RUN FREE, RUN JOZI

I entered this race ages ago. As soon as I heard about it, with no second thoughts whatsoever, I hoped online and paid the registration fee.Time went by and the race kind of crept up on me - a couple of weeks before, with the race hype gaining momentum, I started to realise that this race was gonna be huge. Like 10 000 people huge - 9 999 people and me! Eeeek! I started to think about backing out - it meant having to use the park and ride system, sticking to a schedule, relying on other people and not being able to do my own thing, which frankly I'm not very good at it. Takes me out of my comfort zone! Anyway, with the apparent theme of my own personal 2012 being all about stepping out of that comfort zone, I mentioned my fears to two good friends - and fellow runners - and they said "Just do it!"


And so, in true Nike fashion, I zoomed out of my complex at 16h00 on Wednesday 21 March, leaving behind two little girls who were totally miserable at not being able to watch Mommy finish the race in real time. In their own sweet ways, they had been so supportive over the days leading up to the race - asking loads of questions and proudly showing off their Run Jozi tattoos to everyone who would listen to how their Mom was going to be running in a big race, and so I felt sad to leave them behind but I knew their misery would be short-lived as my Mom had plans to take them for a yummy dinner to a favourite restaurant, one especially for people with a taste for life...

So I turned up the tunes, and with Faithless blaring from the radio, I drove off to Constitution Hill. A couple of kms down the road I realised I was driving behind a guy who was wearing the same neon yellow/green (tennis ball colour) shirt that I was, and I felt this silly need to somehow get his attention to show him that I was running the race too! Weirdo :-)

By the time I hit Barry Hertzog, I had seen loads of people wearing the same shirts, I had also noticed that I was the only person driving to the race on my own. Another eeeek! But by then I was fully into my adventure, I had switched from Faithless to 94.7 and was listening to Mark Pilgrim chatting to Samantha Cowen who was already at the start of the race.

Waiting in the rain to catch the bus from Constitution Hill to the start, I struck up a conversation with a girl who was standing alone (her name was Tessa and I knew immediately that this meant good luck for me - that from faraway my own Tessa friend would be sending me her love and support), she was meeting friends at the start so we had a good old chat on the bus and then went our separate ways when we arrived. With loads of time to kill, I found a spot out of the rain and used the neon body paint we had been given to decorate myself for the race, writing Ella on one leg, and Jem on the other, as I had promised my two little munchkins.

From the photos I have seen since the race, there was loads of entertainment before the start, but I didn't get to see any of it, I really was on my own mission, and I was so frikkin cold that I was at the tog bag truck trying to get my bag back so that I could find my sweatshirt and warm up. The guys couldn't find it though and eventually I gave up. As I made my way back to the square, I realised that everyone was getting into the starting pen. Standing there for an hour, waiting for the race to start, surrounded by so many people, all of us using the heat of the pack to warm up, was surreal. With only minutes to go, Nike wowed the crowd with a blaze of fireworks - spectacular! The voices of 10 000 people filled the air as we sang the National Anthem - goosebump stuff! The energy of the crowd increased, runners fidgeting to warm up, and rearing to go. The starting gun/whistle/trumpet (I have no recollection of what it was) went off as the clock struck 7pm. Being quite far back in the crowd, it was a while before I got moving but I stood in awe at the sea of neon shirts snaking their way over the start to the Nelson Mandela Bridge. With heart racing, legs shaking and my peanut butter energy fix slowly making its way through my body (or so I was hoping), I started to move. Running over the Nelson Mandela bridge is something I will never forget. What a race!

Thanks to Nike Running ZA for making it happen.
Thanks to every person who was part of the huge team who made the race what it was - tog bag collectors, water givers, Metro police - everyone!
Thanks to my brother who had given me a good pep talk that morning - and who had me eating yoghurt and a banana before the race while others were drinking beer and eating fish and chips :-)
Thanks to the girl who shared her Tuc biscuits with me - they were thrown into the crowd a little before the race started.
Thanks to the inhabitants of downtown Jozi who came out in droves to sing, dance and encourage as we ran past - their vuvuzelas making it a truly South African race.
Thanks to the kids who held out their hands to touch ours as we ran past, to the little girl who gave me a huge smile and made me think of my own munchkins.
Thanks to my music that just kept me going - I wasn't sure whether I was going to listen to it or to the sounds of the race, but there's such a connection between running and my music that I needed it to remind me  I was in the race.
Thanks to the dude - I have no idea who you are - who kept me going up the first incline. He was running my perfect pace and so I stuck behind him while he played dodgem around the walkers, clearing the way while I literally ran in his footsteps.
Thanks to the chick who ran with her head bouncing like a jack in the box. She kept me truly entertained for ages, it must have been exhausting to run so enthusiatically, but she was obviously fit enough to do it! Although I reckon she's going to have hectic neck issues one day.
Thanks to the guy who had his shirt customised to read 'I love pain'. I noticed him in the last km and had to smile. Although I wasn't in any pain it reminded me of what we need to do in order to get to where we want to be :-)

While waiting for the race to start, I sent a message to my girls who had 'sent' me messages via my Mom to wish me luck. My message to them read 'This is what it's all about my little girls - setting goals, making them happen and then being super proud of yourself'. This race was such an accomplishment for me - taking me out of my comfort zone and teaching me so much about myself, hopefully helping me to become a worthy role model to my children. They're both longing to run - even Jem has now told me that she wants to run, and I look forward to running their first 1km races with them.

The second I saw that finish line, I started to sprint, not because I was longing for the race to end, but because I just felt so great. I still felt fairly strong (thanks to the peanut butter - maybe) and I was overjoyed at my accomplishment. I gave a huge leap of joy as I hit the finish and my first thought was, "Can't wait to do it again!" :-)