Angels in the Mountains

Well, it is official. I can now add “ran a marathon in Africa at Mt. Kilimanjaro” to the list of things I’ve done in those beautiful things we call Zubaz! Hizzah!
Because of my lack of internet use for the last week, I am going to attempt to give the full(ish) rundown as best I can in this one blog in somewhat chronological order.
Thursday: Leave Hanga at 4:45am and begin the journey to Morogoro. I made sure to bring Minnesota along with me in the form of Zubaz, socks (sent by the Carlsons), and highlighter (sent by the Hansens) that wrote on my t-shirt better than a Sharpie (who knew?). We arrived around 4:30 and got picked up by a monk friend who took us to the beautiful seminary he is studying at. After some food and prayer, we were quite ready for bed!
Friday: Leave Morogoro at around 8am and begin the journey to Moshi. Luckily, our seats on the bus were right behind two American friends from our region in the Peace Corps! We arrived at the YMCA (yep, as in the song) in Moshi around 4:30 and got settled in. That night we just kind of wandered around Moshi, got some food, and went to bed early.
Saturday: This was registration day. When we registered for the Minneapolis Marathon there was all sorts of hoopla. People were selling things, people were excited about what was about to happen. In Moshi, I got to the place of registration and was asked “42 or 21?” (kilometers). I then filled out a form, paid my Tanzanian residents’ registration fee (a pretty good deal), and was on my way, complete with ridiculous complimentary foam visor.
For lunch I enjoyed some powered banana baby food that I still had from Kenya (nutritious, but not as delicious as Gerber). After just kind of hanging out poolside at the Y, we headed with a big group of Peace Corps Volunteers to a rooftop Italian restaurant for some delicious (in general, not just in terms of Tanzanian food) and cheap spaghetti (hello carbo-loading!).
Sunday: At 5:30am I consumed the breakfast of champions- two pieces of white bread, crust not included. Last marathon a plain blueberry Eggo waffle did the trick, and I figured this was as close as I could get to that… After breakfast, I went with Angels 1 and 2 (Marshall and Amanda from the Peace Corps) to the start of the marathon. However, we got turned around trying to follow some serious-looking Kenyans and ended up having to jog to the stadium where the race started to make it on time. Nothing like running to a run!
After some entertaining announcements about getting out of the way if you were not running the marathon (an announcement I’d later wish was made throughout the city), a gun was fired and we were off.
It was nice and early and cloudy, so the temperature was cool. I decided (against my earlier decision) that I would run with Amanda and Marshall as long as possible. You see, they had, how do you say, properly trained? They were hoping for a 4 hour marathon. While I did run more in preparation for this marathon than the last, I still think I was actually not in as good of shape (last one I had Frisbee going for me too), and I was in no way going to run a 4 hour marathon. However, Marshall and Amanda are just jolly folks, and I was having too much fun just shooting the breeze and goofing around with them. Seriously, the first 25ish kilometers (mostly through the city of Moshi) flew by, as we were basically laughing the whole time.
Unfortunately, the powers that be in the Ninth Annual Kilimanjaro Marathon decided that their claim on the website of a “relatively flat” course meant that the third quarter of the race would be ALL UPHILL! Yep, about 10km (after having run 21km more rapidly than planned) were uphill, with small plateaus as the closest thing to a break! Jeepers it was tough! Marshall and Amanda did their thing (they did great!), and I was left wondering what the heck I had done.
As I “trained”, I thought of an inordinate amount of analogies between long distance running and my stay here in Tanzania. Granted, I have many friends in other programs staying places a lot longer and doing sweet things (and I think about how impressive this is often), but, let’s be real, going to college an hour from home was hard for me! Naturally, I thought the analogies would flow on my way up the Hill o’ Doom (my name for it, not official). However, that was not the case. Other than anger toward the exhaustion (the sun came out and it was now a steamy late-morning), all I could think about was you wonderful Angels at home! The morning before leaving Hanga, I received word of some more great donations (today I learned we have hit over $700, meaning with Zubaz’s generosity we will cross the $1,000 mark for sure! (even cooler when you realize we’ll be over 1 million Tanzanian Schillings!)- Again, I cannot say thanks enough for the support through vibes, prays, and dollars!) While I most definitely had to slow to a walk more than once, I felt like I owed each kilometer to each one of you wonderful people (sorry for the cheesiness- it’s true though).
