Marathon weekend

Running is a big thing in Kenya with high hopes here for Olympic success in the distance events. There are loads of Marathons, half Marathons and triathlons organised across the country and this weekend saw the Lewa marathon in a nature conservancy about 270km from Nairobi. Tim was invited to join a team running the half marathon back in February and the quick email exchange we had at the time had great pictures and plenty of time to train for half of what is described as one of the toughest 10 marathons in the world. So of course he said yes. Amazing how time flies!

The race starts early on Saturday morning so people camp overnight on Friday. We duly packed up the car and set off towards mount Kenya

We haven't been this way before and it was fascinating to see the very different scenery, with large scale farming (rather than the more familiar small holdings), tea plantations and well maintained roads (allegedly because they are a major route for qaat, the favoured narcotic of the region). We arrived just in time to get our tent up before the sun set, with a little help from Tim's team mates and a very slickly organised registration process which took minutes rather than the hours that lots of admin can take. Matthew was thrilled that he didn't have to wait long before he could try out his various torches.

Whilst Tim and about 1000 others ran across the conservancy we drove to various water points along the route to look out for him and show our support. There was a large contingent of runners who we knew through school and work and just meeting people over the last few months. We had fun looking out for them and seeing friends amongst the spectators. Some of the runners seemed to have fun too, although I now know that a fair few were questioning what they were doing there. Tim survived - the run was possibly easier than the four hour car journey back to Nairobi with tired, scratchy kids- and was already looking up other similar events on Sunday morning. Next goal is the Masai Mara half marathon in September. Plenty of time to train again.....

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Anne