to long and tough for my liking. Besides, there were three bucket list marathons in June and July that I desperately wanted to do. 

The Victoria Falls Marathon was the first on the list and it was only two weeks away. My ankle and knee injuries had not healed despite taking a long break after the Gaborone Marathon. But I was going to tackle the bucket list marathons. I had to enjoy retirement from the Big C. I was going to Victoria Falls for the race. I got a bit excited when two of my brothers indicated that they would also run the race. The plan was to travel together. We would drive to and from Victoria Falls. This would enable us to dictate the traveling schedule and most importantly, we would split the costs among ourselves. Unfortunately, my brothers pulled out due to work commitments and I had to go on a solo expedition. I decided to take the bus because I could not receive financial clearance from my wife to be in a position to pay for flights to and from Victoria Falls. The traveling was going to be tough. But this is running we are talking about. I would do anything for running. Traveling for 24 hours was the least of my worries. It was a worthy sacrifice. As they say, “no pain, no gain.”

I departed Johannesburg on Thursday, 14 June, set to arrive in Victoria Falls the next day. I would then have the whole of Saturday to rest and enjoy the magnificent Mosi oa Tunya. I would run on Sunday morning, possibly squeeze in a bungee jump, a sunset cruise on the mighty Zambezi river and leave for Johannesburg on Monday morning. I had it all planned, but this was a bus trip to Zimbabwe via the Beitbridge Border Post. You can never plan a trip like this with military precision, unless of course you have consulted with the Zimbabwe immigration and revenue collection authorities. We arrived at the border post, Zimbabwean side, at 5h00 and only left at 9h30, the time we were supposed to have arrived in Bulawayo. We only arrived in Bulawayo at 14h00. I had missed even my third-choice bus that left for Victoria Falls at 14:00. Anyway, such is the life of a runner. The trip unfolded like most races I have done in my 100BEFORE40 journey. Things seldom go according to plan.

The trip from Bulawayo to Victoria Falls started off well. It was a smooth transition from the Johannesburg to Bulawayo bus to the Bulawayo to Victoria Falls one. I was met by a friendly old man upon disembarking the Johannesburg bus. He told me that he was looking for work. I quipped that I was also looking for work. I do not think he got the joke. I had to quickly tell him that I was joking, and I needed a taxi to take me to the place where I could board a bus to Victoria Falls. Without hesitation, he said he would take me to ExtraCity. It was the best bus, he said. On our way there, we talked about the hot topic in South Africa politics, the possible recall or firing of President Zuma. The old man seemed more excited about President Zuma's possible demise. South Africans, unlike my Zimbabwean ilk, "are  more action and less talk" he said. I reminded him that with uBaba, as President Zuma is known in many circles, it seemed there was more talk and less action and I would not be as enthusiastic as he was about President Zuma being recalled. Before we knew it, we had arrived at the ExtraCity bus terminus.

I was quite pleased to see the luxury coach that was leaving for Victoria Falls in less than an hour. I had been on the road for 17 hours already and was looking forward to a comfortable journey. After all, it would take me another six hours to get to Victoria Falls. I paid for my seat and went to the ExtraCity canteen for brunch, a $2 plate of "real" sadza and T-Bone steak. I really enjoyed digging into the sadza and steak. I finished my meal a few minutes before departure time. So far everything, barring the delay at the border, seemed to be going well. My enthusiasm was, however, dampened a bit when the bus took off and there were standing passengers on the bus. I kept wondering if this was even allowed in terms of the law and the possible delays it would cause at the numerous police road blocks on the way to Victoria Falls. But the standing passengers and the bus crew did not seem bothered. I figured it was a common thing and we would be fine. Then the bus started stopping frequently. It stopped at almost every bus stop on the route, dropping and picking passengers. I told myself to be patient and that we would get there slowly. As the sun set, I decided to take a nap. Hopefully, by the time I woke up, we would be very close to, or in, Victoria Falls. I battled to sleep and ended up watching the music videos on the bus television set. Some of them were good and entertaining. Some were horrible. We only arrived in Victoria Falls around 22h30. I had spent more than 26 hours in transit, all in the name of running.

I went to collect my race pack early on Saturday morning. I did not want to leave anything to chance or for the last minute. The registration process was low key. It was a quick in and out. This made me wonder if the registration was well organised or there were not too many people registered for the race. In the end, I concluded that it was a combination of both. After collecting my race number, all I could think of was the race. I strategized on my targeted finishing time, how I would pace myself, what I needed for the race and the memories that would be created. I even forgot about my hatred for “selfie sticks” and bought one. I wanted to capture all the good memories. Thanks to this race, I can’t stop wondering why I had not bought a selfie stick earlier. Later that afternoon, I went to The Victoria Falls park to view the falls. I enjoyed this magnificent natural wonder called Mosi oa Tunya.

Finally, race day arrived. I got to the start about 20 minutes before the scheduled starting time. There was a small crowd at that time. It grew quickly though. There were a few announcements from the race organizers and off we went. The first five kilometers was pretty fast. Due to the small size of the field, about 300 runners for the marathon, and the adrenaline rush, most people followed the pace of the elite athletes. A very fast pace. Even though it was still less than five kilometers, I was already losing breath and started questioning my fitness. When I checked my GPS, I realized that I had been running at a pace that was about 40 seconds ahead of my targeted pace. I slowed down and started enjoying the nature that surrounded us. The views of the falls from the bridge were breath taking. When we got to the turnaround point between the Zimbabwe and Zambia border posts, the cheers from the people on the Zambian side of the border fence were quite encouraging. Some of these people were waiting to cross into Zimbabwe, but could not do so. The border was closed for the race. From the bridge, we headed into the park. There was a lot of fresh elephant dung on the road. This signaled that the elephants had been around not so long ago and could emerge from the bushes anytime. However, nothing of that sort happened during the first lap.

