Running Hard - The 2011 Pharoanic Run

We said that we wanted to do it again....even though our bodies were telling us not to (!)....and so Friday morning saw our alarms set for 2am and our cooler filled with Pocari Sweat, dried aprictos, nuts and cheese and pickle sarnies.

But to just talk about the run doesn't do the day justice - what made it a great day yesterday was the run, the team, but also knowing what else was going on in the lead up to the day and during the run itself.

The run was taking place on a Friday, as it always does, but Fridays now mean demonstration day in Egypt. It wasn't just any Friday either, this was the Friday after five days of violent and significant clashes between protestors and police which saw over 30 people die, thousands be injured and the worst conflict on the streets since the revolution. The action in the week leading up to the race was very centralised around Tahrir but we did feel some of the effects of it; school was busing everyone at 3pm and Maadi was very quiet after dark at 6pm. Watching the scenes on the news and reading the demands of the protestors (and the response from SCAF) it was really hard to see what solutions/compromises could be reached and how the situation could be resolved. People were talking about Revolution 2, demands were being made, announcements and communicays were being made, resignations, appointments, barricades but neither side could be satisfied.

With all this happening we were really concerned about the run going ahead. On the Tuesday we had a team chat and decided that we probably wouldn't run. There didn't seem much point in going for a 'nice day out' when the country was in turmoil and violence on the streets. Also the run takes place along a rural road and the 'security' on route are local bedouins who have been issued guns for the day. We didn't think they'd be particularly interested in our safety when they've got their country to worry about. Tuesday evening though saw the first evening with reduced voilence and things were looking more settled. We contacted the race director and he reassured us that the race was going ahead, that they had met with organisers and officials and were doubling security. We decided that we'd give the race a go, but would have our phones with us and would pull out if anyone on the team felt at any point that they didn't want to run. As the race starts to early, we thought we'd be able to get a fair amount of running done before noon prayers (when things typically swell in Tahrir) anyway. In our minds too was the thought 'if we don't run, and the day goes by peacefully - we'll be kicking ourselves'

In our minds though wasn't quite the thought 'we've done so much training that it would be a shame to not do the actual run'....as we'd not done loads of training! I'd been going to the gym and Scott had been out running in Maadi, we bought a stepper machine in July from a friend who was leaving and last weekend we did three long runs over two days to try and challenge ourselves. So we'd been doing bits, but hardn't been training too hard - so we knew that the run was going to be the challenge it was last year.

2am wake up. Taxi at 2.30am. Meet at the hotel and then depart in our buses to the start at 3am. It was 5.45am when we arrived at the start and in true race style the organisers then hastily erected a starting gate. Why they don't set off before the runners to do this I don't understand - and why they've decided to go upmarket with pieced together metal tubing instead of last years 'two step ladders' option I don't know.

The number of runners and teams was noticeably down on last year. At one point they asked all the runners to gather under the starting banner and the total number of runners probably tallied with the number of runners starting the race last year. A shame, but understandable. Our only hope at this stage is that we're not so left behind that we are forgotton about!

Fayoum Governate and Fayoum Tourism Authority Welcome Visitors - Tourism has definitely been hit hard since January and it's clear that this race normally does a lot to bring foreigners to the area.

This way!

Mary is up to run first. She's probably the strongest member of our team; Running Hard that includes us two, then Flossie and The Tone from work. Last year we were due to run with Flossie, but our team changed, so it's great to be running together this year. Mary joining the team is a funny one; we met Mary as when we flew to Luxor for the run in January we ended up sharing a cab from the airport with her to the hotel. There is turned out that she and her friend were doing the Luxor run and were expats in Cairo too....AND that she knew Flossie. we kept in touch through Flossie and then when she said she was interested in running the Pharaonic it made sense to join forces.

Mary running the 0 - 10km section. It's a busy one as all the minibuses are bunched up trying to find their runners.

Mary is running her 20km in two 10km sections, whilst the rest of us are opting for four 5km runs. I don't think I could face a full 10km, although the thought of finishing my k's in just two runs is tempting. The good news this year is that we start nearly on time (6.20am instead of 6am) and the temperature is a lot cooler than last year.

Tony takes over from Mary and then I take over from Tony to run the 15 - 20km section. We've gone all gadget-gadget since last years run. Scotty has his ipod which communicates with a Nike plus chip in his trainers that I bought him for Christmas. This means that he can programme a run and then it automatically tells him over the music every km he has run, his pace, and when the 5km is due to end - fancy! As an early Christmas present this year Scotty came back from England with a Nike plus chip for me too and watch to wear that tells me the distance run, the pace and the time. Out on my first run I feel good. It's a straight route, but it's not flat. There are three or four small climbs which I hadn't thought about before, but I just try to tackle them smoothly. I pass a few runners on the way which is good and my overall time I was really pleased with (under 30 minutes).

Alice's first run 15 - 20km

Scotty takes over from me for what we remember to be one of the hardest stretches of the race last year; it's a long 5km slog along a single road that stretches into the distance with desert all around you. He's psyched up for the never-ending road, but what we didn't realise about Nic's section last year was the gradual slope that it is on. It is uphill the whole way. The first 2km are a noticeable slope in the run, followed by a hill in the third kilometer. Scotty's knackered when he's done and ice's his ankle where he can feel the tendon alraedy coming through, but he's made an excellent time despite the hill.

Scotty completing his first leg.

