Where to start? At the start?
When we first moved to Cairo we heard about this mental race that took place in November. Teams would run in relay over a 100km course between the pyramids. Crazy. Some even crazier people would run it as individuals. I'd done a bit of running when living in London, and raced a few 10km's but they were hard and running that distance out here in the heat would be harder....and I'd need to do it twice in a day (team size of five people). So we let the crazy and crazier do their thing and kept going with ours.
In about March 2010 though two friends came up with a plan - why don't we try and enter a team for the Pharonic - it would be "fun" they said. So, team "Two Allsops, Two Sarahs and a Gibbon" was born and we started training.
Sarah (one of two) had discovered something called PodRunner which was a series on interval training mixes you could download. The dance music varied between fast and slow, when you would run or walk and gradually increase the time and distance you were running. By the end of term in June I had managed to finish the series to run 5km. All going good I bought a pair of trainers in the summer (after having my gait analysed on a treadmill - very exciting) all set to keep training ready for the November race.
Scotty's training was hampered by his knee - he twisted his knee cap badly in the summer of 2009 and, after various MRI and physio appointments, all they could do was give him a few exercises to strenghten the tendons and warn him that it could easily happen again. Not great news. We bought a few different knee supports which would help for a while, but after a week of training he found he had to rest for at least a week to allow his knee to recover. But Scotty is determined to train and to race. It turns out this is why the Gibbon suggested the race team, because he "knew Scotty loved a project". Determined to see it through, Scotty also bought new trainers over the summer in preparation for a return to training. We did some intervals training on the steep hills of Buxton, which got us back into the swing of things, but we knew it would be much tougher in the heat of Cairo.
New trainers in hand we returned to Cairo in September ready for training to 10km and training in heat again - as although we knew it will have cooled down by November, it would still be Egypt! Training started well after Scotty had an ingenious plan to create IndieRunner - mixed Indie songs for the same lenghts / bpm as PodRunner so that interval training is more interesting and fun than repetitive house music. Scotty was, however, still hampered by his knee and I joined the gym instead of training on the track at work, as it was too hot to train outside (30C still at 4.30pm).
By late September people were starting to get their race entries in and suddenly our team which aimed to "get round and have fun" had quadrupled in size and we were told that there were nearly 20 of us in the team. We tried to split the team up, but as we did and entry forms were being completed people started dropping out. Our two Sarahs and a Gibbon decide that they're not going to race and we are unsure what to do for a while.
Then the team was formed: us two, Nicola (who joined school last year and we know really well through music stuff), Fay (who joined school this year, is a keen runner and has said she will organise the team) and David (who joined our Dept at school this year and is hard as nails - so hard that he contemplated doing the race solo!). We will be team "Fast or Furious"
So race day comes and our alarm is set for 2.15am We get up and dressed into our running gear, plus tracksuits and jumpers, as it is cool out at this time in the morning. We breakfast on a slice of toast and jam as we walk to the meeting point in Maadi. Our team and four other teams are collected by cars someone from school arranged and taken to the hotel the other side of the Cairo from where the race is organised. Here we get our race numbers and pins and a not-to-scale map of the course. Part of our entry fee goes on a team mini-bus and we are bus 10. We have the bus and driver for the day with a box of water and half a tree of bananas to keep us going.
We're meant to leave the hotel at 4am to get to Fayoum where the race starts. Just after 4am our bus pulls out of the hotel, only to pull up outside along the curb. All 100 buses do this until everyone is along the curb and then the convoy sets off. In true Egyptian-style we get 1km down the road and then all do a U-turn to get ourselves in the right direction. Slight mayhem ensues when 100+ minibuses try to do the U-turn. As we head down the Agricultural Road to Fayoum more confusion and delays occur when the convoy manages to stop as half a dozen drivers get out at a road-side cafe to get their coffee fix. No one is really sure what is going on, but after 10 minutes we are on our way again.
It is 6am now, the time the race is due to start, and we are still on the road. Finally we turn off and a few single-track roads later we reach a bit of desert where two step-ladders have been put up and a banner strung between them. The Start.
We get out and the sun is just coming up. It's cold and misty, but we can tell that this mist isn't of the natural kind. In the air we can smell that they have been burning the fields out here. We think we've excaped the pollution of Cairo and find this - great! David heads off to warm up and the rest of us stand about with our arms hugged to our chest - gosh it can get cold out in the desert!
