Top 7 List: Kansas City and Vic Falls, Zimbabwe

Before we move on to other topics, just a few observations about how the Victoria Falls Marathon was a little bit different from the Waddell and Reed…

1.       The attire: There is something very impressive about a dude who can run 42 km in a pair of slip on Keds tied on with ribbon. Slightly more impressive was the guy running after him in jeans and bare feet.

2.       The course: Despite the fact that the Waddell and Reed wound through downtown Kansas City, all traffic was detoured to make room for the race. Here, we were in low traffic areas, but any large Land Rover or truck that happened by demanded total right of way. It’s dodge or be run over. The big ones always win.

3.       Trackers: The Kansas City race provided microchips for all the runners to track their movements and ensure that they stayed on course. In Vic Falls, we were issued a bib only, and thought “what is keeping us from taking a short cut?”…oh yeah, the fear of approaching a predator on foot. (Not to worry, armed guards protected the course, and race volunteers posted at checkpoints along the way shouted out our numbers to be recorded by their clip-board toting partners. Owen’s number was misread at least twice, so you really have to take my word for the fact that he was there.)

4.       Casual runners: This is just something that we’ve noticed, but our sample is probably not totally representative. It seems as though America is full of people who have the marathon on their bucket list, their goal is completion, they make t-shirts and they run with sorority sisters. Here, you’re either a hard-core athlete or you do no exercise at all (on purpose). You would never wear your running shoes to the mall, because those are for training (or “gyming” if you like to verbify what the athletes do). Are you training? Other than the group of Afrikaans men who looked like rugby players and sang and chanted about shot-gunning beers, there was not a lot of socializing on the course. In fact, due to the small number of participants in the race and its rural setting. We spent most of the 5 hours on a beautiful, hilly, quiet, lonely road.

5.       Which reminds us of the noise: Kansas City had bands and dancers at many corners, the crowds watching the race, and the normal crowd of downtown milling about. Vic Falls had one band of traditional drummers, and a small clan of uniformed schoolchildren with the encouraging, easily translated cheer: “well done, well done, well done.”

6.       The snacks: Kansas City offered water, Gatorade, nuts, raisins, M&Ms, granola bars, fruit, etc. Vic Falls offered us plenty of water, Coca cola, and a single orange slice. It turns out, that’s really all you need.

7.       Gotta go? In Kansas City, it’s the Port-a-potty, or in a true emergency, the dumpster. Here you just pee in the bush, same as always.

The camaraderie experienced alongside of people from all over the world, and the enthusiasm of the race organizers was startling similar. Waddell and Reed offered free Jack Stack barbecue at the end, not unlike our delicious, meat-centered, traditional braii (barbecue) at the Victoria Falls backpackers.