Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 95, June 2017 | Page 33

BOTSWANA
Feature
Ma
Bound
On the afternoon of 3 May 2017, shortly after receiving news that
Karen Brough had won the Modern Athlete Diacore Gabarone
Marathon competition, three bubbly running buddies met up
for a celebratory ice-cream and to make some plans for our (very)
last-minute road-trip. Botswana will never be the same, and
neither will Sandra Brownrigg, Karen and I. – BY WENDY SELLER
putting finishing touches on
everything, including painting
the picket fence in anticipation
of Botswana’a running event of
the year.
W
e are all fairly new at this running
thing, having only joined the Easy
Equities Born 2 Run club at the end
of 2016. So we couldn’t believe
that within a matter of minutes, our
weekend plans had changed significantly and that we
would be running our very first international race four
days later. The next 24 hours were frantically busy as
we ran around and arranged everything from transport
to passports, babysitters and playlists for the four-and-
a-half-hour drive to Gaborone.
The drive was a laugh-a-minute adventure, as three
city girls took to the road and made our way through
quaint dorpies, popped in at the local Prokureur’s
Kantoor for a toilet stop, and man-handled the 4x4 on
the longest stretch of rugged dirt-road any of us had
ever seen.
Four hours flew past in what felt like forty minutes.
On the other hand, getting through the border was a
testing trundle. Thankfully it was still light when we
drove over the line and found ourselves in rush-hour
Gaborone traffic. The locals were friendly and happily
helped us find our way to the Miami-esque Grand Palm
Peermont Hotel. By now we were a little frazzled, and
after checking in, we devoured dinner and called it a
night.
Excitement Overload
Early on Saturday morning we laced up our running
shoes and went for a little exploratory trot to acquaint
ourselves with the streets of Gaborone. It was
surreal to see the race organisers out before sunrise,
The three of us were like kids
the night before Christmas at
race number collection, wide
eyed and hyped up for the
experience of a lifetime, and
proudly paraded our lumo-
orange race packs for all to see. None of us slept very
well that night – typically we never do, as pre-race
excitement had taken hold – but the preparation was
done, our numbers pinned to club vests and alarms
were set for an early start.
Race morning came and we once again realised how
lucky we were to be standing at the start line of the
Diacore Gaborone Half Marathon, surrounded by a
few hundred runners from every corner of the globe.
The race energy was frenetic just prior to the gun
going off, but as soon as the race began, we took to
the streets with only one objective: To enjoy every
minute, to savour the experience, and to do what we
love most, run!
the roads reminded us of the honesty of Africa, and it
was brutally beautiful.
The vibe was incredible, with lots of locals cheering
and showing appreciation for us foreigners running
in their country, and the water points were frequent
and well managed in the 36-degree heat. The three
of us were on top of the world – a flattish, slightly
undulating African world, but we were on top of
it anyway. The half marathon route allowed for a
very consistent race, and despite stopping to take
snapshots along the way, we found ourselves running
through the finish line in very respectable times, with
the most awesome memories. The cherry on top was
receiving the news that Karen had won a prize for
finishing fourth in the over-40 age category!
Although the Diacore Gaborone Half Marathon is not
one of the toughest races, this was by far the most
thrilling race for us. We felt like champions as we
hugged at the finish line and then danced our way to
medal collection. What a feeling finishing the race with
the widest of smiles and happiest of hearts – three
friends and sisters in running. And with Botswana
having endeared itself to us, we will happily return to
run the full marathon in 2018.
Because we had no preconceived ideas about the
route, we didn’t bog ourselves down with any pre-race
strategies or discussions about elevation, pace and
route profile maps, we simply went out there to have
tons of fun and make it home with a shiny new medal
to show everyone.
Essential Selfies!
After a few kilometres, Mother Nature pulled out
all the stops and showed off with the most insane
sunrise. The blazing ball of fire in the sky literally
rendered us speechless, and we stopped on the fly-
over for a couple of selfies. We were tourists, after all!
Running in Gaborone can only be described as “city
meets bushveld,” with tarred roads surrounded by the
remnants of excavated bush, and livestock roaming
around – chickens, cows and even donkeys crossing
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