We're glad for our jumpers and are hopeful that the say will stay cool as it will really help in the later miles, but we know at least that David will have a good first leg in this cooler weather. As both the mist and sun rise we see a strange looking mound in the distance behind the start line. With a bit of squinting we make out that it's our first pyramid of the day. As we wander around the starting area we see a few people who look like race officials, then someone with a white coat and a stethascope around his neck (we guess the race Medic) but also a large group of bedouin...with guns. These guys are in gallebeyas with Egyptian pashimas thrown over the shoulders or around their heads to keep warm. They all then have a rifle slung over a shoulder. They are the equivalent of the metal crash barrier for the London Marathon, protecting the route for randoms along the way.
The starters are lined up (the fast, the keen and the nervous) and plugged in, but before they can get going the race organiser is asking for a runner from Team 18. It turns out they got lost on their way here and so after 10 minutes they show up and the race can get underway. Forty minutes behind schedule, the race starts. Bang!
0km David gets off to a good start and is going at pace. We jump in our bus and head up the road following the runners. The road is double track with sand either side and so all of the minibuses are driving alongside the runners - not great conditions for the runners especially as the buses try to overtake each other to get in position alongside their runner. We pass David and yell encouragement out of the window. We decide to pull up at the 5km mark and we jump out to offer him some water. He grabs it and keeps running while he takes a sip. Then comes the flaw in our plan as he runs back to us to give us the bottle back! We'll think this through better next stop!
We head up the road to the 10km mark and this time manage to execute a faultless water stop. Sarah hands him the open bottle of water, Scotty, Fay and I stand and cheer while Nicola is 40m away ready to take water off David when he's done and give him a peeled banana. Good work team!
The next bend takes the race into its first town. We skirt around the edge of this one between the rubbish piles and a deserted railway line. A few kids have come to the ends of the road and look on with interest. Some shout and cheer the runners on. David says it wasn't that pleasent a section because of the burning rubbish encroaching on the road.
We pull up just before 15km ready for another water stop. We're ahead of David and have the routine ready, so are sat in the bus. Nicola heads out to go to the loo and literally bumps into David. "Hello, how are you doing?" he asks as he runs past. We burst into laughter, shocked that we managed to miss our own runner! Some support team we are! We jump into the bus and head 500m in front of him to execute the water stop. He is in good spirits and still laughing at us. He's going well.
We head up to 20km as this will be the end of David's run and where Nicola will take over. She starts warming up and psyching up - getting her MP3 player to start on the right tracks to set her pace. David finishes and Nicola sets off. David's feeling good and we've got 20km under our belt in just over an hour and a half which is what David was aiming for.
He grabs some water and towels down as it's starting to get hot even though it's just 8am. After a break by the bus we head off to catch Nicola up and check she's doing OK. As we drive we see that this section of the route is just a long straight road. It's a dull and draining section for Nicola to have to run as the road continues straight to the horizon and is flanked by desert on either side. We stop after around 2.5km and offer Nic support, encouragement and water. She's doing well and just keeps going at her pace.
At 25km we're pulled up in the bus and Fay is preparing to take over, but we know that Nicola wanted to try and finish 10km in her first run. When Nicola comes up to the bus, though, she says she's done what she can and can't make it to 10km - the punishingly straight road has got her. It also seems that the section markers are out a bit, because it feels a lot longer than 5km between the start and end of Nic's sections. Fay gets her music queued up and is off.
Fay doesn't take water with her and so we stop for her after a bit too. She's in a rhythm and thinks she'll make a 10km. When we get to 30km I get myself ready just in case. I warm up and get my music queued. Scotty has put together a 1 hour 30 mins mix of IndieRunner that should keep us running at a steady 9km an hour. Fay is running well, though, and keeps going through 30km - she's got a good pace and takes on some water. There are gun-toting bedouine every few hundred meters know. They are really policing the route, just there to be sure there aren't any problems. We wonder whether they have these guns all the time, or whether they've just been given them for today (and whether they have any ammunition in at all).
We drive up ahead of her ready to give out more water before she finishes her 10km leg and we go through our second village. Rather than just circling the edge of the village as David's leg of the route did, this time the road takes us through the middle. It's very small - maybe only two deep in houses on either side of the road, but a few children and familes are out to see what all the fuss is about. We think Fay will enjoy this section and so head up to the change-over point.
At 35km I get ready to take over. Fay is coming up the road and I wait by the sign with my music started and ready to plug in. She's still smiling. We tag and I set off. The music is set to pace and I soon find my mark. We're on the edge of this village still, but suddenly there are loads of kids in the street - maybe they have come from the village, or villages near by, or farms that line the road up ahead. I'm in my pace and they are excited - holding their hands out for High Fives. I give a few and say hello while they run alongside for a bit, but try to keep focused on my pace.
