The IDI, where I work, put together a team for the 2009 MTN Kampala Marathon. Over 100 people signed up and the reception secretary, Connie, put everything together for us. She even set up outside one day to hand us all our "kits," a nice cloth bag with a race brochure and map, visor, race jersey, bib number, and race chip. This was a seriously big deal. Something like 18,000 participants signed up and it was a sight to behold on race day!
Four hours after getting home from the crazy fun of the SAWA ball, I was back up and getting ready to run. All the madness was starting at the Kololo airstrip and my chances of meeting up with friends before the race looked pretty grim. The race program stated the full marathon was going to start at 7:00, the half-marathon at 7:15 and the 10K (which I was running) was slated to take off at 7:30. That seemed a little ambitious for me, so I strolled up the hill to Kololo at 7:10 and to my surprise, the race had already started! There was still a mass of people waiting in line, and I found Sabine, Yuka, and Jen near the gate. Nobody seemed to be organized by race, so everyone just took off at the same time - although taking off is an exaggeration as we had to walk for the first 5 minutes because it was so crowded.
As we approached the starting line, the inflatable gate started collapsing, but did not deter the thousands of people ready to run (or walk, and I saw a couple people with bikes and someone on rollerblades!).
We ran out of Kololo and out onto Acacia Avenue at Bubbles, past Latinos, Khana Kazana, Casablanca, Protea (site of the previous night's escapades), and down toward the golf course.
Here is the mob going past the golf course club house, with the advertisement for the marathon looming above the road. I have to give credit to Ben Ho, who encouraged me to photodocument the whole race. I first thought it would be absurd to try and carry a camera during a race, but his advice was wisely taken and I will post here are a few choice pics.
My running partner Jen Orkis! I was happy to have a friend to run with and we had a blast with the camera. This was probably not the best idea to take our eyes off the road, considering the condition of Kampala's asphalt, to do an action self-portrait.
After climbing the final hill on Acacia, we turned left and went down Yusuf Lule past Garden City Mall and the new Nakumatt Oasis Complex.
At Centenary Park, we turned onto Jinja Road, past Hotel Africana and trekked down to the Lugogo Mall.
Coming up the Lugogo Bypass, I saw my friend Heleen. I sprinted to catch up and get in front of her to take this action shot. I convinced her to move to the lane on the other side of the median which was less crowded, to run with Jen and I. But soon after, we got reprimanded by some officers and had to jump the drainage ditch to get back...whoops.
Just before Kira Road, we turned back into Kololo and made our way back to the airstrip along Prince Charles Drive. The race is almost over, and the road is still packed!
The finish line is in sight!
Post-race was hectic. As you saw how many people were crossing the finish line at the same time, they were having a little trouble with crowd control. Then, they were giving out free water bottles when you turned in your race chip, and it turned into a mob! People were pushing and grabbing - my race bib got torn off as I was trying to make it out alive.
The IDI had a tent, and Connie was serving up samosas, cake, and juice! It was so much fun to see our colleagues out for the race.
Good work Sabine and Jen!
Nice shirt Heleen! And Sanne was sporting some new Ugandan tennis shoes for the event.
More members of the IDI team!
I was honored to have participated in such a uniting event, with thousands of Ugandans running beside myself and each other! The camaraderie after the event was amazing (minus the fighting over bottles), and am thankful to Connie and the IDI for setting it up for all of us.
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