On Friday and Saturday pf last week Boston University hosted the NEICAAA indoor track championships, aka the Open New Englands. At least three NN alumni competed, and although I am tardy posting their results, they are too good to ignore.
Jess Barton is running as well as she ever has, and won the women's 3000m in 9:44 (converts to a 10:27 two-mile!). Congratulations, Jess!
In the men's mile, Seb Putzeys ran 4:17.04 to place 12th. It's great to see Seb running well, and that's got to be pretty close to his personal best for the mile.
Bowdoin's Michele Kaufman ran 9.01 in the semis to earn the final qualifying spot in the nine-person finals, where she placed 8th in 9.07.
On Saturday and Sunday, the Heptagonals (the Ivy League Championships) were held at the Armory in New York. In the shot put, Yale senior David Smith threw 4.97m (49-1.5) to place 10th. Smith also competed in the weight throw with an almost identical result, a best mark of 15.06m (49-05.00) and a 10th-place finish.
February 28, 2011
February 27, 2011
2011 All-State Meet: Mayanja, Forbes, Girls 4x400 are Champions
(More meet photos from my anonymous NN parent benefactor here)
At last week's D1 Indoor Track meet, Swardiq Mayanja finished second in the shot put by a single inch. Yesterday, Mayanja became the All-State champion with a throw of 56-02 -- nearly four feet farther than his nearest competitor. Also competing in the shot put, Young Guang threw 46-11.5 for 15th.
Mayanja's victory provided the North boys with half their points. North's other individual scorer was Ezra Lichtman, who ran a brilliant race in the 1000 to take third, just seven-tenths of a second behind the photo finish between Marshfield's Joel Hubbard and Bishop Feehen's Billy Looney. Lichtman's time was a personal best 2:32.08.
The Tigers also got four points from their 4x200 relay team who finished fifth in a near dead heat with Chelmsford.
A golden chance for more points and a shot at the runner-up trophy was lost when Isaiah Penn was disqualified from the 300 for a false start.
Dan Ranti ran 9:56.74 in the 2-mile and finished 18th.
2011 All-State Meet Results - Boys
For the first time this year, the Newton North girls did not emerge as the victors yesterday -- Mansfield earned that honor. But the Tigers did take home the runner-up trophy and had the satisfaction of winning the final event of the day, the Girls 4x400 relay, and running an All-State meet record 3:55.89.
If someone has splits for the relays legs, I would appreciate them!
Carla Forbes defended her indoor state championship in the long jump, besting the field by over a foot with a mark of 18-9 (a quarter-inch farther than last year). Amy Ren (16-1.75) and Kayla Prior (15-11.25) finished 13th and 17th, respectively.
Forbes was also a big factor in the 55, finishing in a personal best 7.28 behind Arlington's Rebecca Robinson and Boston Latin's Emma Rice.
Lucia Grigoli took 6th, and Emily Hutchinson took 9th in the high jump. Both were among the seven girls who cleared 5-2, with the places decided by fewer misses.
Sophomore Meghan Bellerose ran a personal best of 1:37.27 in the 600, finishing 12th.
2011 All-State Meet Results - Girls
February 25, 2011
USATF Indoor Championships This Weekend
For most folks of my readers, the MA State Meet is the big event this weekend. But this is also the weekend of the USA Indoor Championships, taking place Saturday and Sunday at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.
There will be live streaming of the meet on Saturday and part of Sunday. Many Sunday finals, including the men's and women's 1 Mile races, will be shown live on ESPN. The following link provides more info about the webcast and TV coverage.
USA Indoor Championships - Webcast Info
FWIW, here's the current qualified/declared entry list for the men's 3000m:
The big deal here is Galen Rupp and Bernard Lagat (the current American 5K and 2M indoor record-holders) going head-to-head. Also interesting to see Chris Barnicle's name on the list. Since he is based in New Mexico this will be a home meet for him. On the other hand, I also pointed out he was entered in the USA XC World Team Trials and didn't run there, so no guarantees.
Anyway, the 3000m is set to start at 6:30 p.m. local time (8:30 p.m. EST) on Saturday.
There will be live streaming of the meet on Saturday and part of Sunday. Many Sunday finals, including the men's and women's 1 Mile races, will be shown live on ESPN. The following link provides more info about the webcast and TV coverage.
USA Indoor Championships - Webcast Info
FWIW, here's the current qualified/declared entry list for the men's 3000m:
Brent Vaughn Nike NT
Bernard Lagat Nike 7:39.35
Aaron Braun Adidas/McMillan Elite
7:50.11
Jeff See Saucony 7:50.23
Chris Barnicle New Balance 7:55.70
Trevor Dunbar unattached 8:00.10
Scott Smith McMillan Elite 8:00.34
Jeremy Johnson Brooks 8:00.88
Derek Scott Puma 8:01.68
Kyle Alcorn Nike 8:02.56
Galen Rupp Nike/OTC Elite 13:11.44* (5K)
The big deal here is Galen Rupp and Bernard Lagat (the current American 5K and 2M indoor record-holders) going head-to-head. Also interesting to see Chris Barnicle's name on the list. Since he is based in New Mexico this will be a home meet for him. On the other hand, I also pointed out he was entered in the USA XC World Team Trials and didn't run there, so no guarantees.
Anyway, the 3000m is set to start at 6:30 p.m. local time (8:30 p.m. EST) on Saturday.
February 22, 2011
2011 Indoor State Meet Preview - Boys
Here we go with a tour of the performance lists for the boys indoor state meet. While compiling this, I noticed that the combined projected point total for Cambridge, Brockton, Lexington, and Xaverian was one point. Does anyone else think that's a strange sign of the times?
Note: I didn't bother assigning 0.1 points for the nine high jumpers seeded at 6-1. I probably should have, but I was in a hurry.
To no one's surprise, Mansfield is the big favorite and will be tough to beat. New Bedford is probably the team with the best chance to pull an upset. After that, it seems unlikely that any team could amass enough points, but we'll see.
Mansfield - 49
Mansfield has the top seeds in both the mile and two-mile. After he ran 2:29 for 1000m and the next weekend ran 4:17 at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, I jumped on the Josh Lampron bandwagon. He has plenty of competition in the mile, but 2:29 -- my goodness! I think he'll win a close race against St. John's Dan Zawalich, with Pembroke's Wesley Gallagher and Brendan Adams right there. It's amazing to me that the mile has ten guys seeded at sub 4:24.
Meanwhile, Shayne Collins has the top seed in the 2-mile at 9:14. His main competition will be the enigmatic John Murray, who won D1 last week with a wire-to-wire 9:23. Murray does not mind leading and I've seen him close a two-mile in a silky smooth 29s 200, but he has looked completely average running the 800 in relays this year. I expect Collins will follow Murray's pace, and the two will kick to see who wins. I don't see anyone else being able to stick around long enough to be in it for the win, but who knows?
In the 300, Mansfield has two guys -- Steve Gannon and Nick King -- under 36 seconds. In the relays, they have the third seed in both the 4x2 and 4x4, and the sixth seed in the 4x8. They'd love to get points in the long jump, but that's a volatile event. If Patrick Greaney can jump in the mid-21's Mansfield will be in great shape.
New Bedford - 31
The long jump has been very good to New Bedford this year. Phito Gondre is the top seed and Justin Callendar is the fourth seed. I'm sure they're hoping for a 1-2 finish, and it's not out of the question. Gondre is the third seed in the 55, and if he could do better that would again be huge. The Whalers are the top seed in the 4x200 and have pretty much owned that event. So if Mansfield stumbles, and especially if the long jump and 55 go the Whaler's way, they have a real shot to win the team title.
Bishop Feehen - 24
It's a little surprising to see Feehen up there, but they have Billy Looney in the 1000 (2:29.99), Tim McMakin in the shot put (53-5), and Sam Yoder in the high jump (6-4). There's certainly upside in the SP and HJ. They also have 5th seed in the 4x400. Probably not enough to catch Mansfield, but definitely a shot at the runner-up trophy.
Newton North - 23
I don't want to sound like a starry-eyed optimist, but North has to be thinking upside in every event. Isaiah Penn is seeded 2nd, but he has proven again and again that he rises to the competition. Swardiq Mayanja is seeded 2nd in the shot put, but has the best throw in the state this year. Ezra Lichtman is seeded 6th in the 1000, but only six-tenths of a second behind the third seed. And if North's 4x200 team can keep their shoes on this week, they can improve on their fifth seed.
Again, if Mansfield takes care of business, all of that won't be enough to win, but might be enough for second.
Andover - 22
18 of Andover's 22 projected points come from the 4x800 and 4x200 relays. The other four come from Pat Farnham in the 300. Missing from the total is any points from Simon Voorhees in the mile (seeded 10th at 4:23.28). A great race from Voorhees and a top three finish is definitely possible.