I'm on my own as there's no runners I can see ahead of me and am running out of the town. Some of the boys have bikes and so follow. Then some get a bit over-excited and I feel something against my back; one of them has a dried palm leaf that hits me and maybe some small stones. I turn around whilst running: "bas!" I tell them to stop and keep going. They hold back for a bit and then a feel a few hits on my bum "bas!" again I shout and they stop. A few keep with me on their bikes, but a bit further back. We've gone past the edge of the village and some follow me out of town, but after a short while they grow tired and turn back round - presumably to find the next runner. I'm on my own now and try to keep pace, but the heat is strong. I'm hoping that the bus comes past soon and I'll be able to get some water.
After 10 minutes I see Scotty up ahead. I need to walk while I drink as otherwise I'll splash everywhere and Scotty walks with me. I ask for more water again soon and say that I don't think I'll be able to do the 10km I was hoping. I really wanted to be able to do a 10km as I've done one before and have been training, but know that as I didn't quite finish my training schedule I'll be relying on adrenaline to get me to the finish. The thing is, with the heat I don't think even that will take me though. I feel I can't take on as much water as I need and my head is hot, but I keep going and only stop for a few walking paces along the solo road. I see the next marker in the distance and keep myself going at pace to get there. I can see Scott ready to take over; plugged in like we all are for running and taking on a last drink of water. We hold hands as we change over and I tell him my tips; good luck, run to pace, it's hot so take on lots of water.
40km and I'm thankful to finish and take on more water and a banana that Sarah has peeled for me. I tell the team that I think it's really getting hot now and we need to increase our water stops for the runners. I wanted to take my hat off to run as I could feel my head overheating, but knew I needed to keep the sun off my head.
Scotty here, taking over the commentary. As mentioned above, the biggest barrier to my training has been my knee. As a result, the most I've ever managed ot do in training is 4km as part of 30-minute intervals training. I know from the off that I'm the weak link in the team, but everyone has been really supportive that I should only do as much as I can manage: they're fully prepared to take on any extra distance that I'm unable to complete. I say that I'm aiming for 5km on this stretch, but ask them to stop at 2.5km an 4km just in case I can't make it.
I complete the 2.5km stretch and am really pleased that I've managed to keep running for a solid 15 minutes - that's 3 times as long as I've ever done solidly before. I find an amazing burst of excitement as I run this leg as it's through a few villages and small farms with lots of people at the side of the road. I make a conscious effort to greet everyone as I run by, and they're incredibly supportive and cheer me on - "Yalla!" One guy on a donkey cart pats the back of his cart and encourages me to sit down. I reply, "Ana eyes!" (I want!) but make it clear that I'd be in trouble with the team and the race organisers if I accepted his offer! We laugh, and I carry on past him.
I keep looking behind me, expecting to see the team bus come by at any minute but it doesn't. I feel the need to walk for a bit, but being overtaken by a another runner spurs me on to keep going for the team. It's at this point that the bus passes me and they jump out with water. I keep running, and further up the course, meet the team bus again. I've needed to do another walking stretch as I'm so incredibly hot, and the team check that I'm okay to keep going. At this point I see the 5km marker in the distance. I can't believe I'm so close, and so say I'm determined to finish the leg. They speed ahead to allow David time to get ready, and I manage to run to the end. I'm exhausted - it's the furthest distance I've ever completed, and checkign my watch and iPod I see I've been going for bang-on 29 minutes: that's 5km in a faster time than I normally do 4km. I'm ecstatic, but know I've got another stretch to come and my knee is playing up. I take time to stretch out and elevate my knee while David takes over.
45km and it's David taking over from Scotty now. We've decided to keep going with 5km sections now because of the heat. Other teams have been doing 5km - or less, apparently - from the start, so we don't feel bad switching down. The team philosophy has always been "we're going to do this....somehow" and the how is now in 5kms. We've been running alongside the canal now for about 10km. It's a nice road as on our left are fields, then to the right the canal and beyond it more fields. Date palms and cacti scatter the road-side but aren't in the position to offer any shade.
50km and David tags Nicola who takes off. David agrees that it's hot out and even though he's tough as nails he agrees it is hard going. We've got another 30km on this straight until we get to the Dashur pyramids loop. There's due to be a pyramid around this section of the run; Elleshet Pyramid. We're looking around but can't see it. It's still hazy beyond the fields to our left, so maybe's it's there.
We over-take Nicola to offer her some water, but she's still got some in her Pocari Sweat bottle (smaller and easier to carry, but she's changed its contents to the more palatable water). Nicola is still smiling but finding it tough, she says's she can keep going, but it will be slow. Her pace is still good, though, and soon enough she's finished her leg at 55km and Fay takes over.
