To be part of the first-ever Sierra Leone Marathon was for
me an absolute pleasure and just the sort of adventure I was looking for.
Work on the KSLM (everything gets abbreviated in SaLone) started
long before I got involved, I think the idea originated a few years back then
Race Director Ben Hodgson planned the route in June 2011 over a crazy running
three-day period.
I must say, fantastic job Ben, the course is one of the best
I have ever witnessed and my initial reaction was just WOW. The mixture of Makeni
city centre, the dirt tracks through the bush and the number of amazing
villages you get to pass really capture the spirit and the character of Sierra
Leone.
Friday 13th April would be unlucky for some, but
not for me as that was the date that I arrived in this beautiful country. When
you land at the airport everything is a bit chaotic and you really start to
wonder what you have let yourself in for. However once you catch the ferry (or
the speedboat if you have a bit of dollar) across to the main land and see some
of the sights you are simply amazed.
My chance to travel to Sierra Leone came through ‘The
Collective’, a newly established agency who helps partner volunteers with a
specific project, mine, the Marathon.
Our four-day in-house training took place at Tribe Wanted on
Jon Obey Beach, with the best classroom in the world, the best fish in the
world and the most annoying/fun kid in the world MoMo.
It was at Tribe Wanted where I met Nick, from here our
bromance started to blossom, we got on really well (Nick’s girlfriend Heather
used to think we got on too well) and we were unstoppable in getting things
done in such a short space of time.
An early morning three-hour drive from the peace and
tranquillity of the coast to the heat and tradition of Makeni provided the
perfect opportunity for us to get to know each other and for Nick to bring me
up to speed on the progress of the KSLM and what exactly I would be doing…. The
list was endless.
Like many of the runners, my first port of call in Makeni was
the Clubhouse bar on Magburaka road (pronounced Magbruka) so we stopped here to
sample the local cuisine, typical Brit I went for the full English breakfast.
Here I met the wonderful staff and one very important man, without we would not
have made the KSLM such a success, introducing Benjamin Kamara.
Benjamin was a school administrator and community liaison;
therefore he knew every man and his stray dog for miles around. Primarily Nick
got in touch with Benjamin to ask him to sort out a few home stays for a few of
our guests, but he proved much more useful than that. BK gave us directions
around the whole of the course, he provided cool boxes, musicians, race
marshals, entertainers and was key in sensitising the chiefs and villagers
about the event.
That was one of the best tasks I was assigned, to travel
around every village that was involved in the route and to talk to the local
people, asking permission from the Paramount Chiefs and trying to excite the
children and encourage them to cheer for our runners as they went past. Through
this I met some lovely people, such as the old woman who kept on trying to run
every time we mentioned a marathon, to the head chief who was honoured that we
would pass through his province and spoke so passionately about developing his
country and helping ‘Street Child’.
My first main job was to book every room at every hotel in
Makeni to make sure that we would have enough to host our international
runners, plus some of the ex pats from Freetown.
As you may have guessed there is not much to choose from but
what they did have on offer was nice enough. The guesthouses we used included
Mena Hills, Gulf, Lizmed 2 (number 1 was not up to scratch) AMZAS and Wusum
hotel. Over the next few weeks I would have to maintain constant contact with
the managers to ensure they stuck to the standards we set out and that they
would not double book the rooms. The downside of booking so many rooms so early
was my phone never stopped ringing as they wanted paid upfront, after a bit of
northern charm and Nick speaking the local lingo, they all agreed payment would
be made later on.
Others that we needed to get on side quickly in order to
plan for race day was the Ministry of Sport and in particular Mr. Samuel
Williams. This was easy as this gentleman was a top lad. He loved the idea of
hosting a MaraTon (yes MaraTon is how SaLoneans pronounce it) in Makeni, he
wanted the Sierra Leone Athletics Association (SLAA) to play a big part in the
event and this is where we found our race marshals, the guys who gathered early
in the morning and stood at their posts for several hours directing the runners
where to go.
Though so they should as many of them let me wait a fair few
hours when we had meetings set up. Most of them went by African time, so they would
show up when they wanted to or in Mr Fullah’s case not at all after we had
arranged a 7am meet at a school approx 1mile away from my house. Cheers Mr
Fullah.
