How to Run a Marathon in Kampala

The MTN Marathon on 23 November 2014 was my first ever run and I did the 10k, along with a couple thousand other people. I thought I'd share some of my observations and musings.

First things first: Registration

There is no online registration. Where computer access, internet access, and electricity, are not aways a given, especially all at the same time, it makes sense. Also, very few events have good websites or online advertising (which makes getting information quite interesting). So registration tables get set up around the city. You show up, tell them your name, phone number, jersey size, and which race you are doing, pay your 20,000 UGX (currently about $7.41), and get your kit. The other option is to register via mobile money, which is a very convenient technology that we don't have in the US (yes, that's a thing). 

Race Day:

I didn't carry anything with me, so I couldn't take pictures. But here are some observations. I would be very interested in hearing if any of these are not, in fact, unique to Kampala (again, this was my first!). I would also love to hear from others who ran!

• Thinking of getting fancy running gear? Don't bother. ballet flats, dress pants, cut off jean shorts, converse shoes, it's all appropriate running gear for this crowd!
• An aerobics class is offered from the main stage at the starting point to help everyone get warmed up. It's good entertainment, anyway.
• For the love of everything good in the world, watch your step! Every. Single. Step. There is no such thing as a flat surface in this city. Holes, cracks, stones, bumps, dips and just plain uneven ground abound. 
• Similarly, roads are not completely shut down to normal traffic, please don't get hit by a boda, a matatu, or a car. And try not to run over unsuspecting pedestrians.
• If you're going to run the 10k, you're going to have to weave your way through hundreds of 10k walkers. 
• If you're interested in winning or trying to go fast at all, you better be at the very very very very front of the pack.
• Any person at any time can start yelling "WE GO! WE GO!" and a good number of people will join in with great enthusiasm. (This is the first half of the National Football team's chant. The rest is: "Uganda Cranes we go!" The chant gets used basically any time people get excited though!)
• There are no spectators cheering you on. But that one random American girl who was standing in the median with her umbrella cheering for us was awesome.

I was able to run almost the whole way, to my surprise. It rained all morning, which probably helped quite a bit by keeping me cool. Kampala is a hilly city, so that adds an extra challenge. I even wore by minimalist "5-toes" shoes, which I usually only wear for hiking, and they felt good the whole time. My knees, which usually give me trouble when hiking, started hurting pretty bad about the last 2 km, which slowed me down quite a bit. I crossed the finish line at 1hr 24min 04seconds. I feel like that's pretty good considering I'm not sure I've never even attempted to run more than a couple miles before!

Unfortunately, my lack of training had its adverse affects. The next day the bottom/outside edge of my left foot hurt pretty bad to walk on. After doing some online research I'm pretty sure I injured my perineal muscles. I also found that this is a pretty common runner injury, so for you runners, here's a link to a really helpful article that did a good job of compiling the info I found on several websites and after hours of research (why don't you ever find these things first?). I've done a lot of icing and stretching and avoiding running in my workouts (or anything that causes sharp pain). As of Sunday, 7 days post run, I was pain free. I'm really happy about that, and will ease back into the running. 

I had laugh out loud when I read this line in the linked article:  

"When it comes to the peroneals the thing to remember is that they are a stabilizer muscle. They help the ankle and foot keep you upright when you hit uneven/loose terrain."

As I said above, there really is no such thing as even terrain in Kampala, so these muscles are getting quite a workout on a daily basis, and it also probably made the run that much more of a strain to them.

All told, I feel pretty good about it, and it's nice to feel like you've accomplished something! I really like the idea of trying to train to do the 21k next year.  I say that without having done any training, of course. But if we can get a team together, train together, run together, and party together after, I think it can happen. I'm looking at you, Fitness 4 Life!

There's also this marathon in Kenya that goes through a wildlife park. How cool is that?