I warm up again and stretch out at 60km getting set for my second leg. This stretch begins through a village, and once again we notice a few guns on display.
I've got my hand-held water bottle ready and full for the leg. I know I'm going to need it. Fay tags me and off I go. It takes a song or so to get into the rhythm and for my body to loosen up. I negotiate one of the few "directions" in the route plan "turn right, 50m turn left" and am on a stretch of road that snakes into the distance following the open canal on my right. I'm thankful when the bus pulls up and I can get some more water.
Scotty fills up my bottle as the bus drives alongside me as I run. When they're gone I keep going, but sucking on my water as much as I can as the heat is still relentless for me. After a few slow sections I finally spy the white sandwhich board that marks the end of my section. I finish my water and plough on to tag Scotty at 65km.
I feel like the support I had on my knee in the first leg did more harm than good, and so try this one without. I'm not feeling quite as 'in the zone' for this stretch, and within the first 100 metres feel a tightening in my right thigh. I shorten my pace a little bit, and fortunately it works out, but before long a stitch gets hold of me. I'm not the kind of person with huge physical stamina, and so haven't ever developed the mental attitude to fight through. The locals on route, though, continue their encouragement which drives me forward. This is countered, though, by a song in the mix. "Two More Years" it says - "This pain is never ending." Great.
By now it's midday and the temperature is soaring. I criss-cross the road to take advantage of what shade there is, but it's clear that it makes little difference in the grand scheme of things. The heat really takes its toll, and I find myself walking after just a couple of kilometres. Fortunately the bus is ahead and I manage to grab a Pocari Sweat and pick up the pace again. However, the team realise that I'm struggling and pull up another kilometre ahead. I walk for a bit with Alice but then decide to plough on round corner. I tell them I need to change in the next 5 minutes, but within this time I see the 5km marker. I really want to finish the distance, but a couple of stumbles 200m from the line scare me as I don't want to go over and complete knacker my knee. I come to a spluttering halt and David, in true paratrooper style, jumps out of the open door of the bus and takes over. I'm devastated. I feel a physical wreck, and even worse feel like I've let the team down. David has already run 25km and I've not quite finished 10 yet he's taken over from me because I'm just not up to it. Frustrated, I rest for a couple of minutes and then walk the remaining distance to the 5k marker - including all the stops I make it in 36 minutes but am still disappointed with myself for not having the mental stamina to just do that in the first place and instead passed the responsibility for covering the distance on to David.
70km and David takes over from Scotty. David's very stiff now and starts off at a slow laboured pace. We don't let him go long before catching him up to see how he is doing. He says he's totally seized up, but will run it out. As he heads into the distance we see how tight his running is, but when we catch him up after another 10 minutes he has been able to run it off and is moving with a bit more ease. This third (or fourth in David's case!) run is going to be a toughie now that we have worked so hard during the day.
We ask our driver Mostafa to pull over so that we can give David some more water. While we're stopped he speaks to Scotty. He doesn't speak any English, but this hasn't been too much of a problem so far; mumkin allatool (please go straight ahead), bas henna (stop here), allatool shweya (straight on for a little bit). But now he seems to be saying that he clocks off at 3pm which worries us as it's 2pm now and we're not going to finish in an hour. He's looking grumpy, but we're not sure if we've understood properly what he's saying - and what we're saying back to him. So Fay phones the Race Director to ask him to translate and find out what's going on. This adds to the confusion as now the Race Director thinks we want to stop running now. We tell him that, on the contrary, we want to finish and that we expect to be at Saqqara around 5pm (this gives us an hour for each 10km left). He says he'll be there until 5pm no problem and he speaks to our driver. Our driver doesn't say much, but we think he's understood. It's a little unsettling because we've paid a fair amount of money to enter the race and part of the deal was getting a driver for the day. We thought the limitations would be ourselves, not the driver!
75km and Nicola takes over from David. We stop for a bit here to let Nicola go ahead and give David a chance to stretch off. we've caught up with a few other buses and so go and check with them about the 3pm versus anytime finish and they agree that everyone should have the bus for the day. Our driver seems a little happier now though as he can chat with a few other drivers as we take a break. There is a medic team at this stop too and one guy is lying down wrapped in a silver blanket. We don't recognise him but assume it was someone who did a little too much. We've already passed a van where one girl got them to pull over to be sick, but these are the only injuries we've seen.