The Rest
Hard to choose from among the 19 schools projected at between 10 and 20 points. Somerville is pro0jected at 20, and speaking of bandwagons, I love watching Somerville's sensational sophomore Andre Rolim, the top seed and defending champ in the 600. Acton-Boxboro also projects at 20 points. The aforementioned Pembroke is at 18, as are Marshfield and Woburn.
The meet gets underway at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, February 26. Alas, I will be away. Anyone with a Twitter account want to post updates?
MIAA Performance Lists - Boys
2011 Indoor State Meet Preview - Girls
Performance lists aren't predictions, and anything can happen. But here's a quick tour through the girls performance lists for the 2011 Indoor State Meet:
Mansfield - 37.3
Mansfield is a great team with many strong athletes and deserves to be the favorite in the state meet, but their projected top position is very precarious. ALL of their projected points come in events that are notoriously volatile -- the 55, 55 hurdles, 300, high jump, and 4x200 -- you couldn't come up with a list of events more likely to cause a coach to bite their nails down to the quick. Well, I suppose you could add the long jump to that list, but watching Carla Forbes tends to make you forget how difficult and unpredictable it is...
Newton North - 32
The Tigers will be in the unfamiliar position on being the underdog, at least on paper, for the first time this season. Their "safe" points (nothing is ever safe in track) are in the long jump and 4x400 relay. The remainder of their projected points come from the 55 and 1000, where Carla Forbes and Margo Gillis will be battling deep fields. Those points might not be easy to get, but there is a great chance for North to find other points in the 600 (Meghan Bellerose - seeded 9th), the high jump (three jumpers at 5-1), the long jump (Both Amy Ren's and Kayla Prior's PBs would put them in the top eight), and the 4x200 (seeded 9th).
Lincoln-Sudbury - 30
Andrea Keklak is one of the most impressive athletes at the meet, and having her gives L-S a great chance to win the 1000 and 4x800. But even if Marika Crowe can take 2nd in the 1000, it's hard to see where L-S will get more points than their projected 30. However, if Mansfield and Newton North have any mishaps, 30 points might be enough to win.
Franklin - 29
Like L-S, Franklin has the top seed in two events. Megan Ross was very impressive winning the D1 2M, and Kendal Knous is 1.5 seconds better than anyone else in the 600. Their other points come from the 1000 and the 4x800, both of which will be tough challenges. On the other hand, all the teams in front of them have tough challenges, too, so Franklin is a definite contender for the title.
Andover - 24
Don't be fooled by Andover's projected point total. It's low because it doesn't account for any points from Moira Cronin in the high jump. If Cronin has a good meet and Jess Salley matches last week's performance, Andover could score 16-18 points in the high jump and be right back in business.
Also, Maggie Mullins is seeded only fourth in the 2M after a sub-par race at D1, but is capable of doing much better at the state meet. Add the 300, where anything could happen, and the 4x400, where Andover is in the mix for one of the top three spots and it's not inconceivable that Andover could score in the mid-30s for this meet.
The Rest
Pembroke, Newton South, Wachusett, and Weymouth look to be the teams with significant upside. Arlington has Rebecca Robinson, the top seed in the 55 and 300, but that's about it.
Tanzania Journal - Day 5: Tarangire
Running Log, 12/28/10 -- 3 miles, out and back from L'Oasis
After our day in Monduli, we returned to Arusha Monday night and spent all evening sorting through our stuff, separating the things we would need for our eight-day trip through the national parks from the things we could leave until our return. About half our luggage and a lot of the things we had brought from the U.S. for Joni were packed away and left for later. What was left still looked like too much.
After the blissful experience of the previous day's run in the hills outside Monduli, my three-mile run in Arusha was a hard return to reality. I struggled to get out of bed, and pulled on my running stuff with an utter lack of enthusiasm. As I ran along the now familiar main highway, the air seemed dirtier and the road surface harder. Other than that, the run made no impression on me, and I devoted one listless sentence to it in my journal. Such is the life of a streak. When I got back, instead of a leisurely breakfast, I had to hustle to take a quick shower (my last for a while), and eat a hasty plate of toast and fruit.
This was the first day of our journey into the national parks, which meant the first day of stuffing ourselves and our belongings into (or on top of) the land rover. The land rover would become our home away from home, not only our transportation but our only protection from the predators whose domain we were about to invade. Rob, Peter (our driver), and Henry (our cook) appeared on schedule at 8 a.m. It took about 30 minutes to pack everything, and then we were off. Well, sort of. Before heading out of town, we first drove back into the city to pick up supplies and other last-minute necessities. These included cases and cases of water, several dozen eggs, and various other sundries. In addition to the collective supplies, this was our last chance to get personal items. For Joni, this meant buying more air-time for her cell phone (yes, there is cell phone reception in parts of the Serengeti). For Loren, this meant getting the next volume of Stieg Larsson's Millenium trilogy. For me, it was a slim book called "Beginning Swahili," which would become my constant companion for the next week.
With the shopping, and various other delays, we didn't leave Arusha until well after 10:00 a.m. Our plan was to pick up Oju, who would accompany us to Tarngire National Park, and camp with us for one night. We would then drop him at a spot where he could get a dala dala back to Monduli and we would continue, first to Lake Natron and then to Loliondo and the Northern entrance to the Serengeti.
The drive to Tarnagire was uneventful except for a stop we made at a small roadside market. Within seconds of the land rover pulling to a stop, it was surrounded by a crowd of Maasai women pressing up to the windows with necklaces, bracelets, and other handmade items. We had been told that this was likely to happen, but being told hadn't really prepared us. I didn't want to buy anything, and after exhausting my repertoire of ways to say "no, thank you, I don't wany any," I gave up and turned back to my Swahili book. The irony of the moment would haunt me for several days. As the trip went on, we became more and more immune to this kind of interaction with the Maasai. That is, we learned to be indifferent.
We arrived at Tarangire about half past noon and waited for what would become a familiar twenty-minute ritual of having Rob pay our fees to enter the park. I don't know what transpired during those twenty minutes, but I don't think I want to know. Having obtained the necessary permission, we drove for about 15 minutes to a campsite and dropped off Henry and all our gear. Then we started the first of many game drives.
I am not going to recount every new animal sighting. It would be time-consumig for me and boring for you. I will say that Rob had set up our trip with a kind of genius in that every new place we drove, it seemed like things got more exotic. Our first sight of a giraffe was an occasion for ten minutes of taking pictures. In the coming days, we would get used to giraffes and baboons, and even elephants, although it's hard to get used to elephants.
Anyway, the highlights of this drive were our first sightings of all of the above, and more; our lunch stop where we matched wits with the sneaky, thieving vervet monkeys, and the baobab trees. I never got tired of elephants or baobabs.
I could look at these trees for hours.
As the sun went down, we returned to our campsite. This was our first sunset outside the city, and the views were stunningly beautiful. I've included two, below. The first is just a picture of the sky above one of the hills as we drove past. The other shows the road to our campsite.
It was late when we got out of the land rover, and we ate our dinner by torchlight. Before crawling into sleeping bags for the night, we were given a stern lecture by Rob about not leaving our tents in the dark. I won't repeat his instructions about what to do in case we felt we couldn't wait until morning to relieve ourselves. Anyway, his talk ensured that I would spend my waking moments, and there were many, listening for the sound of animal incursions into our encampment. It was a long night.
Next: Water in a Dry Land
February 21, 2011
NNHS Alumni Results - 2/19-20/11
[An earlier version of this post mistakenly listed results from the GBTC Invite in January. My apologies!]
Bowdoin's Michele Kaufman competed on Saturday at the Women's New England Division III Championships at MIT, taking 2nd in the 55m hurdles in 8.37. In the same meet, another NN grad, Jaya Tripathi was listed as running the 400 leg on Amherst's DMR team that finished 4th.
The USATF-NE Indoor Track Championship Meet was held Sunday at Harvard's Gordon Track. I've been through the results and I think there were at least two NN alumnae and one current NN athlete competing:
Northeastern's Jess Barton placed 2nd in the mile in what I believe is a personal best time of 4:55.24. Also in the mile was Wheaton's Shoshanna Kruskal, who ran 6:03.14.
Current NN junior Stephanie Brown placed 2nd in the pole vault with a jump of 3.35m (10-11.75).
Bowdoin's Michele Kaufman competed on Saturday at the Women's New England Division III Championships at MIT, taking 2nd in the 55m hurdles in 8.37. In the same meet, another NN grad, Jaya Tripathi was listed as running the 400 leg on Amherst's DMR team that finished 4th.
The USATF-NE Indoor Track Championship Meet was held Sunday at Harvard's Gordon Track. I've been through the results and I think there were at least two NN alumnae and one current NN athlete competing:
Northeastern's Jess Barton placed 2nd in the mile in what I believe is a personal best time of 4:55.24. Also in the mile was Wheaton's Shoshanna Kruskal, who ran 6:03.14.