Also, there has never been a doubt in my mind that I really enjoy the company of great people, and it turns out that marathons are no exception to this rule. Who knew? Those first kilometers with Marshall and Amanda were great, and my solitary kilometers were spent channeling my running buddies from home. Up that hill, my steps (walking ones and running ones) were accompanied by all those that donated/will donate, all those that prayed and sent vibes, all those I’ve run with before, all those wearing Zubaz in honor of the task at hand, my running-buddy sister, and my marathon-buddy Emily. I must say to you all, it was a pleasure to run/struggle to walk up that hill with you!
In the Minneapolis Marathon, the streets were lined with people cheering and encouraging…here the streets were lined with people laughing either a) because you decided to run for fun or b) because you looked like you were struggling. Luckily, the good old U.S. of A. provided me with a couple more Angels!
First was Captain America, our “rabbit”. As real, hardcore runners, Marshall and I were well aware that we would need a rabbit- someone to follow the whole run who would run at a pace that would challenge us but allow us to keep up. For us, that man was a man we deemed “Captain America”. He was at least into his 60’s, had an Ironman Wisconsin tattoo on his rather large calf, wore a tight white shirt about as short as a 1980’s football practice jersey, and short American flag shorts. Well, we accidentally caught up to and passed Captain America, and he soon caught back up with us. We struck up quite the little conversation with this man. After he gave us way to much detail about the struggles he was having with this marathon, he went on to mention that he was also from Minneapolis! How great is that! He asked if I ever ran the Twin Cities Marathon and proceeded to inform me that he only ran 28 in a row before his wife insisted they move to Sarasota for warmer weather…Really? And here he was, questioning if he could do this marathon. Needless to say, it was inspiring and entertaining to see this goofy guy on his way down the hill, far ahead of me, much later in the day.
Also, there was a couple from the U.S. that rode a motorcycle up and down the course cheering us on! It was a great taste of home, and they even gave me some delicious and probably helpful hydration gummies! Also, they had the good sense to remind me as I struggled up the hill that the mountain was absolutely gorgeous and I was lucky to just be there!
Speaking of hydration gummies, I think this would be a good time to touch on my during-race nutrition. I had water at every water stop, and I had one energy gel that I received with registration (I used 2 last marathon). I milked that one gel from about kilometer 21 to kilometer 30. Also, they had Coke at a lot of the water stops, and, as crazy as it seems, I tried a cup at the top of the hill. Aside from a few burps, it actually worked out alright.
Another during-race Angel was a man in his 60’s named Dave. Dave is a retired teacher from Wisconsin, and he apparently doubles as a saint. He came up behind me with a few kilometers let up the hill, and I noticed his American flag shoes and Midwestern accent. He was incredibly friendly and positive, and he all but said, “Hey man, let’s do finish this thing out strong.” Right when I was struggling to take my mind off the exhaustion, he came up as a great friendly distraction/sage. We ran together until there were about 2 kilometers left (he had more of a kick left than I did). Needless to say, his company came in very clutch!
The famed last kilometer of the race was actually 1.2 kilometers (should have thought of that before deciding to speed up for it). The whole race we got to play a game where we tried to avoid getting hit by trucks, busses, and groups of kids, as none of the course was actually blocked off (it was fun trying to time breathing so you didn’t inhale ALL of the black smoke from trucks). The end was no exception. As I entered the university campus and approached the stadium, and I had to dodge cars and people, and finally made it into the stadium. That’s where I saw my final during-race angels: the Peace Corps/Hanga crew was there near the finish to cheer me on/snap some photos of those classy pants that carried me through (other than a little extra heat, they felt really great…just saying, if you need a pair…). I made one less-than-epic attempt at a sprint and passed an older lady that had passed me and crossed the finish line. I’d tell you my time, but, this being a weird marathon, they never actually told you a time or had an official clock we could see. I’m pretty sure it was somewhere around 4 hrs and 50mins. Slower than last time, but also much tougher.
