We finished!

It’s official! Chris, Mary, Lindsay and I all crossed the finish line this morning in a race that was worth every second of training. Starting right at 6 am, the sun managed to stay away for most of the morning as we took in the sights of Soweto and were cheered on and graciously hosed down by hundreds and hundreds of energetic locals. A group of friends from Jo’burg gave up their Sunday morning to push us through the 29 km mark with more supplies, and Bennett and Zuma, the two teachers from Khulanathi, also made the trek to show their support halfway through and at the finish line. The last 10 km/6 mi were definitely a challenge as we battled not only fatigue but an awful lot of hills, but crossing the finish line was an unforgettable feeling. (And thank you, Lindsay, for documenting so much of this with awesome pictures.) We did it!

mentally preparing at 5:30 am

chris arrives near the finish around 3:30

mary follows around 4:25

and kat finishes at 4:34

four happy finishers, along with bennett and zuma from Khulanathi, say THANK YOU for all the support!

t minus 15 hours

A very quick post as I wait for the others to pick me up to go to Soweto, where we’ll be spending the night at the lovely Lebo’s backpackers before race time at 6 am tomorrow. Thank you so much for all of the support, encouragement, good wishes, contributions, and in advance to all those coming out to cheer tomorrow. We’re looking forward to a successful race day and can’t wait to let you know how it goes. Wish us luck!

I WILL SURVIVE – AND CONQUER!

Maybe conquer isn’t the correct word, but it’s close!  I have been successfully back to running for about a week now, and it feels great to be hitting the pavement once again.  As many have probably assumed, I will not be able to compete in the full marathon.  HOWEVER, I have been allowed by my physiotherapist to run in the 10k on race day.  While it’s sad that I can’t run the full race, I’m still very grateful for my successful recovery and the opportunity to run at least a portion of the Soweto Marathon.  And now I can cheer on my fellow friends as they cross the finish line – and hopefully give them lots of water!  It will be a fun day to celebrate all the money that has been raised to support the Khulanathi Music Project – THANK YOU SO MUCH!

And don’t forget, you can still donate – even after the race is over!

the 8-days-to-go update

It’s a warm and sunny morning in Komatipoort, where this morning at 5 am I joined a few runners for a 15k (~9.5 mi) run. It’s still a great feeling to run out here on open roads, dodging only the occasional but massive truck carrying loads of sugar cane to the local mills, and watching the sun rise much too quickly. And it felt good. My injuries aren’t gone, but between some physical therapy and quite a bit of medicating I’ve managed to push through the last few weeks and will make it through to Sunday.

Mental preparation is made a lot easier knowing we have SO much support in this race. It’s been wonderful to see so many donations these last few weeks, and with your help we’re nearing the $2000 mark! Your contributions will make a huge difference for these kids.

In other news, Chris and Mary graciously collected our race numbers this week. There’s no turning back now! And I learned from a fellow runner this morning that not only are we running through Soweto next Sunday, we’re inadvertently taking part in a protest as well. The Nedbank Running Club–a national level running club affiliated with the same bank that’s sponsoring the race–is asking runners to wait two full minutes after the start pistol fires before beginning to race to protest against the management of Athletics South Africa. Given that there’s a lot of prize money at stake for the top runners, it will be interesting to see how this goes. To read more, click here.

In any case, here’s to a healthy, injury-free, carb-filled pre-marathon week. Please keep sharing the news and encouraging more contributions, and we’ll be sure to update you next Sunday. Thank you again for all the support!

Two Weeks Til’ Soweto

Marathon training is in full swing. Yesterday Chris and I went for an 18 mile run out in the Cradle of Humankind. We’ve made the Cradle our home base for long runs the past few weeks and will head out there for one last long run next Sunday. The Cradle is a beautiful spot and it actually feels like you are in Africa. Our route starts at a recreation complex called Teak Place and meanders though the surrounding area where run by game reserves, are passed by cyclists, and are greeted by locals. All in all it is a refreshing change from J0burg.

Unfortunately, we made the mistake of sleeping in which put us out in the heat of the day, but I guess it was good mental training. We both had a great time the first three-quarters of the run, but once we used up all of our energy and water things got a bit tougher. The last few miles were a bear and I hate to admit it but I did a bit of walking. Once I quit sweating and my mouth dried up it was time to slow down. However, with a little bit of luck and decent support things are going to be great when we complete the Soweto Marathon in two weeks. Phew!

salty, salty, salty

my longest run ever

This morning, bright and early at 5 am,  I met a handful of other runners in Komatipoort for a 30k run. The others are running a marathon a week after Soweto, so most of our training has lined up well. It was warm, but the sun stayed away as we stayed out for about 3 hours and 13 minutes for a run that was 9 km further than I’ve ever gone before. The run took us out of Komatipoort on a small stretch of the N4 and then onto an undulating side road that was good both for endurance and hill training. Running with former Comrades finishers was a little intimidating, but thanks to their ongoing encouragement and a few fuel stops, it was a good run.

I’m hoping to run one last half-marathon in Graskop next weekend, a beautiful course that goes up to God’s Window near Blyde River Canyon and, conveniently, near where friends of mine are studying at the Wits Rural facility. That said, I’ve been battling my own injuries for the last several weeks, namely my two-year old lower back issues. We’ll have to see if another race is in store, or whether I should just save my energy for the marathon. For now, I’m just excited to have run more than 21km for the first time ever!

