Pre-Race: Lily, Anoushka, Matt, Jessica, and me
I am proud to report that I successfully completed the Masai Mara Half-Marathon this past Saturday! Despite complete and utter disorganization on the behalf of Kenya Airways (they didn't start the race until 11:30 am in strong heat, there were hardly any water stations along the race route, and there were absolutely no kilometer markers), I finished without stopping (roughly 10 min/mile pace). Certainly nothing compared to the Kenyan elite runners who could have finished a full marathon in the same time, but I'm proud that I finished (at least 20 people passed out along the way). And for the record, there were some wildebeest at the start of the race, but no lions, cheetahs, leopards, or other fast felines. =)
During the race... note the lack of a clearly defined route through the Masai plains
Since there isn't really a cause associated with the race, I decided to run these 13.1 miles/21 kilometers in honor of the smallscale farmers whom KickStart International serves. Ordinarily I try to avoid asking people to donate money, but after working at KickStart for a year and a half, I truly believe in our mission to alleviate poverty through our income-generating irrigation pumps. We have already lifted over 600,000 people out of poverty, but we have millions more to reach!I'd like to extend a HUGE THANK YOU to all of you who have already donated to KickStart in my honor. Your generous donations have already added up to over $1300, which I assure you will be put to good use in lifting smallscale farmers out of poverty. For those of you who are still interested in donating, it's not too late!
So, if you haven't already, I would greatly appreciate it if you would support me by supporting KickStart. If you do choose to donate, please reference my name in the Comments field so that I can properly thank you. Even a dollar or two per kilometer will make a big impact!
So, if you haven't already, I would greatly appreciate it if you would support me by supporting KickStart. If you do choose to donate, please reference my name in the Comments field so that I can properly thank you. Even a dollar or two per kilometer will make a big impact!
Post-Race: Lily and I re-enacting our finishing strides