Scotty's first run 20 - 25km

It's after this that we spy our second pyramid and it looks stunning through the desert haze. Last year we didn't even see this pyramid from the desert road because of the haze - we only spotted it from the other side when we were by the canal.

Maidum Pyramid

Stretches with a view

Tony takes my leg from last year which is through the first main town. I got some hassle from the local boys on this leg, so we decided a bloke should take it. As it is, Tony says the kids on the road are great - lots of high 5's and English phrases "What's your name?" and "Hallo!" I'm up next though and feeling OK after my first run and an hour-and-a-half off. It's my calves that are a little tight, but I'm hoping I can run them out.

Alice's second run 35 - 40km

Scotty Running Hard and about to tag Flossie

Scotty's seond run 40 - 45km

Between each run our routine has been to stretch off our legs straight away and get in to the bus again and get moving as soon as possible. With only doing 5km stretches we don't have long between each change-over, at least this year though the weather is cooler which means we're not needing a half-way water stop (which was essential last year). Once both Scotty and I have done our legs and we're on the bus we've been loading up the netbook and getting online to log our runs and then to check the news (or the other way around depending on which site loads first!). We're checking three different news blogs to see what is happening in Tahrir. Things were quiet last night and luckily the morning has been quiet too. Prayers are due at noon and we know the crowds will fill the square today, but we're just hopeful that things can remain peaceful.

Speaking of noon, the time comes and we're really pleased with the run. We've done 50km and it's taken us just over 5 hours. We're on track to finish before sunset which is an amazing feeling. The race was due to start at 6am and then the timings were that teams should finish by 4pm and solo runners by 5pm. Last year we got to the gate of Saqarra at 5.03pm and weren't allowed in. We were gutted that after all that distance we hadn't made it to the official end. With the race starting more of less on time (and a good 30 minutes earlier than last year!) we're in with a shot of finishing. We'd calculated that in order to finish by 5pm (there was no chance of a 4pm finish for our team!) we'd need to average 33 minutes for each 5km section. We were averaging that, but not significantly faster, in training. We didn't know though whether the adrenalin of the race would cancle out the fatigue or not... 

We're running through towns now and each run has a few towns along the route as well as the fields and the canal. The towns are a great motivator to keep going and not stop to walk especially with the kids on the streets. This year the bedouin guards are a lot stricter with the spectators and are making sure that they don't get in the way of runners and don't cause too much hassle. In Luxor we realy loved running alongside the kids and giving high-5's and while we love that about this run too in the past there have been some small problems.

This time the only problem I experience is one boy who doesn't understand high-5's and instead of slapping my hand, slaps my arm instead! There are lots of "Hallo"'s and "What's your name?" and I have a group of about half a dozen young boys running beside me at one point. I try to explain to them in my broekn Arabic what I am doing, but all I can manage to communicate is that I am running from Fayoum pyramids to Saqarra...I don't know the word for team and so these boys think I've just run 60km myself! Scott is relaly boosted by the large group of children on one of the bridges and he is offered a lift on a motorbike and a microbus. I'm offered a cup of tea on my last leg of the run and Scott is offered a sit down on one of the benches used by the police! It's things like this that make the run such a great day.

Alice's third run 65 - 70km

Scotty's third run 70 - 75km

Team Running Hard in action; Scotty and Flossie taggin at 75km with The Tone and Mary cheering!

We're still on track and although we're all tired and have aching legs from the runs we've done we're all pleased that our final legs are coming up and the prospect of finishing is a real motivator. It's mid afternoon now and we're onto the busiest stretch of the route at the busiest time. The road is wider than the small track we were on earlier (which was only one car wide in sections) but it's a lorry route and suddenly we find that runners are being pushed to into the verge with the honking and fast approaching trucks. Tony takes over Flossie's leg as the trucks just aren't making the running easy for her. Tony finishes her leg and then does most of his leg. I take over from him early and then Scotty takes over from me early to try and even out the distances. We make a mistake with my changeover to Scotty and also mis-judge the take-over between Scotty and Flossie which leaves Scotty with a lot longer to run.

Alice's fourth run 83.5 - 89km to Dashur pyramid

Scotty's fourth run 89 - 95km

This is one of the hardest things about the race - that you know you are running in 5km stretches, but you're never really sure if they are going to be 5km, slightly more or slightly less. This year has not been helped by the fact that they are not using sandwich board signs at the take-overs any more - just the number spray-painted on the road. These are really difficult to spot (not helped by having a driver who is stoned...) and we end up missing three signs and have to turn back to find the sign and the runner. When you are running 5km you can psyche yourself up for it, but here you psyche yourself up and then suddenly find you finish early or you have to drag yourself another five or ten minutes before you can change. Running is Hard.

Scotty finishing his mamouth last run.

Flossie takes over from Scotty just before the road bridge and Scotty collapses into the back of the van. It was a hard run and he was really strong to finish it. After the earlier problems with the tendon in his ankle he's just aching all over now. At the top of the road to Saqarra Mary waits and at the sight of Flossie she sets off on the final 3.5km to the gates of the Saqarra complex and then up the hill to the finish (she likes hill apparently, so is happy to run this hard leg even though she's already completed her 20km).

It's 4.30pm and unbelievably we're going to make it! We get the bus to the finish line and then wait for Mary. We're the last team to finish, but what matters is that we made it!

The finish!

We did it!

Running Hard