Current NN junior Stephanie Brown placed 2nd in the pole vault with a jump of 3.35m (10-11.75).
February 19, 2011
NN Boys 3rd at D1 Championships; Penn Wins 300
Isaiah Penn took the lead early in the 300m, hit the break line first, and was never seriously challenged, as he won the D1 championship in 35.70 -- well ahead of runner-up Pat Farnham of Andover.
Penn had North's only individual victory, although Swardiq Mayanja came within an inch of taking the shot put title. The NN junior threw 54-7 in the final round, which was exactly one inch behind Durfee's Tresley Dupont. North also got points from sophomore Young Guang, who made the finals and placed 7th with a throw of 48-8. Ryan Donovan (45-2.5), Carl Witham (43-11.5), and Nate Menninger (39-10) also competed for North in the shot.
In the 1000m, senior Ezra Lichtman (2:32.9) ran a tactically flawless race but didn't have quite enough at the end to hold off Acton-Boxboro's Curt Owen and Wachusett's Alex Jagelsky, taking 3rd place and nabbing the last automatic qualifier for the state meet. Justin Keefe was in the thick of things in the first 600m, but dropped off the pace and finished 11th overall in 2:38.57.
Other individuals from North included Dan Ranti (9:56.34) who finished 10th in the 2M, Tylor Hart (6-0) and Nick Fofana (5-10) who were 11th and 13th, respectively, in the high jump, and Hart again in the long jump (19-6.75).
North's 4x200 team (Ryan Lucken, Terrell Doyle, Ben Clark, Nate Menninger) placed 3rd in 1:32.67 and earned an automatic bid to the state meet. The 4x400 team (Clark, Doyle, Orion Wagner (?), and Penn) ran 3:31.81 out of the penultimate heat to finish 5th overall. The 4x800 team ran 8:31.89 to place 16th.
New Bedford won the team title handily on the strength of two wins by Phito Gondre (55 dash and long jump), a 2nd and 4th place from teammate Justin Callendar in those same events, a tie for 5th in the high jump, and a win in the 4x200. North ended up 3rd with 36 points, just 3 points behind Acton-Boxboro.
2011 MA D1 Championships - Boys and Girls Results
Penn had North's only individual victory, although Swardiq Mayanja came within an inch of taking the shot put title. The NN junior threw 54-7 in the final round, which was exactly one inch behind Durfee's Tresley Dupont. North also got points from sophomore Young Guang, who made the finals and placed 7th with a throw of 48-8. Ryan Donovan (45-2.5), Carl Witham (43-11.5), and Nate Menninger (39-10) also competed for North in the shot.
In the 1000m, senior Ezra Lichtman (2:32.9) ran a tactically flawless race but didn't have quite enough at the end to hold off Acton-Boxboro's Curt Owen and Wachusett's Alex Jagelsky, taking 3rd place and nabbing the last automatic qualifier for the state meet. Justin Keefe was in the thick of things in the first 600m, but dropped off the pace and finished 11th overall in 2:38.57.
Other individuals from North included Dan Ranti (9:56.34) who finished 10th in the 2M, Tylor Hart (6-0) and Nick Fofana (5-10) who were 11th and 13th, respectively, in the high jump, and Hart again in the long jump (19-6.75).
North's 4x200 team (Ryan Lucken, Terrell Doyle, Ben Clark, Nate Menninger) placed 3rd in 1:32.67 and earned an automatic bid to the state meet. The 4x400 team (Clark, Doyle, Orion Wagner (?), and Penn) ran 3:31.81 out of the penultimate heat to finish 5th overall. The 4x800 team ran 8:31.89 to place 16th.
New Bedford won the team title handily on the strength of two wins by Phito Gondre (55 dash and long jump), a 2nd and 4th place from teammate Justin Callendar in those same events, a tie for 5th in the high jump, and a win in the 4x200. North ended up 3rd with 36 points, just 3 points behind Acton-Boxboro.
2011 MA D1 Championships - Boys and Girls Results
February 18, 2011
NN Girls' 2011 Run Continues With D1 State Title
(More fantastic photos from the meet)
Newton North's girls indoor track team continued its run of big meet victories last night, adding the D1 State Championship to its State Relays and Dartmouth Relays wins. The Tigers (55 points) took the title for the second year in a row, besting runner-up Andover (48), and Lincoln-Sudbury (42).
After more than five hours of intense competition that featured outstanding performances, unfortunate mishaps, and dramatic reversals of fortune for both teams, the meet came down to the 4x400 relay. Newton North held a five-point lead, which meant that Andover still had a slim chance.
That chance faded as the quartet of Madi Nadeau (59.2), Margo Gillis (59.4), Meghan Bellerose (59.9), and Carla Forbes (59.1) ran a metric meet record of 3:57.71. Indeed, if Forbes hadn't left a bit early and had to check herself, it could have been a half second faster. The final event put the exclamation on the meet for North, but there were certainly moments when the outcome was in doubt...
The meet started well for the Tigers, as Emily Hutchinson, Maeve Larkin, and Lucia Grigoli all earned a total of 10 points in the high jump. In a strange moment, defending state champion and top seed Moira Cronin of Andover seemed to have plenty of clearance on her third attempt at 5-3 but clipped the bar and had to settle for three-way tie for 4th place. However, Cronin's teammate Jess Salley won the competition, clearing 5-5 on her final attempt giving Andover 14 points for the event.
In the 600, Meghan Bellerose ran a controlled race, staying off the pace in the fast first lap and then patiently working her way up to the back of the lead pack. With 150 meters to go, Bellerose moved into 4th and was able to hold that position to the line, finishing in 1:37.42 and earning 5 points.
Margo Gillis (2:59.62) also finished 4th in the 1000, holding off a determined charge by Franklin sophomore Lauren Hagen (2:59.97). For Gillis, it was her first time under 3:00 this season. At the start, Gillis briefly followed Lincoln-Sudbury senior Andrea Keklak, but sensibly let her go after about 150 meters. Keklak would go on to run a meet record 2:49.88.
Sitting on twenty points, North looked to the hurdles to add to their total. Alas, third-seeded Kayla Wong had a poor start that seemed to affect her steps to the first hurdle. She clipped it, stumbled as her trail leg hit the tartan, and went down. North's other hurdler, Amy Ren, ran a season's best 8.92 but missed qualifying for the final by a mere 0.02. With North going 0 for the hurdles, and Andover taking 2 points and another 10 with a win in the 300 from Eve Bishop, it was time to worry.
This season, North's antidote to all manner of ills has been Carla Forbes. So it was again. The sophomore had qualified for the 55 final by running a personal best 7.30 in the prelims. As the two-miles dragged on, Forbes waited.
Andover, which had been cruising along since the high jump, hit another bump in the road when top-seeded Maggie Mullins wasn't able to keep pace with Franklin's Megan Ross in the 2M. The two had been so far ahead of the pack that when Mullins fell off the pace, she wasn't aware until it was too late that Wachusett's Rebecca Skodis and Waltham's Meghan Brophy were kicking hard. The two made up a five-second deficit in the final 200m, catching Mullins in the final 30 meters. Mullins reacted, but Skodis was in full stride, and The Andover runner had to settle for third.
At 7:36 p.m. Forbes finally settled into the starting blocks for the final of the 55 dash. The gun went off, and Forbes accelerated into the lead. Boston Latin's Emma Rice was closing fast, but it seemed that Forbes had held her off. All eyes turned to the scoreboard. But what was this? The results showed Rice first with a time of 7.69 and Forbes second with 7.76. The order of the finishers seemed wrong, but what was immediately bizarre were the times. There was no way that the D1 State Final would be won in 7.69 and that Forbes would run almost half a second slower than in the prelims. In a strange way, the absurdity of it kept us from panic. In a few minutes, the correct results appeared. Forbes had won in 7.31; Rice was second in 7.36.
There was no time to dwell on either the false results or the true ones. I jotted down these notes as I watched the sequence of events:
7:36 - Forbes wins 55
7:42 - Forbes receives first place medal
7:47 - Forbes takes first jump in LJ... 18-5
That 18-5 would win the competition, so in a space of 11 minutes, the sophomore won two events and catapulted North back into the lead. (Amy Ren would add two very welcome points by hitting 16-6 on her last long jump to move into 7th.)
So now it was just survive and take care of business in the relays.
There are times when you really don't want to be anywhere near Joe Tranchita during a track meet, and watching the 4x200 when his team is messing up their exchanges is one of them. Running in the seeded heat, North was in fourth when their third runner got trapped inside coming into the exchange. She had to extricate herself, and cross back out into lane three to make the handoff, which was not pretty. The loss of precious tenths of a second hurt North, as Andover, lying fifth, ran them down and edged them by four-hundredths of a second.
That set up the 4x400, where North had all its aces.
