Many Miles, Mountains, and Malaria

There’s a trend going on—the longer I’m in Uganda and get used to my life here, the less my stories seem blog-worthy, so I’ve unfortunately fallen out of the habit. This blog, however, I owe to everyone who supported my marathon effort. With your help, I was able to raise $3010.00 and run 26.2 crazy hilly miles in the middle of Africa.  I cannot thank you enough!! So here’s how it all went down…

When I signed up for the marathon in January, I thought I’d have to go it alone. But through the magic of facebook, my friend Joel Ostdiek from Notre Dame who was doing research in Uganda saw my fundraising post and decided to sign up too! So, now we were an ND duo ready to take on our international competition.  

Joel enjoying a pre-race meal

We made sure we were all prepped for the race. Eat, hydrate, rest, repeat. Eat, hydrate, rest , repeat. I had an awful dehydration experience on a previous half marathon, so I was determined do my homework this time around. Come the night before, we were ready as we’d ever be.

The elevation map of the course

The course was daunting. It was a hilly half marathon loop of trail running. So if you didn’t like a certain hill the first go round you were bound to really hate it 13.1 miles later. Oh and there was only one bathroom on the course. Let me tell you, that’s a long time to go without a bathroom (we stuffed our shoes with toilet paper just in case). And last but not least, I had gotten diagnosed with “severe malaria” about a month before the race to help stack the odds against me haha. It was me (and Joel) vs. many miles, mountains, and malaria.

For the first half marathon, we were strong. Winding through rural towns and schools, up and down gravel slopes, and taking in the scenery. Around mile 9, nearly 700 Ugandan 10k runners come stampeding through the course. Let’s just say that Simba had it easy with those rampaging wildebeests.  

About what Joel and I felt like when the 10k runners came through

Joel peeled off to finish his half marathon, leaving me with one more loop. At the half, I was feeling strong. I had run the first half conservatively so I was ready to do the second half faster than the first. I ran for miles and miles without seeing another runner. Finally, I spotted a man in the distance at the foot of the largest hill on the course. I closed the gap and passed him on the hill, but once I reached the top I felt woozy.  My body began to tingle and my feet grew hot. Dehydration. This feeling was all too familiar. With 7 miles to go, I knew it was something I couldn’t just power through and had to stop at the medical station.

After some rehydration salts, water, and a bit of rest, I was back on track. The last several miles were a struggle and I knew I wouldn’t finish in record time, but I had to finish. I’d spent too many hours training to fizzle out when it mattered. Finally, I turned the last corner and saw the finish line. Woof. I did it!

Crossing the finish line!

Thanks again to everyone that helped me through the race. I couldn’t have done it without you!