After dancing to some American hip-hop while lying on the ground post-race, taking some photos, drinking copious amounts of water, and eating an ice cream cone purchased by Angel Mike, we were ready to walk back to the Y….I thought. We got into the street and I froze- my left foot cramped like I’ve never experienced before. Shortly thereafter, I decided it was best to lay down on the side of the rode and stretch it out…but it got worse. A kind man from the street came and decided he should help Mike stretch it out. I’ve seen Tanzanians help fellow soccer players stretch cramps before, so I had high hopes. The guy did well for about 5 seconds and then proceed to stretch the toe that was the worst the wrong way! Let’s just say there was a fun scene of a white guy writhing in pain and biting his participation t-shirt on the side of the road…Good times.
A doctor came and said they had to take me to the medical tent. It was then that I saw the stretcher that had been placed next to me. I sat up, laughed, and said, “No.” They weren’t really listening as they placed me on the stretch, lifted me, began to carry, and said, “Just sleep” (aka “Lay down you!”
As I was brought into the tent, the head doctor took a picture. Nice. Then I realized another patient had sat up in his stretcher and was also taking a picture. Fantastic.
We got to the tent, and a nurse was about to give me something when a doctor stopped her and asked me what was wrong. I said I cramped. He asked if it still hurt. I said no (it didn’t). He sent the nurse away and left me. Great.
Eventually more doctors and nurses came and went, and I ended up getting a muscle-relaxer cream on my foot and some ice. When it was still bad when I tried to walk again, they gave me a hydration drink (super-water I guess…it was gross). Then they wrapped it (overkill? I think yes.). Then a nurse asked me to answer questions for a form. They only question she marked without asking? Gender. Her answer? F. Really? Yes, I did correct her, and she just looked surprised…
After downing more water per the urging of Doctor Mike, we finally made another go at it. As I got up, a doctor (who got his own foot rub from a nurse for no apparent reason during some downtime) saw the dirt on the back of my shirt (from laying in the road), said it’s too bad I feel before I got to finish (my medal was in my pocket). I clarified that I made it through the whole marathon no problem- it was the walking home that got me.
Well, we walked back to the Y, accompanied by and older Tanzanian that wanted to chat all day (I personally didn’t want to stand all day).
After showering and resting, Mike and I walked into town to meet Marshall and Amanda for some much needed food. On our way we were stopped by none other than…Marshall and Amanda. It seems that on their way for pizza, they stopped for cheeseburgers (Moshi is a magical place in this regard). As any good Americans would, we had cheeseburgers and fries, then walked a few blocks to have pizza and milkshakes. I don’t regret one calorie of that decision. We made the wise choice of taking a taxi back and then napping. Indeed, I’d call it a full day.
Monday and Tuesday: We caught our bus back to Morogoro on Monday and stayed with Br. Dominic again. On Tuesday we caught our bus to Songea and got a ride back to Hanga after, you guessed it, more greasy food! In total, we were on busses for only about 35 hours (going to Morogoro saved us a lot of bus time), and only 50% of the bus rides included people tossing their lunches on or around me. Not bad I guess. Also, we were in the back seats of the last bus we took. This is where we learned a little physics lesson- Even with a seatbelt, Alec can bounce well over a foot off his seat on the right speed bump if taken quickly enough (our favorite company, Super Feo, definitely takes them quickly enough). Also, we learned Alec’s bus-buddy, Resa, could probably also bounce over a foot if there wasn’t a storage compartment above here head…oops…
Wednesday: I went to Mass, taught, and worked in the St. B library, and I even went for a run to my favorite spot where I can see the village and the beautiful hills! No sign of soreness or foot cramps! Hizzah again!
Anyway, the moral of the story is that I had a blast seeing the sites, meeting the people, and running the race. Moshi is a beautiful town, Kili is a beautiful mountain that really looks like the pictures, and the people I was with were wonderful. Running is a great activity, and 42.2 km is a long distance. I’m very excited to see what kind of total we end up with for the de Paul school textbook fund over the next month or so, and I’m getting very excited for this last month or two of downhill running here in Tanzania with all you beautiful angels taking each step with me!