running in the desert

Last Friday, four of my friends and I got up well before the sun rose to make it out to the starting line of the 2008 Dead Sea Half-Marathon. The Ultra-Marathon (48.7km) started on the outskirts of Amman; we started a mere 21km (13.1mi) from the Dead Sea. Check-in for the whole race (ultra, marathon (26.2mi), half, 10k, kids' junior marathon) was unsurprisingly chaotic by 6:00am. Those accustomed to Jordanian culture shuffled along with the masses, unbothered, while those poor American/Western European souls expecting organized lines looked stressed. We eventually checked in our bags, slathered on the sunscreen, and made it out to the shuttle buses that would take us to the starting line, advertised on the website solely as being "just past the Hanna coffee shop."

The starting line banner was being put up as we wandered around the rocky area nearby, just waiting and stretching. I hadn't been around that many westerners since going to Europe over winter break. I had been worried about looking really haraam (aka inappropriate, except stronger) in my running skirt and tight shirt, but there were a number of women wearing tank tops and shorts, so all was well. There were also women running in hijabs (head veils), long sleeves, and long pants, but I took advantage of being a westerner for the morning.

In typical Jordanian fashion, we started about twenty minutes late because a couple of the shuttle buses hadn't made it to the starting line. Once the gun went off, my friends and I pushed 'start' on our mP3 players, and we were off. We stayed together for the first couple of kilometers, until the fast member of our group couldn't hold back anymore and took off (we didn't see her again until the end). After another couple of kilometers, it became apparent that 'M' and I were moving slightly faster, so we went ahead together while Ruba (host cousin) and our other friend 'D' stayed at their pace together.

The 2hrs 18min that M and I spent running those 13.1 miles together could be described as forgetting that we were in Jordan, and then being reminded, and then forgetting, and then being reminded... .

Forgetting: talking to a group of women in spandex leggings and neon pink hats, one of whom has a daughter whose best friend goes to M's university back in the States.
Being reminded: a herd of camels grazing on low trees on the other side of the road.

Forgetting: getting wet sponges at the well-manned water stations because it gets hot when there's no shade.
Being reminded: seeing the distinct poverty of the farmers' shacks and the workers bent over double in the fields.

Forgetting: being able to run outside, showing more leg than I ever have in this country.
Being reminded: a soldier, armed with a machine gun, at every kilometer marker.

Another thought: a lot of runner took just a couple of drinks from their bottles of water and then tossed the bottles to the side of the road, not wanting to carry them. I can only imagine what the water station volunteers thought of this, seeing how desperately water poor this country is.

The race itself was good; in fact, we were feeling good for the first 16 kilometers. However, with about five kilometers to go, we saw a hill and said, "insha'Allah it's the only one." We made it up the hill, legs burning (because we hadn't trained for hills at all, since the course was proclaimed to be all down hill or flat), and took a walking break. And then saw the next hill, to which we said, "insha'Allah it's the last one." It wasn't. There were, I think, five or six hills in the last 5km, and M and I took a walking break at the top of each one of them. Lesson learned: don't do all of your training on a flat treadmill. However, we made it past those and all the way to the finish line. After that, we sat around for a while, stood in the Dead Sea for a bit, and eventually made it back to Amman.

Overall, it was a fantastic experience, one that I'd been looking forward to since well before I came to Jordan. Being able to running outside (something I was looking forward to SO much) was phenomenal. Having a running partner helps immensely, and I am very grateful to M for that. Can't wait to sign up for races in the States, and insha'Allah I'll be able to return to Jordan in the future and do the full marathon! :)