On one of the weekends of March 2014, an idea called the 100km challenge was suggested, we were to run a total of 100kms within 3 days, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. We were to do 47kms on the Friday, 32kms on Saturday & 21kms on Sunday. The initial response from me of course was, i'll see..... I knew i wanted to take part but i didn't think i could take part in all 3 days, my greatest fear at that point being of course that i might find myself running by myself after everyone has left me since i knew i wasn't one of the stronger runners. I had to be realistic & think ahead. I committed to take part on the first day and then see how it goes.
A wonderful soul called Lungile Zulu sold this idea very wonderfully to me, she pleaded with me to take part in all the 3 days, in turn promising to run it with me every step of the way. Now i knew she was lying, no runner has ever kept that promise ever, it is the most famous trick in the book really, to promise another runner that you'll be with them every step of the way, just so they can take part, then come Dday, u leave them. Anyway, i agreed to go to Day 1, and didn't commit to the rest of the days. Another fear i had was fatigue, my legs had done so much mileage in this month, they had not had time to relax and recover.
Anyway, Day 1 came, we left before the rest of the group, which is a normal thing especially when you know that you do not run the same speed as the others, so we left at 4.00a.m i believe. The route was from Fitness Zone Manzini, Tiger, Mahhala, UNISWA, Lobamba, Parliament, Mahlanya, then back to Manzini using the old highway. As we approached Lobamba (approximately 18kms from the start) i could feel that i was getting tired, mind you, this was not even at halfway, I was beginning to lag behind from the other runners that we had started the run with. I started complaining that i'm beginning to feel tired. That crazy runner who promised to nurse me all the way kept saying, don't worry, you'll finish the run. I even called my driver and told him to meet us at Lobamba filing station so that we could load the car with supplies and for me it was more so that i could have a backup plan, in case i felt i wanted to bail out of the run.
Sometimes it is necessary to have Plan B, sometimes it is actually what you need to keep you going. I don't think it is a sign of weakness, for me having Plan B gives me more comfort to take up a challenge. Other plan Bs include always having money on you when embarking on a long run, in case you need to take a bus due to fatigue or sickness or even buy a drink along the way for hydrating, another plan B is having a phone on me during a long run, to be able to call for help in case it is needed. Funny enough these plan Bs i equip myself with have been of more assistance to others than they have to me.
So back to the challenge, as we went up Parliament, the crazy runner i was with slowed down n ran next to me. We got to Lobamba filling station, hydrated, did the normal break thingi, then kept running, as we approached Mahlanya, the bigger group started catching up with us, eventually all of them left us and we kept on moving forward. From Mahhala to Manzini it was just Lungile & I who were left behind ohh & some other guy who decided to crawl with us, i repeat, that Lungile is one patient runner, kept lying to me, telling me how close we are to the finishing point, she did everything in her power to just distract me from the very tough challenge that we were putting ourselves through. We chatted, laughed, took selfies, occasionally stopped and hydrated. Without getting into the finer details, lets just say, I completed the run, with my crazy runner beside me... Day 1 was done & dusted, and i found myself committing to Day 2, probably because this crazy runner had done such a good job ensuring that i was well taken care of.
Day 2 came, again we started earlier than the rest. The route was from Fitness Zone, Fairview, Ludzeludze, then back to Manzini. This was a very painful run, the legs were tired from the previous day's 47km run, it was a veeeeeeeeeery slow run, but the crazy runner next to me again made it somehow bearable and fun, if there is anything like fun when going through pain. As usual, the rest of the group caught up with us, left us as usual, but we kept moving. Our usual Plan B was around to give us support together with another Plan B that the team had provided. Again, one thing led to another and i found myself committing to Day 3.
Day 3 came, the usual happened, but the relief here was that, this was to be the last day of the challenge. We chatted, we laughed, we took photos, chatted some more. It was the slowest 21km run i have ever done but funny enough, we took fewer breaks this time, probably because we had so many stories to share. I do remember that on one of the stories we shared, i even shed a tear, ah yes, the wonders of running. So after some good 2-3 hours of running, Day 3 was done, and we had done a 100kms in 3 days. That crazy Lungile Zulu ran next to me the whole 100kms, this was to be one of the running experiences i will never forget. I conquered a challenge, i shared the experience with someone who has become a very special friend. The famous quote "It always seems impossible until its done", seems very befitting.
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