Running for others

I finally got the chance to make a dream come true, paceset the Two Oceans Half Marathon, but not any old paceset, to paceset the cut off bus. I approached Runner’s World with the request and it was granted.

March 19, 2008 I arrive at the Two Oceans expo to claim my flags for the paceset, Amy from Runner’s World, with a smile, hands me the flags and there is the moment that it sinks in, I am pacesetting Two Oceans.

March 22, 2008 I arrive at the “F” seeding at 05h10 and I do not see anyone I know, of course I get the curious looks and whispers amongst those standing there. Some not understanding the concept ask “What is the Sub 3:00 for ?” A quick explanation and off they go chatting amongst themselves. Finally my running partner arrives, I know this is not a good day for her, her training hit a flop with two weeks off with flu so a good time might not be achieved today.

A few minutes later and I find I am not the last person there anymore, there are hundreds behind me. My nerves are finished, why I don’t know, it is not my first paceset.

The gun goes and immediately we start the slow walk forward, two minutes later and we are across the line, two hundred meters into the race and 5,4,3,2,1 Lets Jet …we start to run. Two hundred meters from the first kay and I shout out “200 meters to go”

All to soon it is 5,4,3,2,1 walk break. Well this stunned some runners, walk break already, some joined in others carried on running. Two hundred meters later 5,4,3,2,1 Lets Jet and I flip a switch on my Zatek external speaker and click the MP3 player on.

“Running, running running running yeah yeah running everyday “ sing the US Marines, the bus actually seemed to come into step with the marines.

We approach the first water table and I quickly shout out “Those wanting water/coke move to the left those not wanting anything stay in the middle, bypass the first person handing out sachets there are more behind them”

By the time we reached 10 kay I had a sizeable bus and my stealing 20 to 30 seconds each kay had worked out nicely to a 5 minute ahead of schedule, to the sighs of relief I informed the bus that we would take a extended walk break to the top of the hill into Southern Cross Drive.

At Southern Cross we still had a minute and a half so again I told the bus” We are going to do another extended walk break up this last part of Southern Cross” At the top it was 5.,4,3,2,1 Lets Jet.

Charmaine Le Roux from Namibia gave me quite a bit of uphill on this race, each time we resumed the run she would take off, I finally told her if she really wants to she can wear my flags and lead us, she decided to rather stay next to me.

Coming past the 17 km mark I saw the race photographers ahead so I say to the guys “Look ahead, photographers, check your hair straighten your clothes and what ever you do…do not throw up when they take the pictures, it really spoils the pictures.” Lots of laughs from the bus.

We finally get to the last hill before UCT and we have a minute ahead on the schedule “Good news we are ahead of time so an extended walk break up this hill and once at the top it is a run to the finish” Victor a runner from Benoni says to me, “Hey you got us this far we staying right here with you”

I think that was were it really sank in, these runners all pinned there hopes on me bringing them in, they put their faith in me, later I saw that a few of them were failed attempts from 2007, they were following me to make the 2008 race.

So in we run into UCT and along the grass, just before the first Champion Chip mat I shouted out to them “This is not the finish, it is still 100 meters ahead” Johan next to me goes “Agg nie man”

So final stretch and Charmaine takes off like an escaping prisoner, “You go Charmaine” I shout out to her, Johan makes a break as well ….like a horse to the stables.

I am suddenly confronted by a bloke with a microphone who wants to chat, ummm okay, answered a few of his questions and sprinted off to finish under the banner with the bus, handshakes, hugs and lots of “I made it…yeah”. 2:55:57 was my time. At 2:56 the last of my bus crossed the line.

What a bus, I had a Zimbabwean, a Namibian and an American in my bus, I had Dbn people, Cape Town people, Gauteng people....Charmaine, Devendran, Thabo, Jennifer, Rene, Barbara, Johan, Victor Shaw, Andrew, Colleen, Linda, Patricia, Daphne, Thembeka and Eric from United States Of America...few so many people, these are only a few I can remember. My dream completed and achieved and it was so great I will be back next year with the Sub 3:00 bus.

Oh of course Anna, well sadly Anna tried her best and that is all I expect from her, she did a 3:11 which is a PB for her, although she was quite sad and shed a tear or two she is committed to return to face Two Oceans again.