The police played a big part on race day; they ensured the
safety of the runners all around the course. On the day they were so
professional and effective, this cannot be said however in the build up, as
myself and Ben spent many hours chasing after different officials or police
chiefs to get documents created, then signed, then signed again…. all without
paying a bribe!
The same was accomplished in Freetown after our Kiwi runner
Ben Ashby had his passport stolen and the police asked for a fee to quicken
their work, Street Child volunteer Jannah and I would not stand for that and
still got the job done!
One of the scariest moments in SaLone occurred when on my own
mission with the police. I was trying to get Superintendent Sesay to finally
sign a document when he shouted me over to talk with him in the middle of the
field I thought nothing off it until around 20 armed police started running at
me in their riot gear, they didn’t stop, they just ran around me!
Other influential helpers of the KSLM came from Makeni City
Council, which included Mayor Moses Sesay, Deputy Mayor Fofanah, Chief
Administrator Mr Daramy and Mr Senasie the City Engineer. They all played their
part when we could find them or arrange a meeting, again many hours were sat
waiting outside of offices so to pass the time I got the know the guards very
well or would play ‘Angry Birds’ on my iPhone.
So that is a brief outline of some of the tasks I was
involved in preparing the Kiln Sierra Leone Marathon 2012. Now I want to talk
about two of the most incredible experiences, which sum up the event and my
trip perfectly. Funnily enough they both involve the delightfully named ‘Talent
Town’.
Number one occurred when I had a meeting in TT with Benjamin
Kamara and the chief, you guessed it Mr Talent. It was a short but constructive
conversation constantly interrupted by his pet monkey. It was short because the
heavens started to open and I wanted to get back home before dark. The downpour
lasted for several hours and the roads were flooded, no bikes were passing and
even if they were it was quite dangerous.
So off I went on a run back to New London, around two miles
away in the lashing rain, dodging the huge puddles with the thunder and
lightning in the background. All the locals were laughing and shouting “Aporto
crazy” as I sprinted passed, many offered me shelter but the smile on my face
let them know I was enjoying this all too much. I had with me a small jacket
but it didn’t actually do much good, what was useful were my headphones as I
ran along to Coldplay, in particular the perfectly named song ‘Paradise’, it
really was a defining moment for me, the madness, kindness and simplicity of
Sierra Leone.
Number two involves the trio of Nick, Ben and I when we
pulled an all nighter before the Marathon was set to start. We were fuelled by
cans of Coca Cola, Mars Bars and pure adrenalin as we set off around Makeni in
our hired vehicle, Ben driving through the streets in complete darkness, Nick
jumping out and putting up tape to outline the course and me sat in the back of
the truck, why, because I had to act as a weight for the blown up paddling
pool!
That’s not the half of it, because time was getting on, Ben
asked me to run ahead and put the 4mile sign up on the bridge, just before you
enter Talent Town. Off I went as quickly as I could only to then start getting
chased by four random dogs, all I kept thinking of as I was waving them away
with the cardboard sign was how my brothers would wind me up if I caught Rabies
from a dog bite. Glad to say I got away only to return to the car with Nick and
Ben laughing at me and at the random music on the radio. It was a fun night!
I was disappointed not to see much of the start/finish area
on race day, although what I did see was brilliant. I was out on the course,
driving round checking on runners, dropping off race marshals, bags of water
and medical supplies and then shadowing the last two runners John and Jimmy from
the half-way point.
Despite injury the pair were determined to finish and though
time was getting on and the heat was rising, I wanted to see them cross the
finishing line and receive their medal just as much as they did.
It was a pleasure to get out and walk the last 5k of the
race with them, to feel involved and enjoy a bit of craic with the lads on this
historic day. People still cheered them on and encouraged them to keep going.
The trouble was the Clock tower and Rogbaneh Road was busy again, the police
had now left and traffic was flying through. Here we made a convoy with an
ambulance and its siren in front, John, Jimmy and I in the middle followed by
my emergency vehicle and we marched on through to a warm reception at Birch
Memorial High School.
We made it, we all did. Every runner and everybody involved
should be so proud of this wonderful achievement. Not only did we raise around
£400,000 for the charity Street Child, but also ploughed money into the local
economy through food, accommodation, transport and even the making of the
special medals.
And we showcased what Sierra Leone has to offer, we captured
what this place is really about, sharing it with such magnificent people, so
for that I raise a Star beer to you all and can’t wait to do it all again next
year.
Tenki
Mark
