Marathon Day!!

At 5am on the 9^th of June it was time for us all to head to Sierra Leone’s first ever marathon which was held here in Makeni. Mark has been working tirelessly to make this a successful day along with two other co-ordinators Ben and Nick. The rest of The Collective volunteers were also getting involved with helping out on the day and we were all given jobs. Greg was in charge of time keeping, Adam was on the leading bike for the half marathon, Josh was helping out with The Clubhouse activities and I was busy doing odd jobs here and there, mainly giving out the medals when people crossed the line and helping with drinks. Before the race we managed to spot Sally and gave her some encouraging words. She was dressed in just her racing shirt and underwear. A rather strange outfit choice but if it was to help her win then that was all that mattered. It was starting to get pretty hot and the races had only just started, we were all wondering if anyone would actually faint. Luckily Ben, Nick and Mark had thought about this already and had paddling pools and foam mattress set up incase anything happened. The 5k racers were shortly coming across the finish line and things started to get busy as timings were being handed in, pictures taken and a large crowd formed around the drinks station. An hour or so later other runners from the half marathon started coming and we saw Alusine and his fellow Nosdo FC friends with their medals and goodie bags which Alusine is still fashioning today. They were all wearing their medals proudly in their Sunderland shirts which Mark had given them and I don’t think they took those medals off for a good few days. Next it was the full marathon runners. The first man came through in 2 hours 46 which is crazy considering the heat. He looked like he was going to collapse as people crowded him trying to cool him down with water. At 4.20 we saw Sally breeze through the finish line. Barley sweating, we all congratulated her as she was the first full marathon Sierra Leonian woman to cross the line. The rest of the day continued with runners completing what must be one of the hardest marathons. Two men had walked the whole race which took them around 7 hours and Mark had been going with them the whole time.         
  

Once everyone had finished the race it was time for the ceremony. After some speeches from mayors, sports ministers and organisers Ben and Nick, medals and prize money was given out. It was a touching moment when Sally was called on stage and stood on her first place podium with her farther be her side, both of them embracing the special moment. Sally was handed 900,000 leones which is equivalent to around £150 and it will make such a difference to their family. The next day we walked passed their house and they were celebrating with 3 jerry cans of palm wine. I hope they don’t waste all the money on wine. 

All in all I think the Marathon was a great success. There were lots of volunteers helping out and everything seemed to go to plan, especially as no one passed out. It was good to see so many Sierra Leonians being involved to and there were lots of people watching which should generate more interest for next year. I would defiantly love to be involved in this event again and you never know maybe one day I’ll actually be able to run it.