Run for Kibali

Yesterday I participated in a local "Run for Rwanda".  This run is put on by the International Anglican Church to support a hospital and school in the village of Kibali, Rwanda.  A great cause.  I didn't put a whole lot of effort into finding someone to go with me.  I asked Mary, but she wasn't interested, Jillian was judging a horse show in Durango, and Irv was working so I made the decision to go by myself.

All of our races are documented with a group photo.  Since it was just me this time I took my first selfie.  I have to admit this made me feel a little silly.  Taking a picture of yourself just feels unnatural and well...kinda weird, but here it is.







I always like to arrive at a race at least 30 minutes early.  Why?  To make sure I can find a parking spot and to make sure I know where the starting line is.  This is what the race area should look like 30 minutes before a race.  In Idaho Falls when we arrived at the race early we were the only ones there until about 10 minutes before the race started.  I think running is taken a little more seriously in Colorado.




Two thinks annoyed me about this race: 1) it started 30 minutes late.  They said it was because people were still in the registration and port-a-potty lines.  2)  It started in the middle of this grass field that was soaking wet.  Not only did my shoes get soaked, by feet got soaked which really became annoying later in the race.

Oh well...I have to remember it was for a good cause.  I was really glad I registered early because I got one of the really cool tie-dyed shirts.  When they ran out of those all they had was a plain yellow shirt.

One thing that was really cool is that there was a race being held simultaneously in Kibali.  The pastor from the church and his daughter were actually in Kibali and one of the race organizers had him on his iPad via FaceTime.  A prayer was said, the runners on each side of the globe said hello to each other and then we started.


Another thing that was really cool was that there was a water carrier division.  You could sign up to carry a 50-lb. water jug that holds 6.5 gallons of water.  This is how the villagers in Africa carry their water.  I hope these ladies finished the race.  It seems impossible to me.  Two teenage boys had duct taped their water jug to two poles and carried it like a stretcher.  The only time I saw them was when they whizzed past me.  Quite ingenious.  Do you think they have duct tape in Kibali?  I saw a lot of people really struggling with these jugs. 



Of course there is always at least one person in a kilt.  Next year I'm having a kilt for the St. Patrick's Day run.










They didn't have chip timing for this race, you just ripped off the bottom portion of your bib when you crossed the finish line.  My "official" time was 47:17 which isn't my best, but at least I finished.  I had a really great first mile at 13:55, the first time I've broken 14 minutes.  The last two miles of the race was a gradual uphill so I knew I slowed down quite a bit.  Hey, at least I finished!

At the end of the race there was a television set up that was simulcasting the finish line in Kibali.  I probably missed that by at least 30 minutes.  Those people probably run for necessity rather than for fun.

They also had some African music and dancers which I stood around and enjoyed for way too long.  When I looked at my watch I couldn't believe how late it was.  I forgot that we started a half hour late and I had only an hour to get home, shower, and leave for my painting lesson.

It was a beautiful morning in Colorado Springs.  We had a few hours of sunshine and no rain which made it really nice.




 

362nd out of 436 overall
22nd out of 38 in my age group









Comments

Yogi♪♪♪ said…
Way to go Ellen. No way I would have carried that water jug.
August 5, 2014 at 5:24 AM
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