Day 11: The Marathon

12:20pm WHOA. This morning was crazy! About 400 people ran two races at 8am this morning simultaneously - a 21.5k race (13.1mi or a half marathon!) and an 8k race (5 miles) for the runners who preferred a shorter run. I opted for the 8k and I honestly expected to walk most of it, but along the rocky dirt path were farmers working in their fields that watched and cheered and I was always surrounded by kids running, so I ran hard and never let up! I completed the race in 66 minutes, which I'm really proud of, but it was brutal. The middle 3k were on very steep, rocky, mountain hiking terrain that made it impossible to go much faster. It was insanely steep! I couldn't even run going downhill, it was too dangerous. Meanwhile, Dad did the half marathon, which meant he started at 8am, but as the race continued on, it became hotter and hotter. By the time he finished at 11:40, the sun was beating down hard and he and his three racemates were dehydrated and winded. I was so proud of him and made it my mission to find him more water and get him into the shade. Bududa is 5,000 feet above sea level, so the air here is thinner and much more difficult to run in. Needless to say, he and I are both exhausted. He is actually napping across from me in the clinic as I type this entry. 6:00pm All is well. After Dad's nap, we drank more water and then he did an interview for a local FM radio station about the marathon. We made our way back down the mountainside to the Guesthouse and have spent the afternoon chatting and resting. 7:30pm We ate another delicious home cooked meal, thanks to our ever diligent housekeeper Jennifer, who was the first woman to complete the half marathon this morning, by the way! Her impressive time was under 2 hours! 8:30pm Going to bed early. Can. Hardly. Type.