2011 MA D1 Championships - Boys and Girls Results
February 17, 2011
2011 D1 Indoor Preview - Girls
Here's your form chart for the The MIAA Girls DI Indoor Track Championships.
(Corrected with 8-deep scoring - 2/18/11)
To repeat myself, a form chart is not a prediction; it's a summary of how many points each school would get if the results of each event were the same as the seeding performances. There are impossibilities and improbabilities galore in these numbers, but on average they do indicate the strongest teams.
1. Newton North 69.7 points (55H - 6; 55 - 8; 300 -2; 600 - 4; 1000 - 1; HJ - 9.7; LJ - 23!!; 4x2 - 10; 4x4 - 6)
I won't waffle. Newton North is the favorite. They have Carla Forbes, a veteran sophomore and defending state champion who is the odds-on favorite in the LJ and the second seed (by 0.02) in the 55. They have four high jumpers in the competition, with Lucia Grigoli at 5-4. They have Kayla Wong in the hurdles and LJ, They have two strong relay teams. And the total reflects only a single individual point from Margo Gillis, who is seeded 8th in the 1000m.
It's not that L-S and Andover aren't strong. They are great teams, too, and anything could happen, but only Newton North can have things go wrong (for example, under-performing in the jumps, messing up a relay) and still have a good chance to win.
2. Lincoln-Sudbury 61.3 points (55H - 5; 600 - 3; 1000 - 16!; 1M - 6; 2M - 3; HJ - 6.3; LJ - 3; 4x2 - 5; 4x8 - 4; 4x4 - 10)
L-S has potential scorers in 7-8 individual events and all the relays. They have Andrea Keklak entered in the 1000m and 2-mile, and she could win both events (she'll certainly be better than 6th in the 2M). They have upside in the LJ, but will have a tough time getting those 16 points in the 1000. If Keklak doubles in the 1000-2M, she's not available for a relay and that will hurt their chances big time. All-in-all, I think they're projected point total will be about what they can get.
3. Andover 54.3 points (55H - 1; 300 - 11; 600 - 1; 2M - 10; HJ - 16.3!; LJ - 1; 4x2 - 6; 4x4 - 8)
This is a team with big stars Moria Cronin (defending state champ in the high jump) and Maggie Mullins (top seed in the 2M), and typically strong relays). Although the projected scores don't show it, they are pretty deep, with quite a few athletes capable of cracking the top eight.
But there's not much upside from the stars, and that probably keeps them around 55 points, which might not be enough.
4. Wachusett 36.7 points
5. Franklin 28 points
6. Weymouth 25 points
I see a pretty significant gap between the top three teams and the rest of the field. Teams like Wachusett, Franklin, and Weymouth have a lot of athletes qualified, so if one of those teams has a great day they might rise to top of the chase pack, but I just don't see any of them catching NN, L-S, or Andover.
Anything can happen, though, especially in the jumps. Newton and Andover need lots of points from the jumps. If it doesn't happen, it opens the door for L-S and possibly other teams.
2011 D1 Indoor Preview - Boys
The MIAA DI Indoor Track Championships kick off on Friday night at 4:30 at the RLTAC, and for your reading pleasure, here's a form chart for the boys competition.
A form chart is not a prediction; it's a summary of how many points each school would get if the results of each event were the same as the seeding performances. And even though it doesn't take into account seeds that are misleading, it turns out to be a pretty good way of focusing attention on the teams most likely to contend for the title.
A major new wrinkle to the process this year is thatdistance all runners are allowed to compete in two longer running events if they choose. There are certainly some athletes good enough to score in two distance events, but others are probably entered in two events but will scratch from one, depending on which event gives them the better chance to score points for the team.
Ok, without further ado, here are the top teams based on seeding performances:
1. New Bedford 37 points (55 - 10; LJ - 17; 4x200 - 10)
NB's Phito Gondre is seeded first in the 55 (6.46) and LJ (22-4). If Ricky Williams and Justin Callendar have a good night at the LJ pit, and if they can hang on to the baton in the 4x200, New Bedford has a great chance to win with only four athletes.
2. Newton North 36 points (300 - 10; 1000 - 10; SP - 10; 4x200 - 6)
The only team with three individuals seeded #1, North is also a bit deeper than NB, with chances for other points from the SP, HJ, and 1000. Obviously, it will be key for Isaiah Penn, Ezra Lichtman, and Swardick Mayanja to win or place in their respective events, plus big points from the relays. It seems like they will have to choose between stacking their 4x200 or 4x400, and the seeds suggest it will be the 4x200.
3. Acton-Boxboro 33 points (55H - 1; 300 - 6; 600 - 6; 1000 - 8; 4x4 - 8; 4x8 - 4)
A scary deep team with lots of upside. They need big nights from Brian Sommers (300), Alex Durkee (600), and Curt Owen (1000), and it would help their cause if they can get a top three place in the uber-competitive 4x800.
4. Andover 31 points (300 - 8; 1000 - 2; 1M - 7; 4x2 - 4; 4x4 - 2; 4x8 - 8)
Another deep team with upside, especially in the 1M (Simon Voorhees, 4:21.94, Will Osoff, 4:27.47). Can they field three competitive relays? Most likely only two, but that might be enough to win.
5. BC High 24 points
6. Attleboro 23.25 points
7. St. John Prep 22.25 points
8 Lawrence 20.63 points
9 Somerville - 20 points
It's not inconceivable that one of the 5-9 teams could emerge from the pack and take one of the top two trophies. In my opinion, the team best positioned for such an upset is St. John's, which has potential scorers in four events plus the 4x200 relay. BC High has 6-9 high jumper Nick Staley, 21-5 long jumper Yosa Nosamiefan, and the third-seeded 4x800 team, but I doubt that's enough.
So, in summary, it looks like at least four teams will still have a chance to win going into the relays. It should be a great meet!
A form chart is not a prediction; it's a summary of how many points each school would get if the results of each event were the same as the seeding performances. And even though it doesn't take into account seeds that are misleading, it turns out to be a pretty good way of focusing attention on the teams most likely to contend for the title.
A major new wrinkle to the process this year is that
Ok, without further ado, here are the top teams based on seeding performances:
1. New Bedford 37 points (55 - 10; LJ - 17; 4x200 - 10)
NB's Phito Gondre is seeded first in the 55 (6.46) and LJ (22-4). If Ricky Williams and Justin Callendar have a good night at the LJ pit, and if they can hang on to the baton in the 4x200, New Bedford has a great chance to win with only four athletes.
2. Newton North 36 points (300 - 10; 1000 - 10; SP - 10; 4x200 - 6)
The only team with three individuals seeded #1, North is also a bit deeper than NB, with chances for other points from the SP, HJ, and 1000. Obviously, it will be key for Isaiah Penn, Ezra Lichtman, and Swardick Mayanja to win or place in their respective events, plus big points from the relays. It seems like they will have to choose between stacking their 4x200 or 4x400, and the seeds suggest it will be the 4x200.
3. Acton-Boxboro 33 points (55H - 1; 300 - 6; 600 - 6; 1000 - 8; 4x4 - 8; 4x8 - 4)
A scary deep team with lots of upside. They need big nights from Brian Sommers (300), Alex Durkee (600), and Curt Owen (1000), and it would help their cause if they can get a top three place in the uber-competitive 4x800.
4. Andover 31 points (300 - 8; 1000 - 2; 1M - 7; 4x2 - 4; 4x4 - 2; 4x8 - 8)
Another deep team with upside, especially in the 1M (Simon Voorhees, 4:21.94, Will Osoff, 4:27.47). Can they field three competitive relays? Most likely only two, but that might be enough to win.
5. BC High 24 points
6. Attleboro 23.25 points
7. St. John Prep 22.25 points
8 Lawrence 20.63 points
9 Somerville - 20 points
It's not inconceivable that one of the 5-9 teams could emerge from the pack and take one of the top two trophies. In my opinion, the team best positioned for such an upset is St. John's, which has potential scorers in four events plus the 4x200 relay. BC High has 6-9 high jumper Nick Staley, 21-5 long jumper Yosa Nosamiefan, and the third-seeded 4x800 team, but I doubt that's enough.
So, in summary, it looks like at least four teams will still have a chance to win going into the relays. It should be a great meet!
February 16, 2011
Tanzania Journal - Day 4: Monduli Juu (Continued)
Running Log, 12/27/10 - about 12 miles, from Monduli to Monduli Juu and back, with Oju
I promised to tell you about Oju's shoes...
When Joni was living in Monduli back in 2007, she did some running with a pair of well-worn ASICS that she had had for at least a couple of years. When it was time for her to leave and return to the States, she decided she would be buying new shoes and she knew that Oju could use them, so she left the shoes with him. I'm not sure what Oju was wearing before that, but they must have been trouble, because Joni's shoes were at least a size too small, probably more. But three and a half years later, he was still using them for his runs to Monduli Juu.
