Accra Internation (Half) Marathon

As many of you know, Ahni somehow talked me into running half of the Accra International Marathon in late-September. The rainy season in Ghana lasted longer than we've experienced previously, so it was cooler than the rest of the year, making the training runs nearly tolerable. We ran during the week but then on Sunday mornings we would meet as part of a larger group to go on long training runs. The kids would ride bikes with us on the weekends, which was helpful having a bottle of water readily at hand. I was overcoming an injury so my runs were a bit shorter than the others, but I did manage to run 10 miles two weeks prior to the race.The night before the race we co-hosted a carb dinner with our friends and running partners for all the runners from the embassy, a couple teachers from the kids' school, some visiting FAOs, the race director, and John "Maddog" Wallace. Maddog is a 72 year old Floridian who has run over 300 marathons on seven continents and in 105 countries. He was a treat to meet. The morning of race day came early with a 0430 wakeup for a 0500 departure from the house for the beginning of the race, which started at 0600 GMT (Ghana Maybe Time). Garrett was sick the previous couple days and Meg had played in a soccer tourney the previous day so we let the kids get some rest rather than join us. We asked Yaw to drive us, position himself along the route with drinks, then meet us at the finish line for the return to our house. We were at what we thought was the start point by 0530, at least it was the previous year, when someone drove by at 0600 telling us we were off by a mile or so. We jumped into vehicles and found the correct start point with over a hundred runners ready to race. After about thirty minutes of waiting I found the one race official present and asked why the delay. The official race starters apparently had to start the full marathon runners 13 miles back towards Pram Pram, then make their way to Tema for the start of the half. Many runners were anxious, including Ahni, but we waited patiently until 0700 when a couple guys arrived with multiple stop watches dangling from their necks and a starter pistol. First the wheelchair racers left and an hour and ten minutes late, the rest of us began the race. I took off at a good clip, keeping my eye on another American with whom I thought I had a chance to keep pace. At the three mile mark it became apparent my ambitions were too great as I experienced a small cramp in my calf. Water? I just needed water. Where was Yaw? Oh, there he is on the other side of the road. I signal for him to pull up and meet me on my side of the road with some water. He pulled forward alright, a couple miles. When I caught up to him again I crossed the road not wanting to miss my chance for liquids. I began walking as I drank and finished the bottle in quick fashion...just as I heard female voices to my rear. Could it be, Ahni chatting with Lisha? Had they caught up to me already? Sure enough. We turned off the beach road to find the first race-sponsored water point where I grabbed a bottle and walked again, as Ahni and Lisha moved out ahead of me. I continued on, running and walking, taking in more fluids as they became available. Each time I walked it seemed more of our group of runners was passing me. By the time we turned back onto the beach road I was doing more walking than running as it felt like someone was taking a driver and hitting a golf ball into my calves after 20 or so running paces. Not fun.

Ahni, on the other hand, had a great race as you can see from the photo above of her clapping while finishing. She kept a steady pace the entire race, and with Lisha alongside on the bike providing water, Ahni was able to finish ahead of all of us who had trained for the previous couple months. Bravo Ahni! As you can see from the picture above, I did manage to finish the race, and that is as close to a smile as I could manage. It took me a couple weeks to get over the physical and mental trauma caused by the race so that I could make this post.

Last week, as we were out jogging, Ahni mentioned running another half marathon in South Africa during spring break, the Two Oceans Marathon in Cape Town. I thought she was out of her mind! Training during the peak heat and humidity is not my idea of fun. I quickly changed the subject...