Victoria Falls Marathon

Four hours, 13 minutes after I passed through the starting gate, I crossed the finish line at the Victoria Falls Marathon. It was the second time in my life that I completed one. The first marathon was in Baltimore in 2008. Seven years later, I was able to do it again.

If you would have asked me if I wanted to run another marathon when I finished running the one in Baltimore, I would have quickly answered “no”. As time has passed, though, my answer softened and even turned positive. I had thought about doing another marathon, and I even signed up for one. Unfortunately, though, I wasn’t able to train enough and had to settle for a half-marathon (nothing to scoff at, I know, but still short of my goal). The desire to run another marathon was still within me.

Halfway through the Race and Feeling Good!

After I got settled into my permanent site, I started looking around to see what kinds of races took place. I was surprised to see there were a lot! It seemed like each province held its own set of races. As I browsed the list, I thought to myself, “It would be pretty cool to run a marathon while I’m a Peace Corps Volunteer.” With that, I made up my mind; I would run one while I was in South Africa.

While looking at the marathons listed online, I noticed that most of them took place while school was in session (granted on the weekends, but I would need to account for traveling to and from the race). The ones that didn’t were ultra-marathons and I would first need to qualify for one of them by running a regular marathon first. But then I noticed that there was a marathon listed for Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. I clicked the link and was delighted to see that it took place during my June-July break from school. Perfect!

It was about December when I decided the Vic Falls Marathon was the race for me, which meant I had about six months to train. I had a good base already, so I had to focus my efforts on building up the distance. To read more about what I learned about training for a marathon while living in a rural village, click here.

Fast-forward to the weekend of the marathon… Michelle and I found a nice travel package through Wild Frontiers that included accommodations, shuttles, meals, a sunset river cruise, and marathon after-party. I’ll save descriptions of the cruise and after-party for another post. Suffice it say for now that it was a fun and eventful weekend on top of the running the marathon.

The Race Technical Tee

On the morning of the marathon, I was nervous with anticipation and excited to run the race. I hoped I had had enough training. I knew there were going to be hills on the course, and, since my village is as flat as a pancake, I wasn’t sure how I would fare. I was also nervous that I wouldn’t be able to finish. What if I got too tired, or injured, or passed out? I was excited to run the course because I knew it would go over the bridge that crosses the Zambezi River providing a great view of the Falls.

Catching the Sunrise over Victoria Falls as I Crossed the Bridge

A couple of minutes before the race started, Michelle took my picture and wished me good luck. I then walked over to a friend I made while I was there, Alan, who had flown in from Kentucky to run the marathon to wish him good luck. And then the countdown began…

Three… two… one… Start! I was running! The first couple of miles were slow-going because the course was congested with runners. I had to remind myself to take it slow. The last time I ran a marathon, I started too quickly and I hit “the wall” around Mile 18, leaving eight more miles of what felt like torture to go. By the time I got to the bridge, a nice spread was starting to grow between runners and I felt more at ease.

Pre-Race Pic

I carried my phone with me so I could take photos along the way. Alan saw me trying to take a picture of myself while I was on the bridge and he kindly offered to take it for me. I continued over the bridge to the gate that stands between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The gate was closed for the race, but that didn’t get in the way of dozens of Zambians who were there to cheer on the runners. I turned around at the gate and continued back toward the bridge. The scene at the Victoria Falls was stunning because the sun was starting to rise. Running the marathon also enabled me to see the Falls from another vantage point, which was really cool.

Running Over the Bridge with Victoria Falls in the Background

Once over the bridge, the course turned into the Zambezi National Park where I saw lots of elephant dung and Park Service Rangers on the lookout for wildlife. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any elephants. However, the runners in the half-marathon did. In fact, they had to re-route because the elephant didn’t want to get off the course!

Along the way, I saw a few groups of local kids. They were all smiles as runners passed them. At one point, I heard a kid counting the runners as they passed. I was #124 according to his count. Too bad there were only about 300 runners registered for the marathon; otherwise, that would have been pretty impressive!

Running through and then out of the national park showed to be quite the task because it required climbing uphill for several miles. When I got to the top, I felt worried because I knew I would have to do it again (the course looped twice through the national park). The course then worked through a residential neighborhood before the second loop began. Shortly before the loop, I spotted Michelle standing alongside the road ready to hand off some Energade gummies and a bottle of water. I ended up not needing the water bottle because the course was well-stocked with water, orange slices, bananas, and juice. (I was surprised not to see Coca Cola because I had heard that that was a thing at African races.)

Joe with His New Friend Alan After the Race

Running down the hill toward the entrance into the national park, I felt my thighs start to burn. It was a sign I wasn’t happy to see. I kept on running and hoped for the best. As I made my way through the park, I started to climb again, which my thighs definitely did not like. It was at that point I made the decision to alternate running when I could and walking when I needed it. As I neared the park exit, I spotted Alan in front of me waiting to check in with me.

(As it turned out, Alan and I were hoping to run about the same pace, so we saw each other a lot throughout the race. When that happened, we checked in with each other and offered words of encouragement. Near the end of the race, I was extremely grateful Alan was there because he helped me keep my mind off the pain emanating from my thighs.)

Alan looked down at his watch and then back up at me and said, “Well, it looks like we’re going to miss the 4-hour mark. How do you feel about running together and taking it easy toward the finish line?” I was more than happy to welcome that suggestion because I knew I would fare better if I had company as I finished the race.

The finish line was at one of the primary schools outside Victoria Falls proper. The closer I got to the school, the more people I could see and the more excited I became about finishing the race. I turned onto the school grounds and I could hear Michelle’s voice/cheer. It was at that point that I felt tears welling up behind my eyes. I felt elated to have finished the race (or what I thought was the finish). I trained for months and now all of that work was coming to fruition.

Nearly There! (You can spot Joe in the center of the photo.)

The further I got into the school compound, though, the more I realized the course kept going. It was then that I heard Michelle tell me that I needed to run a lap around the compound. What?! According to Alan’s watch, we were already at 26.2 miles! Well, I kept running and could feel my head buzzing with the excitement of having run the race. Within a few meters of the finish line, I turned to Alan and grabbed his hand. “Thank you!” I exclaimed. I turned back in time for the photographer to take a picture of my bib number and then I crossed the finish line (at 26.6 miles to be exact).

Woohoo! I made it!

Post-Race Pic

Post-Marathon Thoughts
I’m stoked that I was able to run the Victoria Falls Marathon. It was a great race with lots of support from the organizers. I totally recommend it to anyone who’s looking to run internationally. In addition to the marathon, there is a lot do with safaris and water sports; not to mention that Zambia and Botswana are right there with their own attractions.

I would also like to take the opportunity to thank Alan again for all of his support throughout the race. You were a lifesaver! Thank you also to my friend Greg, one of my running buddies from Baltimore, for the advice about running in hot temperatures. Thank you to Nic, a fellow Peace Corps Volunteer, for the words of encouragement throughout my training. Thank you to my family (Kowalczyk and Harper both) for your excitement. I carried you with me as I ran. Last, but certainly not least, thank you to my loving wife and partner for being the lead on my race team and for cheering me on when I started running at 5:00am every Saturday morning during training.

Now, I have a new fun fact: I have completed two marathons in two countries on two continents. :)