In the weeks leading up to our trip, Joni had told me I should bring an extra pair of running shoes that I wouldn't mind leaving behind. So I brought one pair for hiking in, one pair for running in, and one to give away. It turned out that Oju was the beneficiary. When I arrived at his room in the center of Monduli, I pulled out this pair from my backpack and made a presentation of sorts. Oju took off the shoes he had gotten from Joni, which were too small, and put on the ones I had brought, which were too big. I had this terrible feeling that they would be the cause of blisters, so I convinced him to wear two pairs of socks.
This whole exchange made a big impression on me. I couldn't quite imagine having such a strong desire or need to run that I would do 18 kilometers twice a week in shoes that forced my toes up tight into the front of the shoe. And then to exchange them for big clown-feet shoes that were too big seemed very unfair. And yet Oju assured me the "new" shoes were much better. The next time I go to Arusha, I'm going to bring the right size running shoes.
We set off at a leisurely trot, and my Swahili lesson began. We took a few turns to leave the main village, so I learned "kulia" (right), "kushoto" (left), and "sawa mbele" (straight ahead). The road was slightly downhill at first, then flattened out. The surface was a reddish dirt, soft without being too loose. The sun was almost directly overhead, but the the temperature was very comfortable, and there was a pleasant breeze. It was a beautiful day for a run.
As we left the village behind, we saw small groups of children playing in the fields by the side of the road. Sometimes they yelled something, but it was never sharp and edgy the way the kids had yelled in Arusha. I began to relax.
After about a mile and a half, the road began rising. There was no mystery about where we were heading. We had been able to see the mountains rising up in front us almost since we started. Our pace was still very slow and deliberate. Even so, the steady climbing kept us breathing fairly hard, and there were only a few words exchanged. "Kilima," said Oju, gesturing at the road in front of us. I repeated "kilima," and then to make sure, "hill?" Oju said yes. I repeated "kilima" a few more times, because it seemed this would be a very useful word.
After several miles of steady progress, we turned a corner and began ascending a much steeper hill. Here the grade was so severe that the road had been paved to keep it from washing away during the rains. I was just putting my head down, when Oju stopped and began walking. It was a little surprising at first, but then seemed such a sensible thing to do that I fell in step beside him. We were, after all, in no hurry. The road was long, the hill was steep, and we had plenty of time.
I began to think about time. It seemed to me that no one every became a distance runner without having a lot of time on their hands. Obviously no one who was in a hurry and who had money to spend would choose to run from Monduli to a distant outpost six miles away. I thought of all the distractions in my life, and the even greater sense of distraction I sensed in the kids at Concord. There was always something to do, and always someplace to go in a hurry. Oju was not in a hurry. He had all day, and so did I.
I thought about how, at our gentle pace, I could easily run for twenty miles, and then do it again the next day, and the next. Joni had told me that when she was living in Monduli, she would sometimes walk the six miles from town to the main road back to Arusha to catch a bus there. She didn't need to, she just had time for it and nothing else to do.
In the days that followed, we would drive through the Maasai lands, and would see Maasai men, women, and children walking miles and miles from the nearest village. They could and did walk all day and were never in a hurry. Later, in the national parks, we would get the same impression from the giraffes, elephants, zebra, and other creatures that slouched their way through the hot African day. No one rushed. There always seemed to be ample time to get wherever you needed to go. Even the big cats, who could, had they wanted to, shown us sprinting that would have made Usain Bolt look like he was running backwards, mostly just slept. These were the thoughts I had as we resumed our easy trot up the road.
After the steep grade, the pavement disappeared again, and we made our way up through the lovely countryside. From time to time we would come across children watching over herds of cattle or goats. Once we met two boys on the road, who ran with us for a little with big smiles before returning to their animals. At one point, a car passed, raising clouds of dust. It had been the first vehicle we had seen since we had left the plains.
Some time later the road leveled out onto a broad plateau, and we saw a low row of buildings. We had arrived in the market town of Monduli Juu. There were a lot of people milling around, including quite a few wearing the traditional Maasai shuka, the colorful robe draped over one shoulder. Oju knew a lot of people here, and exchanged greetings with several. No one seemed to think it unusual that we had run there.
At one point Oju disappeared into one of the shops and emerged a few moments later with two bottles of water. He nodded back towards the shop and said, simply, "my friend." We walked about, drinking our water, while Oju pointed to things and told me what they were in English and Swahili, or sometimes just Swahili. I repeated everything.
Although neither one of us was in any hurry to turn around and run down the mountain again, eventually we decided that we would. As the afternoon went on, our families would be waiting for us, wondering if we had been eaten by lions. We set out slowly, gathering speed as the road descended. The run back was easy, under control. I'm sure it took less time to run down than it had to run up, but the pace never picked up, even on the steep paved section.
Back in Monduli, we retraced our steps to Oju's house, picked up my backpack, and then began walking to Rose's house -- about a mile more. It seemed we could have run, but the walk was a nice cool down. Hakuna shida. No worry.
At Roses, I used a bucket of water to sponge off and then changed into pants and a clean shirt. Although everyone else had finished their afternoon meal, we feasted on the leftovers. Ann asked whether I had been able to keep up with Oju. I said that I was able to keep with him in running, but my Swahili was still lagging far behind. But I still had time, lots of time, to learn more.
Oju and I after running to Monduli Juu and back. Oju is still wearing his "new" shoes, his two pairs of socks, and the shorts he ran in. I've already sponged off and changed into my civilian clothes.
Next: Tarangire
I promised to tell you about Oju's shoes...
When Joni was living in Monduli back in 2007, she did some running with a pair of well-worn ASICS that she had had for at least a couple of years. When it was time for her to leave and return to the States, she decided she would be buying new shoes and she knew that Oju could use them, so she left the shoes with him. I'm not sure what Oju was wearing before that, but they must have been trouble, because Joni's shoes were at least a size too small, probably more. But three and a half years later, he was still using them for his runs to Monduli Juu.
In the weeks leading up to our trip, Joni had told me I should bring an extra pair of running shoes that I wouldn't mind leaving behind. So I brought one pair for hiking in, one pair for running in, and one to give away. It turned out that Oju was the beneficiary. When I arrived at his room in the center of Monduli, I pulled out this pair from my backpack and made a presentation of sorts. Oju took off the shoes he had gotten from Joni, which were too small, and put on the ones I had brought, which were too big. I had this terrible feeling that they would be the cause of blisters, so I convinced him to wear two pairs of socks.
This whole exchange made a big impression on me. I couldn't quite imagine having such a strong desire or need to run that I would do 18 kilometers twice a week in shoes that forced my toes up tight into the front of the shoe. And then to exchange them for big clown-feet shoes that were too big seemed very unfair. And yet Oju assured me the "new" shoes were much better. The next time I go to Arusha, I'm going to bring the right size running shoes.
We set off at a leisurely trot, and my Swahili lesson began. We took a few turns to leave the main village, so I learned "kulia" (right), "kushoto" (left), and "sawa mbele" (straight ahead). The road was slightly downhill at first, then flattened out. The surface was a reddish dirt, soft without being too loose. The sun was almost directly overhead, but the the temperature was very comfortable, and there was a pleasant breeze. It was a beautiful day for a run.
As we left the village behind, we saw small groups of children playing in the fields by the side of the road. Sometimes they yelled something, but it was never sharp and edgy the way the kids had yelled in Arusha. I began to relax.
After about a mile and a half, the road began rising. There was no mystery about where we were heading. We had been able to see the mountains rising up in front us almost since we started. Our pace was still very slow and deliberate. Even so, the steady climbing kept us breathing fairly hard, and there were only a few words exchanged. "Kilima," said Oju, gesturing at the road in front of us. I repeated "kilima," and then to make sure, "hill?" Oju said yes. I repeated "kilima" a few more times, because it seemed this would be a very useful word.
After several miles of steady progress, we turned a corner and began ascending a much steeper hill. Here the grade was so severe that the road had been paved to keep it from washing away during the rains. I was just putting my head down, when Oju stopped and began walking. It was a little surprising at first, but then seemed such a sensible thing to do that I fell in step beside him. We were, after all, in no hurry. The road was long, the hill was steep, and we had plenty of time.
I began to think about time. It seemed to me that no one every became a distance runner without having a lot of time on their hands. Obviously no one who was in a hurry and who had money to spend would choose to run from Monduli to a distant outpost six miles away. I thought of all the distractions in my life, and the even greater sense of distraction I sensed in the kids at Concord. There was always something to do, and always someplace to go in a hurry. Oju was not in a hurry. He had all day, and so did I.
I thought about how, at our gentle pace, I could easily run for twenty miles, and then do it again the next day, and the next. Joni had told me that when she was living in Monduli, she would sometimes walk the six miles from town to the main road back to Arusha to catch a bus there. She didn't need to, she just had time for it and nothing else to do.
