I have a fun story to share. God indeed works in our lives in mysterious ways - and most often these "mysterious" ways are not altogether enjoyable. This time, however, I feel God chose to give me a moment that perfectly coincided with my desires. He chose to bless my hard work. In short, God chose to smile on me.
I don't often write about the races I participate in, mostly because it kind of feels too self-aware. But the Bali Marathon was a bit of a landmark for me so I will indulge a little (and my friend Moon is always telling me I should write about things).
We stayed just the two of us in a beautiful villa steps from the ocean and, conveniently, steps from the race start. It was great having Ben around for all my pre-race jitters and eccentricities. He knows what I need to eat 48hrs before, 24hrs before up until the morning of. He knows that I like good coffee - not that 3-in-one stuff that they always have at the hotel. He knows that I don't want to be on my feet for hours doing touristy stuff. It was very soothing to be just the two of us.
View from our villa in Cukukan
Ben was the race MC (how he managed to swing that is another story) so was privy to inside scoop such as where the secret hills were on the course, how many Kenyan runners were coming, how many couldn't make it, and basically just enough information to quadruple my nerves. I arrived at start line shortly before 5am and began to size up my competition. I won't lie in saying that I secretly held hopes of placing in the top three - mostly because my son Blaise was really counting on it. I also not so secretly hoped that the Kenyans would send their third stringers to the race. Alas, it was not so. At the start line were two, beautiful, long-legged, perfectly lean -- especially created by God to run swiftly -- Kenyan women. In addition were four elite Indonesian athletes. I figured I could beat one of the Indo girls which would put me in 6th. All this before the race started.
The gun went off and we were away into the dark. And it was dark. There wasn't even a street light for the first 5km. The Kenyans were gone and we never saw them again. After 5k I pulled away from the elite girls. They were running a conservative pace and probably planning to do negative splits whilst I tend to run quicker in the first half and die a slow death in the second. This being my race plan I proceeded to run the next 15 or so km completely on my own. It was painfully solitary except for the occasional village where the school kids thronged the side of the road creating a gauntlet-like cheer section for us to pass through - a welcome diversion. At about 22km the number one elite girl flew by me on the right; she was kind enough to invite me to join her pace but I didn't have it in me. So for the next 10km I ran with her barely insight in front of me, disappearing each time there was a bend in the road. From 30km to the 35km we climbed up the hillside into the Ubud area. It was a grueling climb. I must also add that due to some thirsty villagers we found that at a number of water points there was no water at all. Mercifully my kind friend and volunteer Timo brought me several bottles of water and isotonic on his bicycle. Thanks Timo!
The last 7k were a gentle descent to the finish. Honestly, by the time I reached the summit I no longer retained any hope of finishing in the top 3. I was content to just run my race and I was sufficiently happy with my performance. However, after about 1km into the descent I realized that I was gaining on my opponent. I started to panic. It wasn't possible for me to beat her, she was always faster than me. But she was getting closer and closer. With 3km left to go I drew even with her. We ran side by side for about 1km all the while I am thinking she is just saving herself for the final kick. Instead slowly I pulled away from her until with less than 1km left I could no longer hear her footfall behind me. It wasn't until that point that I really believed I could beat her, and I will admit that I ran that last km thinking about my son's pride and the prize money. I crossed the finish line only 30 seconds in front of fourth place.
Proudly sharing the podium with amazing talent
So, I know God was smiling on me. It was because of him that only two Kenyan girls showed up for the race out of the four that should have. It was also because of him that my body felt great. It was because of him that Ben could be there to catch me at the finish line and give me unconditional support throughout training. I know now from many painful experiences that racing doesn't always end with a happy result. This time, however, it did and I am incredibly thankful.