80km and Fay takes over from Nicola as we're passing through a town. She's got 2km on the road and then will run through Dashour village. The gun-wielding locals have changed to official Police who now line the route, and we just hope that there is someone on the corner to tell her where to take the left-hand turn into Dashur. We catch up with Fay jsut after the village where there is a stretch of farming land before the desert and pyramid starts. We see the gate and for a moment wonder if they are going to try and charge us and Fay to get in! They see the Pharaonic Race posters that adorn our bus and let us through. The track is very rough here and so the bus stops half-way and I use the rest of the climb as a warm up ready to take over.
The track is a fair climb up to the pyramid base and Fay struggles on the very last bit, so I head down and tag her and start off at 85km.
I use the climb as an excuse to ease my body into its final 5km push so take the pace nice and steady. It feels like it has cooled a lost since my first two runs and so even though my body is stiff and tired in many ways this feels the easiest of runs. My work up the slope pays off and I get a wonderful view of both Dashur pyramid (the first true pyramid) and the Bent Pyramid in the distance. They are stunning and I count myself lucky to have drawn this leg. There is a loop at the top and for the first time in the whole race someone checks my number. We assume they are checking here as teams might otherwise miss out this 6km loop and head straight down the main road to the finish. He takes my number as I take my first sip of water and then I slowly descend back to the bus. I thought that would be it for stunning views on this stretch but as I turn around I get a beautiful view of the Nile Valley, so green in front of me.
Passing the bus I continue on the rough track until it becomes road again outside the pyramid complex. Here I am tailed by a policeman on a motorcycle for a while - assuring my safety, or watching me run? I only get annoyed at him when he decides to pull in front of me and so find myself running in his fumes. I pass a lot of runners who have still yet to complete the loop, which gives me confidence that we are going to finish. There are about six runners who are on their way to the pyramid, so must be around 10-15 minutes behind us. I keep going through Dashur village where a wedding car pulls past with its horns blaring. I get to the left-turn back to the canal road and am really pleased that I haven't needed to slow to a walk once. When I make the turn, though, Scotty is there with some water and I walk for a bit with him to ease my muscles and take on some liquid. I get back to a run and finish my section very pleased with this final run.
The end is very much in sight now as we have just 10km to go. Scotty picks it up at 90km and our plan now is to have runners run ahead for 12 minutes, then we drive and catch them up and have a new runner start every 15 minutes.
Knowing that the changeover will come at 15 minutes, I'm feeling much more 'ready' for this run. I start off well, and manage to get into pace easily. The only off-putting thing is that, as we get closer to city, the road gets busier. Trucks and minibuses scream past, pushing me onto the sand verge at the side of the road, which is covered with litter. It's hard going but I maintain my rhythm. The team bus stops, and I feel ready to drop, but I've only 10 minutes. After the disappointment of my previous leg I'm determined to see this one through so power on ahead. However, on crossing a railway line I find that there's a big queue of traffic backed up in the direction I'm going - the team bus too will get caught in this, and so I realise I may need to keep going for longer than planned. However, the bus does indeed catch up with me after I've run just over 15 minutes in total, and David takes over.
As the bus turns the corner behind David we see the 95km mark, so it's not long to go. He manages a 15 minute stretch with ease, but when Nicola takes over we're presented with a problem as the road is now one-way and so we cannot follow Nicola. Instead we must cross to the over side of the canal and meet her at the top of the road. We all jump out here at the final turn that will take us into Saqqara. Fay is ready to go and Nicola has done more than the planned 15 minutes, so it's a really good effort to finish. The turning means we've just over 3km to go.
We catch Fay up along the road and she's going strong so we don't need to swap runners yet. We are accosted by two Japanese runners who have lost their team mate it seems and so hop on our bus for a lift - ironic since earlier in the day we thought it would be us needing to hitch a lift if our driver deserted us. We find their runner and they swap runners so we have have someone else in our bus as we head to the gate of Saqqara. When we get to the gate though there is some confusion. It is 5pm and they don't want to let the bus in, but want us to turn around on a single track road. Fay runs past all this confusion and into the complex. Finally we get the bus through for our finish. The Race Director is there and he's got our medals and certificates.
It's taken us just under 10 hours and 30 minutes but team Fast or Furious has done it. We're dead chuffed that we made it, and it was a true team effort to get here. It's 5pm so Saqqara is closing and the sun is setting. We bundle into the bus and head back to the hotel and then Maadi. A celebratory fish and chips in the BCA and then we are ready for our beds!
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1 comment:
Hey, how brilliant of you all. What an experince running in the Nile Valley with pyramids as the backdrop.
What can I say...very well done.
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