In the days that followed, we would drive through the Maasai lands, and would see Maasai men, women, and children walking miles and miles from the nearest village. They could and did walk all day and were never in a hurry. Later, in the national parks, we would get the same impression from the giraffes, elephants, zebra, and other creatures that slouched their way through the hot African day. No one rushed. There always seemed to be ample time to get wherever you needed to go. Even the big cats, who could, had they wanted to, shown us sprinting that would have made Usain Bolt look like he was running backwards, mostly just slept. These were the thoughts I had as we resumed our easy trot up the road.
After the steep grade, the pavement disappeared again, and we made our way up through the lovely countryside. From time to time we would come across children watching over herds of cattle or goats. Once we met two boys on the road, who ran with us for a little with big smiles before returning to their animals. At one point, a car passed, raising clouds of dust. It had been the first vehicle we had seen since we had left the plains.
Some time later the road leveled out onto a broad plateau, and we saw a low row of buildings. We had arrived in the market town of Monduli Juu. There were a lot of people milling around, including quite a few wearing the traditional Maasai shuka, the colorful robe draped over one shoulder. Oju knew a lot of people here, and exchanged greetings with several. No one seemed to think it unusual that we had run there.
At one point Oju disappeared into one of the shops and emerged a few moments later with two bottles of water. He nodded back towards the shop and said, simply, "my friend." We walked about, drinking our water, while Oju pointed to things and told me what they were in English and Swahili, or sometimes just Swahili. I repeated everything.
Although neither one of us was in any hurry to turn around and run down the mountain again, eventually we decided that we would. As the afternoon went on, our families would be waiting for us, wondering if we had been eaten by lions. We set out slowly, gathering speed as the road descended. The run back was easy, under control. I'm sure it took less time to run down than it had to run up, but the pace never picked up, even on the steep paved section.
Back in Monduli, we retraced our steps to Oju's house, picked up my backpack, and then began walking to Rose's house -- about a mile more. It seemed we could have run, but the walk was a nice cool down. Hakuna shida. No worry.
At Roses, I used a bucket of water to sponge off and then changed into pants and a clean shirt. Although everyone else had finished their afternoon meal, we feasted on the leftovers. Ann asked whether I had been able to keep up with Oju. I said that I was able to keep with him in running, but my Swahili was still lagging far behind. But I still had time, lots of time, to learn more.
Oju and I after running to Monduli Juu and back. Oju is still wearing his "new" shoes, his two pairs of socks, and the shorts he ran in. I've already sponged off and changed into my civilian clothes.
Next: Tarangire
February 15, 2011
Tanzania Journal - Day 4: Monduli Juu
It may be that everything I have written so far has been motivated by a desire to write about the run I had on Monday, Dec. 27th. That was the day that Oju and I ran from the town of Monduli to the village of Monduli Juu (Monduli Highlands) and back again, a round trip of about 18 kilometers.
I know that I won't be able to fully describe the feeling I had on that day, the swelling sense of freedom and joy at running under the hot sun up the dirt road, seeing an occasional motor bike and passing Maasai children tending cattle on the hillside. On that day, I think I was as happy as I have ever been to be a runner. Although it sounds like an exaggeration, without that run I'm not sure how much I would have understood about Oju, about Arusha, about myself. That run seemed to make all the difference -- and for a few hours, at least, I didn't have to see Tanzania through the eyes of a baffled, apprehensive tourist, but instead could feel it through the soles of my feet and in the dust of the road stretching lazily before us.
To explain what led to that run in Monduli, I have to go back a few years.
When Joni returned to Tanzania in 2007, she didn't really have any plan that covered basic things like finding a place to stay. She had many friends and contacts in Arusha, though, so she ended up there and set about figuring out the next step. Although I don't know the whole series of events that led her there, Joni ended up staying for several months in Monduli with a woman named Rose, a teacher who worked at a school that served the local Maasai. Joni lived with her and helped take care of her house and two young sons.
Joni with Rose and her two sons
While living in Monduli, Joni began getting to know some of the people who worked at the open air market in the center of town. One of those people was Oju, a young man in his early twenties who sold produce there. They became friends, and Joni discovered that Oju liked to run. Or to put it more exactly, she found out that he would regularly run from Monduli to the Masaai market that was held twice a week in the village of Monduli Juu, about 9 kilometers away.
Joni and Oju selling tomatoes at the Monduli market, circa June 2007. Notice she is wearing a BSC XC Championship t-shirt
At least once, Joni ran part of the way with Oju. It was then that she found out that the road to Monduli Juu started easily but then rose sharply over a thousand feet into the hills. I remember her writing about this run, and I remember wishing I could have seen that road.
Back in the present, I knew there would be few opportunities to run. The city was crowded and dirty and not very pleasant, and the bush was far too dangerous. As a runner herself, Joni understood instinctively my need to do a "real" run, and she arranged it with Oju that he and I would run together in Monduli on one of our free days. As the day approached, I experienced a mix of intense anticipation for the run tempered by a small voice in my head that wondered whether I'd be able to handle it.
I don't think non-runners really understand or appreciate that even fit runners always have these voices of self-doubt. Going into a race or even a challenging workout we always wonder whether we'll be able to handle it. I was in that same state of mind thinking about the run with Oju. Here, in no particular order, were the things that worried me and nagged at my self-confidence:
The sun - I was newly arrived from New England, where the temperature had been below freezing for three weeks and the sun was a listless visitor lurking low on the horizon in a half-hearted appearance for nine hours out of every twenty-four. From that reality, I would be running for a couple of hours in the middle of the twelve-hour equatorial day, with the sun directly overhead. As far as I knew, we would have no water for the twelve mile round trip.
The hills - From Joni's description, these hills seemed really steep and really long. I didn't know exactly what that meant, but having seen the hills around Arusha, I was anxious that I would need oxygen for the mountains ahead.
Oju - I really had no idea how fit Oju was, but I knew that he did this run regularly and that he had sprinted up the hill behind his parents' house with a spring in his stride that I hadn't felt in twenty-five years. I knew he wouldn't abandon me, but I didn't want to be a weakling on this run and not be able to keep up with him.
It was with these thoughts in my head that I prepared for our third day in Tanzania
We woke early, ate breakfast, and headed downtown. The plan was to do a few errands, meet Oju, find a dala dala heading to Monduli and get there in the late morning. Oju and I would run. Joni and the others would visit with Rose and her kids and have lunch with them. In the afternoon, we would get a ride back to Arusha from another of Joni's friends who was heading that way.
Our second trip into the city was scarcely less chaotic than the first one. The day before had been a Sunday, and many shops and businesses had been closed. Now it was Monday, and the level of activity seemed to be at least double. Everything took longer. Everyone seemed a little more aggressive, a little more edgy. Even Joni began to get exasperated as she tried to guide us through the hubbub to places where we could do our errands, while brushing off the flycatchers who trailed after us.
When it was time to leave, it took us a long time to find a dala dala that was not empty. The problem with the empty ones was that, this being Africa, they wouldn't leave until they were full. So if we wanted to avoid waiting for another hour, we had to find one that was already half full but that had room for the six of us. Eventually we settled for one that was mostly empty, and put up with several circuits of the downtown area as the dala dala's driver and runner tried to round up more riders. With all this, we didn't actually leave Arusha until about 11:30, and didn't arrive in the Monduli until 45 minutes later.
Monduli seemed very small and provincial after Arusha, not that this was a mark against it. For one thing, the air was much better here. For another, no one immediately came over to sell us stuff. Joni gave us a very brief tour of the market, greeted some old friends, and then it was time for our party split up.
As everyone else headed off to Rose's house, Oju and I went to drop off my backpack at Oju's room, which was one of several in a one-story cinder block building near the main square. I took another long drink of water from the bottle I had brought with me, and then left it in Oju's room. It was time to start running, and I was giddy with anticipation.
Ah, but I have forgotten to tell you about Oju's shoes.
To be continued...
I know that I won't be able to fully describe the feeling I had on that day, the swelling sense of freedom and joy at running under the hot sun up the dirt road, seeing an occasional motor bike and passing Maasai children tending cattle on the hillside. On that day, I think I was as happy as I have ever been to be a runner. Although it sounds like an exaggeration, without that run I'm not sure how much I would have understood about Oju, about Arusha, about myself. That run seemed to make all the difference -- and for a few hours, at least, I didn't have to see Tanzania through the eyes of a baffled, apprehensive tourist, but instead could feel it through the soles of my feet and in the dust of the road stretching lazily before us.
To explain what led to that run in Monduli, I have to go back a few years.
When Joni returned to Tanzania in 2007, she didn't really have any plan that covered basic things like finding a place to stay. She had many friends and contacts in Arusha, though, so she ended up there and set about figuring out the next step. Although I don't know the whole series of events that led her there, Joni ended up staying for several months in Monduli with a woman named Rose, a teacher who worked at a school that served the local Maasai. Joni lived with her and helped take care of her house and two young sons.
