Having aircon in my room in Sierra Leone has been something of a
novelty. That and the fact that the AMZAS hotel is seemingly, by
some miracle, a "no bark, no howl" zone for dogs, has made sleep
both easier and more plentiful. So it wasn't too much of a wrench
to roll of bed at 5.30 this morning to meet Mohamed Conteh and
Emilie Walsh at the start of the Kiln Sierra Leone Marathon at
6.
With the kind of foresight that I will not be exhibiting on race
day, I had forgotten to stock up on water the night before so only
had about a litre and a half to pour into my Camelbak. The bare
minimum I would need, I thought, to keep me going around the half
marathon course.
That aside, the day was starting well. As I left the hotel at
5.55, it was obvious that it would be light enough to start the
actual races earlier than the 6.30am gun I had anticipated. As it
turned out, we were able to set off at 6.15.
It was overcast and humid and within a mile or so, the sweat had
started pool. Except for Mohamed, who was as dry as Sierra Leone in
February until about mile 6, when he managed a couple of rivulets
on his temple. Emilie peeled off to follow the 5km course, and
Mohamed and I continued along the half marathon course. Although
lots of people were up and about, and breakfasts were in an
advanced state of preparation, there was slightly less noise from
the no doubt still sleepy kids along the route. Traffic was
virtually non-existent, except on the main roads, which was also
reassuring.
At Panlap junction we turned onto the hard mud surface of the
Kamakwie highway and saw only three motorbikes on the road from
mile 6 to mile 11. What we did see a lot of were women and children
carrying bundles of wood, and plastic tubs filled with cassava or
huge piles of mangoes. They don't look like the ones you get in
Sainsbury's, mind. Most are about the size of a large lemon and
yellow-skinned. I'll be sampling as many as I can in the next few
days.
Our pace was good, but not excessive and although I began to
tire in the last two miles, I think this was probably down to
rationing my water too much early on and suffering as a result. A
valuable lesson in the effects of dehydration. It was still
overcast as we finished, but the sun did start to break though by
late morning. Overcast is vastly preferable, so fingers crossed for
that on the 9th.
