Kilimanjaro Marathon

Last Sunday, the Orwas participated in the Kilimanjaro Marathon. Ok, not the Marathon, but the 5k "Fun Run" that went on at the same time. The Marathon is an annual event and is a big deal here. Last year, George was out of town so Eli and I walked down to the route to see the runners go by. It looked like so much fun that I promised myself I would do it the next year (the 5k, NOT the marathon!). Here is Eli last year.



Look at that cute, chubby 6 month old. Where did the time go?! Anyway, this year we did it with a cute, chubby 18 month old. As the weekend approached, I kept telling George we needed to register. As of the day before, we still weren't registered and Eli and I had bad colds so it looked like it wasn't going to happen. Saturday afternoon, George took Eli to town so I could rest and wallow in my cold misery. I was so happy when he called saying he was registering us. I still wasn't sure if we would be well enough to actually do, but it only cost $2 to register, so the risk wasn't too much.

Sunday morning, we felt well enough to go and headed out of the house at 7:15. We walked down to the start line and waited for the gun to go off. Well, no gun went off, but eventually someone yelled for us all to go. There were tons of people there for the 5k. It started on the main highway, went through town and ended up at a small college stadium. It was a blast. We greeted several people we knew and planned for a late in the game win by Team Orwa. George carried Eli on his shoulders the whole time. Eli did great, except for when he spilled a cup of water (given to him by a volunteer on the road) on himself (and George's head). Much to everyone's surprise, Team Orwa did NOT win the 5k. We weren't exactly last, but were in the last 10%!

We had a nice time. I LOVE community events. I love the sense of teamwork and "oneness" it brings. It was fun to see so many people come out and participate. I cracked up when I saw tables of water along the route with volunteers running along side to give water to the people doing the 5k. Like we were the marathon runners! At the stadium where the finish line was, there was a big party. People were cheering for the marathon finishers, music was playing and food was available for purchase. Due to our colds, we left shortly after arriving. The streets were closed so we couldn't go to church that morning. It worked out well so that we could rest.

Fun day in Moshi.