Joni with Rose and her two sons
While living in Monduli, Joni began getting to know some of the people who worked at the open air market in the center of town. One of those people was Oju, a young man in his early twenties who sold produce there. They became friends, and Joni discovered that Oju liked to run. Or to put it more exactly, she found out that he would regularly run from Monduli to the Masaai market that was held twice a week in the village of Monduli Juu, about 9 kilometers away.
Joni and Oju selling tomatoes at the Monduli market, circa June 2007. Notice she is wearing a BSC XC Championship t-shirt
At least once, Joni ran part of the way with Oju. It was then that she found out that the road to Monduli Juu started easily but then rose sharply over a thousand feet into the hills. I remember her writing about this run, and I remember wishing I could have seen that road.
Back in the present, I knew there would be few opportunities to run. The city was crowded and dirty and not very pleasant, and the bush was far too dangerous. As a runner herself, Joni understood instinctively my need to do a "real" run, and she arranged it with Oju that he and I would run together in Monduli on one of our free days. As the day approached, I experienced a mix of intense anticipation for the run tempered by a small voice in my head that wondered whether I'd be able to handle it.
I don't think non-runners really understand or appreciate that even fit runners always have these voices of self-doubt. Going into a race or even a challenging workout we always wonder whether we'll be able to handle it. I was in that same state of mind thinking about the run with Oju. Here, in no particular order, were the things that worried me and nagged at my self-confidence:
The sun - I was newly arrived from New England, where the temperature had been below freezing for three weeks and the sun was a listless visitor lurking low on the horizon in a half-hearted appearance for nine hours out of every twenty-four. From that reality, I would be running for a couple of hours in the middle of the twelve-hour equatorial day, with the sun directly overhead. As far as I knew, we would have no water for the twelve mile round trip.
The hills - From Joni's description, these hills seemed really steep and really long. I didn't know exactly what that meant, but having seen the hills around Arusha, I was anxious that I would need oxygen for the mountains ahead.
Oju - I really had no idea how fit Oju was, but I knew that he did this run regularly and that he had sprinted up the hill behind his parents' house with a spring in his stride that I hadn't felt in twenty-five years. I knew he wouldn't abandon me, but I didn't want to be a weakling on this run and not be able to keep up with him.
It was with these thoughts in my head that I prepared for our third day in Tanzania
We woke early, ate breakfast, and headed downtown. The plan was to do a few errands, meet Oju, find a dala dala heading to Monduli and get there in the late morning. Oju and I would run. Joni and the others would visit with Rose and her kids and have lunch with them. In the afternoon, we would get a ride back to Arusha from another of Joni's friends who was heading that way.
Our second trip into the city was scarcely less chaotic than the first one. The day before had been a Sunday, and many shops and businesses had been closed. Now it was Monday, and the level of activity seemed to be at least double. Everything took longer. Everyone seemed a little more aggressive, a little more edgy. Even Joni began to get exasperated as she tried to guide us through the hubbub to places where we could do our errands, while brushing off the flycatchers who trailed after us.
When it was time to leave, it took us a long time to find a dala dala that was not empty. The problem with the empty ones was that, this being Africa, they wouldn't leave until they were full. So if we wanted to avoid waiting for another hour, we had to find one that was already half full but that had room for the six of us. Eventually we settled for one that was mostly empty, and put up with several circuits of the downtown area as the dala dala's driver and runner tried to round up more riders. With all this, we didn't actually leave Arusha until about 11:30, and didn't arrive in the Monduli until 45 minutes later.
Monduli seemed very small and provincial after Arusha, not that this was a mark against it. For one thing, the air was much better here. For another, no one immediately came over to sell us stuff. Joni gave us a very brief tour of the market, greeted some old friends, and then it was time for our party split up.
As everyone else headed off to Rose's house, Oju and I went to drop off my backpack at Oju's room, which was one of several in a one-story cinder block building near the main square. I took another long drink of water from the bottle I had brought with me, and then left it in Oju's room. It was time to start running, and I was giddy with anticipation.
Ah, but I have forgotten to tell you about Oju's shoes.
To be continued...
February 13, 2011
Tanzania Journal - Day 3 Immersion (continued)
There are many local languages spoken in Tanzania, but only two "official" languages. One is English, which is used in higher education, commerce, and government. The other is Kiswahili, or as we say, "Swahili," which is used for just about everything else. The CIA World Factbook refers to Swahili as the "lingua Franca" of Central and East Africa.
It was our experience that everyone spoke Kiswahili and knew at least a little English, depending on how far they went in school and how much their work required them to interact with English speakers. For example, our tour guide, Rob, spoke English quite well. The hotel staff spoke it adequately. Many of the other Tanzanians we spent time with -- Oju and his family, our driver, our cook -- had varying amounts of limited English.
By the time we arrived at Oju's parents' house, muddy and damp, we had been in the country for a little less than 24 hours. In that time the urge to speak and understand Swahili had become an obsession for me. Despite the fact that I had not yet mastered basic greetings, I was working hard to acquire more words and would repeat them whenever the situation plausibly gave me an opportunity. With Oju, I had practiced some simple phrases, such as introducing myself and my family. Of course, with such a small repertoire, almost all our conversations ended a few moments after they began with me saying asante sana, thank you very much, and Oju saying karibu, you're welcome, and then appeals for Joni to translate.
Thus, when we arrived at Oju's family's house, most of our communication was with smiles, gestures, and a word here or there, or sometimes a longer phrase directed at someone who would render it into the language that the listener could understand. This would be followed by nods, more smiles, handshakes, hugs.
In addition to Oju and his parents, the other family members included Oju's brothers and sisters, brother-in-laws, sister-in-laws, a niece and nephew, and a baby. Among the adults of Oju's generation, it was never clear who was a blood relative and who was a relative by marriage. To make things more complicated, the women in the family with daughters were not called by their given name; instead, their family called them "Mama" followed by the name of the eldest daughter. Thus, Oju's mother was not called by her given name, but was referred to as "Mama Joyce" because Oju's oldest sister was named Joyce. Another of Oju's sisters had a daughter named "Pray," and so she was referred to as "Mama Pray."
After all of our greetings and after presenting the gifts we had brought, we were ushered into the larger room of the two-room main house, where we packed ourselves in around a low table. I sat between Joni and Peter on my right, and Oju's brother Emmanuel ("Imma") and sister Joyce on my left. Imma was gregarious and engaging. He had studied enough English to both keep a conversation going and be able to answer some of my questions about how to say things in Swahili. It turned out he also knew some French, so our conversation, which was mostly on his side, shifted from English to French, with a little Swahili thrown in. Throughout the meal, He also made it his personal mission to make sure I had seconds, thirds, and fourths, of every one of the delicious dishes put in front of me.
Peter, Joni, Jon, Imma, and Joyce. Imma is telling a story and plotting to get me to eat all of the avocados and bananas on the nearest plate.
I don't know how long we sat at the table, passing around the dishes of rise, beans, vegetables, and fresh fruit. It seemed like many hours, although perhaps it was less. With our limited language skills, we did the best we could to express all that could be expressed, and especially our gratitude for the meal and for their hospitality to us and to Joni.
After our feast, we went outside and a decision was made to see the house of one of Oju's sisters, a little way up the road. So we all walked to that house, went inside and sat down around another table, where we were served glass bottles of coke and Fanta. Although we were all quite full from our large meal, we would not have considered refusing this gesture of hospitality. Unlike Oju's parents' house, his sister's house had electricity and a TV. For the entire time we were there, the TV played a music video showing alternating shots of a singer crooning away, some African drummers, and a line of men doing cheesy dance steps in apparently traditional tribal costume (think: grass skirts). The music was catchy, but the video was... well, pretty silly, actually.
(We would be surprised when the next day, we visited another Tanzanian home with a TV and saw another similar video playing over and over. It was hard not to think of these as some kind of joke, but they must have been very popular.)
When we had drunk our sodas, someone else had they idea that we should walk up the hillside to a ridge where we could see a nice view of the valley. So we walked out and up, under banana trees, past small garden plots of soft rich soil, and up a steep hill. Oju led the way, bounding up the steep grade like a mountain goat. By this time, everyone knew that Joni had arranged for me and Oju to go for a long run the next day, and as they saw Oju swiftly and effortlessly climb this hill, most of my family started speculating on how long I would last. Only Loren expressed confidence in me, saying that Oju looked like a sprinter to him.
The view from the top of the hill was spectacular and well worth the climb. Although we couldn't see downtown Arusha, we could see far below us the road we had walked in the rain to get to Oju's house. We took lots of pictures, and then walked along a ridge to try to get a glimpse of Mt. Meru, the second highest mountain in Tanzania after Mt. Kilimanjaro. I've included a picture of Mt. Meru that we took at the end of our trip from a different location, but on that day only the shoulders of the mountain were visible, and the summit was shrouded in mist.