The Absentee Runner

I realize that from the race updates, it looks like I’m not involved in this project at all!  But I promise, I’m around.  I have not been allowed to start running again, due to my continued injury.  It has been nearly five weeks since I injured myself, and recovery is taking place slowly but surely.   The physiotherapists at Wits have decided that I am experiencing a disk problem in my lower lumbar spine, which I believe is being aggravated by my hips that are terribly out of alignment.  We have been continuing with physical therapy, and are hopefully working this problem out.  There is definitely still some pain that I experience, but mostly I am just frustrated to be so seriously injured and essentially out of the running for the full marathon.  I hope to be in good enough shape to run the 10k portion of the Soweto Marathon day, but we will see.  Since running is a sport that takes quite a jarring toll on your body, I have only been able to bike and swim to keep up some sort of training.  This week, I am starting to run in a pool.  We’ll see how it goes!  I will certainly let everyone know if and when I FINALLY get to run again!!

Taking on the City2City

3 runners trying to look awake at 4 am

Finished!

Sunday morning, Chris, Mary and I took on our second half-marathon in two weeks, this time with slightly more planning. Because the race was a point-to-point race, we needed to take a shuttle from the finish line (where we parked our car) to the start, all in time for a 6 am start. That translated into alarms set somewhere between 3:15 and 3:30 am in order to catch our ride in time. Crazy? We kind of thought so.

Nonetheless, we managed to be awake enough to make it with plenty of time (in the chilly Jo’burg night) before the race began. The half-marathon route doubles as the final 21 km of the 50 km ultra-marathon route, a fact that made us admire those runners even more. We’d been warned a few days before that the race is one of the toughest, but when we started we were happy to run a route that was similarly up-and down-hill as the zoo half-marathon. About halfway through, however, and about the same time as all water supply was depleted, the hills seemed only ever to incline upward with an occasional stretch of even road. And with about seven or so kilometers to go, a massive hill—not far from Wits but one that never seemed so intimidating when seen from the M1—defeated many of the runners.  Nonetheless we stayed strong and ran (and in my case, walked a little) through the challenge, bonding with other friendly runners along the way. Having passed Wits, the final few kilometers took us into the heart of the CBD (Central Business District), an area we rarely have reason to venture to, and finally over the symbolic Nelson Mandela Bridge as we finished in the artsy Newtown quarter. Running on that bridge, even while exhausted and achy, was a pretty amazing feeling.

By 8:15, sweaty and tired, we’d retrieved our medals and decided to celebrate with a giant breakfast at our favorite bakery. We’d earned some carbs and rest. And now the training runs continue, both in Jo’burg and Komatipoort, as Soweto draws nearer!

Rotary Heritage Day Celebration

Saturday afternoon members of the Khulanathi ensemble took the center stage at Rotary District 9300’s annual Heritage Day celebration. Khulanathi wowed the audience with their musical talent and superb solos as they treated us all to two wonderful sets. For many of the young musicians this was their first time to shine as only 15 of the 30 member ensemble were able to attend due to prior obligations. The event kicked off just before noon and continued though the middle of the afternoon. We used this opportunity to promote our fundraising efforts and to share Khulanathi’s talent with the Johannesburg Rotary community. Khulanathi shared the stage with a number of other talented young people including poets as well as gum-boot and township dancers.

All in all, it was a very pleasant afternoon. The performers enjoyed the opportunity to showcase their talents and we enjoyed the show. We’ll have some photos up soon for your viewing pleasure.

Birthdays and…spontaneous half-marathons?

Happy, sweaty, and tired-and not even 10:00 am!

Last weekend, I returned to Jo’burg for a weekend of errands and friends and what I thought would be a long training run. Instead, as I was at a party on Saturday night, Chris called to ask: “hey, there’s a half-marathon at the zoo tomorrow. Registration starts at 6. Want to come?”

Both Chris and I celebrated birthdays Sunday, and what better way to do so then to set an alarm for 5 am and run 13.1 miles, right? It was a beautiful, sunny morning, and after a quick last-minute registration (including purchasing temporary running licenses—a requirement to race in South Africa!), we set off to start near the monkey cage at 7 am. The race quickly exited the zoo and then went for two “laps” that zig-zagged up and down the hills of Saxonwold and Cotswold neighborhoods with a long and difficult hill toward Rosebank just after the halfway point. We discovered that besides water, fizzy Coke appears to be the drink of choice during races in South Africa. As we finished the race back into the zoo, Chris with a time of about 1:35 and Mary and I around 2:05, we ran into clouds of smoke from the boerewors (sausage) that was being braaied (barbequed) directly after the finish line. It was great to be able to get a sense of our pace at the Jo’burg altitude and in a race that’s graded the same level as Soweto (4/5).

Next weekend is a 21k that’s part of the City2City Ultra-Marathon, a 50km race that goes from Pretoria to Jo’burg. Even though we’re only running the half, we’ll get to run through the heart of Jo’burg and look forward to reporting how it goes. (And maybe Lindsay can even join? We’re hoping!) We’re also joining the students from the Khulanathi Ensemble in performing at Rotary’s Heritage Day event next weekend, a great opportunity to show the community what this great ensemble can do.