Last weekend I ran my first half marathon! We ran over Victoria Falls! It was awesome!
I signed up for it and started training three weeks before it happened, so I was hilariously undertrained. I also got food poisoning and into a car accident two weeks before the race, so my longest long run ended up being 8 miles the week before. The only reasons it wasn’t a disaster were my decent running base and my high school cross-country fortitude.
Before I ran the marathon, a family friend from back in the US gave me this advice: “since it’s your first half marathon and in this place, just enjoy it. Don’t aim for a time.” It was great advice! These same family friends also gave my friends and I some electrolyte gels and jellybeans, so if you’re reading this, thank you!
The most important thing: I ran happy and had fun. I didn’t have a time goal.
The other most important thing: I drank water at every water stand.
The Victoria Falls marathon is a hilly course. It begins with a run across the bridge over Victoria Falls, which is the most unique experience of the race. Two of my friends and I decided to stick together the first few miles so we could take selfies on the bridge (we clearly weren’t taking our times seriously). It was excellent. Our shoes got soaked, like we were running through the rain.
Then, the course goes into the national park, running along the Zambezi river. The first part of the course is downhill, and it’s gorgeous. You’re running along walking paths, and it almost reminded me of the paved bits of New England forest runs, except with tropical scenery. There were elephants lurking in the bushes, which I sadly (happily?) did not see.
The first half and a bit of the course was downhill, while the rest was net uphill. I’d been warned I’d probably go too fast and would burn out, but was still surprised when I hit mile 7, and then mile 8, as the fastest 7 and 8 mile runs I’d ever done (sample size of roughly 5). Then it started going uphill.
As noted, my longest training run was 8 miles. I’d predicted I’d be able to run about 10 or 11 miles before having to walk, so I was happy when the hill around mile 8 was painful, but okay. I started running on the unpaved side of the road because my feet were starting to hurt. I figured if I’d keep running the hills, even if others walked, or I’d just stop and wouldn’t keep going. So I kept jogging the hills painfully slowly. It hurt, but the thought of free water kept me going. The race was very well organized, with lots of food and drinks for the runners every 1-2 miles.
The highlight of this section was running into a guy wearing a dinosaur hat and tail. He said I was the only person to have correctly identified it was a dinosaur. We discussed the evolution of chickens.
When I reached about mile 11, I realised I was going to be able to run the whole thing. I also finally looked at my watch and realised that if I kept my pace up I could reach the finish line in a decent time for my pitiable amount of training. And I kept up my pace!
Despite all the hills, I miraculously managed to run the whole thing.
For my first half marathon, I pushed through four more miles than I’d ever run in a row (even in high school cross-country!), I ended with a decent time, and most importantly, I was happy. My legs were sore, but I could walk. I enjoyed the scenery, made some race friends, and got ice cream at the end.
Always run for ice cream.
It was a great trip overall. My friends and I roadtripped the 8 hours from Lusaka to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe with much Disney singalong, and without incident. It was my first time crossing a land border on the continent, and Zimbabwe gives beautiful visas. Bringing your car across border takes a long time, so be warned (my friend and I ended up having to pick up the race registration numbers for six other people).
There was good food in Victoria Falls the town. It was not cheap, but good. I drank 2/3 of this beer after the half marathon which resulted in a vague sunburn, because I am me. The brewery also had free water, the only beverage which loves me back (seriously, though. Carbonation? HAHAHA. Alcohol? HAHAHAHA. Milk? HAHAHA).
There was also VICTORIA FALLS! I’m not even going to write about it! Here are pictures!!!
Finally, we got tea at this old colonial hotel. The view was gorgeous and I’m glad we went, but it was still somewhat uncomfortable. The wall decorations wink at you, attempting to hearken back to a no-longer existent colonial past… but the patrons are all still white and the staff, black. (I’ve never so acutely noticed race and class as much as I have here. There’s this feeling of being an observer and a fraud, floating imperiously, invisibly above wherever I am).
But to end positively, this ties into something great about this half marathon. For 13.1 miles, it did not matter. Participants came from all over the world, but most were Zimbabwean. All the winners surely were. There were running clubs sponsoring those who couldn’t afford the bus tickets or registration fees. We were together boosting the local economy, experiencing a wonder of the world.
We ran happy.