As we began the second lap, just after the starting point, we came across an elephant that was blocking the road. I do not know the whole story of how this imposing figure had ended up on the road. However, it looked unhappy and made sure the runners noticed this. We stopped, just to be safe, and more importantly, to capture the memories. The small group of runners I was with warned everyone not to try any stupid tricks and try to run past the elephant. Everyone agreed to wait until the elephant had backed off. One guy who was behind us came running straight past us. We warned him not to go, but he was not having any of it. As he was seven or so meters away, the elephant became aggressive and charged him. In a panic and a bid to run away, he lost his footing and fell as the elephant was following him. He got up quickly, but at that time the elephant had also stopped. We all found it hilarious, but in hindsight, that guy was dicing with death. That elephant could have easily caught up with him and flattened him.

One of the guys we were running with claimed to be of the Nzou or Samanyanga clan or totem. In the Bantu traditions, most if not all tribes have an animal that they are associated with and believed to have a spiritual link with. This chap comes from the Nzou or Samanyanga clan as he told us. He begged the elephant, using his clan name, to let us pass. He spoke directly to the elephant. Even though he was visibly shaken and appeared to be taking his chances, the elephant retreated as he was begging it and clapping his hands as a sign of respect. We will never know if the elephant listened to him or it had had its fair of attention and decided to go back into the bushes. 

For the next four to five kilometers, all we talked about was the elephant and the need to be on the lookout for wild animals. It turned out to be our lucky day as we encountered another elephant 30 or so minutes after the first elephant incident. This time around, the elephant was calm. It emerged from the bush, stopped momentarily, and crossed the road. But this encounter was not without incident. A lady who had been running 15 or so meters ahead of us had her earphones on. She appeared to be unaware of the surroundings. We stopped the moment the elephant emerged from the bush, someone shouted at her to watch out for the elephant, but she kept running towards the elephant. She only stopped a few meters away from the elephant. She was quite shaken and run back to join our group. Fortunately, the elephant was just minding its own business and quickly crossed the road.

After gathering our composure, the group split. I kept my sight on a sub 4h30 finish and it was still possible. In fact, I was ahead of the time and a sub 4h12 was possible. However, with every kilometer and every photo or video stop, fatigue was settling in. By the time I got to the 35-kilometer mark, I had about 46 minutes if I were to make it for a sub 4h30. A sub 4h30 was still possible, but I was not going to let the time steal the show. I stopped a few more times to take photos and videos of me dancing to the music at one of the refreshment stations. I even stopped for a chat with a guy who was dressed as a “Changamire Dombo”. I also took some time to dance to the music at the 35-kilometer refreshments point and post a video of my situation at that time on Facebook. From there, I tried to step up my speed, but I was tired and the heat did not help. 

I got carried away when I got to a part that was about three kilometers of downhill. I thought it was downhill all the way to the finish. As I turned around just after the 40-kilometer mark, after my taking a picture of my trademark 40-kilometer jump, a hill stretching for almost a kilometer appeared. There were a lot of people on this stretch of the road. I did not want them to see me walking. I wanted them to believe that I was very strong and was still running when almost everyone was walking. I tried running up the hill, but I stopped running half way up the hill and walked with pride. The crowd on the road side was very kind and encouraging. They told me of how far I had come, there was only one more turn and I would be facing the finish. I continued walking and running intermittently. When I got to the finish venue, I whipped out my selfie stick, increased the speed a bit and started record some celebratory video. I, however, did not know that the finish stretch was almost half a kilometer long. By the time I had covered half of the finish stretch, I was out of breath. I had to walk for hundred meters or so before resuming my lap of honor run. The cheers from the crowd felt good. I was so proud of myself. It had taken me 26 marathons to run and finish and finish one on my home soil. 

I spent the afternoon in my hotel room resting and planning for my next race, The Big Five Marathon. The elephant scenes kept replaying in my mind and I wondered if it was going to be the same at The Big Five Marathon which is run wholly in a game reserve. What if I came face to face with one of the big five? Would I be silly and try to outrun it like the chap that tried his luck at the race? Would I stay calm and follow instructions in the race pack?

The following morning, I woke up very early. I had to catch the first bus out of Victoria Falls to ensure that I got to Bulawayo with a lot of time to spare before the departure time for my Bulawayo to Johannesburg bus. This trip was a repeat of the first one. The bus stopped frequently, but I had nothing to worry about this time. I met a group of fellow runners in the waiting area for the Bulawayo-Johannesburg bus. As usual, they were a fantastic bunch of runners. We had all sorts of discussions on the way and at the border. We exchanged contact details and promised to meet each other at the Mandela Day Marathon. 

I enjoyed the Victoria Falls Marathon and made new friends. I was a satisfied customer in the end and this part of my bucket list was done. I was one step closer to 100 hundred marathons before turning 40. Twenty-six done, 74 to go.

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

#100BEFORE40 Marathon 8/17 Marathons for 2017, The Victoria Falls Marathon, is done and dusted. Next stop, The Big Five Marathon.

While we are at Marathon 8/17 Marathons for 2017, the highlight for me was when some guy tried to commit suicide right in front of us. You know that guy we all had at school. The one that thought he was cool and clever. Well, we had him at the race today. We were given clear instructions that the animals have right of way. An elephant was blocking the road. We all stopped, but smarty pants was having none of it. The result... see the video below (you may have to zoom to see clearly).

Lastly, I did not forget the famous 40km jump today. Not the best shot, but I did the jump.

PS – Thank you very much if you read from start to finish. This is a long “summary”, but I could not contain the excitement and sense of achievement.

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