Oju's brother Zakayu takes a picture of Joni and Oju.
My running partner, Oju.
Mt. Meru on a clearer day.
As we walked down the hillside again, the afternoon was getting quite late. We stopped again to admire the building site for a house that another one of Oju's brothers (or brothers-in-law) was building. It was explained that construction on a house might start and stop many times, as money became available or scarce. We admired the foundation, but secretly worried that the house, built on the side of this steep hill, would wash away with the rest of the hillside if there was too much rain.
Then it was time to say our good-byes to our hosts, to take more pictures, to promise to print out some of those pictures for them, and to begin the long walk down to the main road, where we would catch a dala dala and head back to the hotel.
We began our walk with half the family walking with us, then one-by-one, they would stop and turn back. It was getting late, and there was less than an hour of daylight left for our journey. Both Oju and Joni made it clear that we did NOT want to be out after dark. With the sun setting, we reached the end of the dirt road.
A few minutes later we were on a dala dala, and a half hour later we walked through the gates of L'Oasis in the twilight. None of us were hungry, but we all gathered in the large common room of the hotel with bottles of beer to talk about and relive our amazing day. As we thought of our hosts and their home, we couldn't help looking around at the hotel with its electric lights, its running water, its refrigeration, and its TV showing English soccer on TV. What had appeared rustic the previous evening, now seemed opulent.
NEXT: Running With Oju
It was our experience that everyone spoke Kiswahili and knew at least a little English, depending on how far they went in school and how much their work required them to interact with English speakers. For example, our tour guide, Rob, spoke English quite well. The hotel staff spoke it adequately. Many of the other Tanzanians we spent time with -- Oju and his family, our driver, our cook -- had varying amounts of limited English.
By the time we arrived at Oju's parents' house, muddy and damp, we had been in the country for a little less than 24 hours. In that time the urge to speak and understand Swahili had become an obsession for me. Despite the fact that I had not yet mastered basic greetings, I was working hard to acquire more words and would repeat them whenever the situation plausibly gave me an opportunity. With Oju, I had practiced some simple phrases, such as introducing myself and my family. Of course, with such a small repertoire, almost all our conversations ended a few moments after they began with me saying asante sana, thank you very much, and Oju saying karibu, you're welcome, and then appeals for Joni to translate.
Thus, when we arrived at Oju's family's house, most of our communication was with smiles, gestures, and a word here or there, or sometimes a longer phrase directed at someone who would render it into the language that the listener could understand. This would be followed by nods, more smiles, handshakes, hugs.
In addition to Oju and his parents, the other family members included Oju's brothers and sisters, brother-in-laws, sister-in-laws, a niece and nephew, and a baby. Among the adults of Oju's generation, it was never clear who was a blood relative and who was a relative by marriage. To make things more complicated, the women in the family with daughters were not called by their given name; instead, their family called them "Mama" followed by the name of the eldest daughter. Thus, Oju's mother was not called by her given name, but was referred to as "Mama Joyce" because Oju's oldest sister was named Joyce. Another of Oju's sisters had a daughter named "Pray," and so she was referred to as "Mama Pray."
After all of our greetings and after presenting the gifts we had brought, we were ushered into the larger room of the two-room main house, where we packed ourselves in around a low table. I sat between Joni and Peter on my right, and Oju's brother Emmanuel ("Imma") and sister Joyce on my left. Imma was gregarious and engaging. He had studied enough English to both keep a conversation going and be able to answer some of my questions about how to say things in Swahili. It turned out he also knew some French, so our conversation, which was mostly on his side, shifted from English to French, with a little Swahili thrown in. Throughout the meal, He also made it his personal mission to make sure I had seconds, thirds, and fourths, of every one of the delicious dishes put in front of me.
Peter, Joni, Jon, Imma, and Joyce. Imma is telling a story and plotting to get me to eat all of the avocados and bananas on the nearest plate.
I don't know how long we sat at the table, passing around the dishes of rise, beans, vegetables, and fresh fruit. It seemed like many hours, although perhaps it was less. With our limited language skills, we did the best we could to express all that could be expressed, and especially our gratitude for the meal and for their hospitality to us and to Joni.
After our feast, we went outside and a decision was made to see the house of one of Oju's sisters, a little way up the road. So we all walked to that house, went inside and sat down around another table, where we were served glass bottles of coke and Fanta. Although we were all quite full from our large meal, we would not have considered refusing this gesture of hospitality. Unlike Oju's parents' house, his sister's house had electricity and a TV. For the entire time we were there, the TV played a music video showing alternating shots of a singer crooning away, some African drummers, and a line of men doing cheesy dance steps in apparently traditional tribal costume (think: grass skirts). The music was catchy, but the video was... well, pretty silly, actually.
(We would be surprised when the next day, we visited another Tanzanian home with a TV and saw another similar video playing over and over. It was hard not to think of these as some kind of joke, but they must have been very popular.)
When we had drunk our sodas, someone else had they idea that we should walk up the hillside to a ridge where we could see a nice view of the valley. So we walked out and up, under banana trees, past small garden plots of soft rich soil, and up a steep hill. Oju led the way, bounding up the steep grade like a mountain goat. By this time, everyone knew that Joni had arranged for me and Oju to go for a long run the next day, and as they saw Oju swiftly and effortlessly climb this hill, most of my family started speculating on how long I would last. Only Loren expressed confidence in me, saying that Oju looked like a sprinter to him.
The view from the top of the hill was spectacular and well worth the climb. Although we couldn't see downtown Arusha, we could see far below us the road we had walked in the rain to get to Oju's house. We took lots of pictures, and then walked along a ridge to try to get a glimpse of Mt. Meru, the second highest mountain in Tanzania after Mt. Kilimanjaro. I've included a picture of Mt. Meru that we took at the end of our trip from a different location, but on that day only the shoulders of the mountain were visible, and the summit was shrouded in mist.
Oju's brother Zakayu takes a picture of Joni and Oju.
My running partner, Oju.
Mt. Meru on a clearer day.
As we walked down the hillside again, the afternoon was getting quite late. We stopped again to admire the building site for a house that another one of Oju's brothers (or brothers-in-law) was building. It was explained that construction on a house might start and stop many times, as money became available or scarce. We admired the foundation, but secretly worried that the house, built on the side of this steep hill, would wash away with the rest of the hillside if there was too much rain.
Then it was time to say our good-byes to our hosts, to take more pictures, to promise to print out some of those pictures for them, and to begin the long walk down to the main road, where we would catch a dala dala and head back to the hotel.
We began our walk with half the family walking with us, then one-by-one, they would stop and turn back. It was getting late, and there was less than an hour of daylight left for our journey. Both Oju and Joni made it clear that we did NOT want to be out after dark. With the sun setting, we reached the end of the dirt road.
A few minutes later we were on a dala dala, and a half hour later we walked through the gates of L'Oasis in the twilight. None of us were hungry, but we all gathered in the large common room of the hotel with bottles of beer to talk about and relive our amazing day. As we thought of our hosts and their home, we couldn't help looking around at the hotel with its electric lights, its running water, its refrigeration, and its TV showing English soccer on TV. What had appeared rustic the previous evening, now seemed opulent.
NEXT: Running With Oju
Keflezighi Shut Out of Boston (as reported by TheOnion.com)
BAA Marathon Releases Elite Field For 2011 And Meb Keflezighi Is Left Out And Controversy Simmers - story on letsrun.com
It's not April Fool's Day, but what the hell...
(Boston, MA) - The BAA's new online entry system apparently claimed a famous victim who failed to get his entry to the 2011 Boston Marathon in on time. Meb Keflezighi, Olympic silver medalist and the first American runner in a generation to win the prestigious New York City Marathon, was shut out of the Boston race when the 21,000 available entries were filled in a little over eight hours. That means Keflezighi will be watching the 2011 race on TV instead of racing the Kenyans up heartbreak hill.
"I'm disappointed, obviously," said Keflezighi from his home in Mammoth Lakes, California. "I tried to log in to the web site, but the server was busy. I didn't think it was a big deal because last year we had like, what, 60 days before they ran out of entries. I went out for a long run and when I got back I tried again and the race was full."
"Of course California being three hours behind didn't help any," the former Olympian added.
Race Organizers downplayed the outcome of using their new online entry system. "It's unfortunate," said Hancock's sponsorship and event marketing chief Doug Fluffman, "but we thought our [race entry] system performed remarkably well, all things considered. It's certainly more fair than relying on snail mail. At the same time we sympathize with Mr. Tetrazini and we certainly hope he is able to get up a little earlier next year so we can welcome him to Boston in 2012. Of course, if he really wants to run this year's race, there are still some charity numbers available."
For his part, Keflezighi said he wasn't interested in raising money to gain entry to the hugely popular BAA marathon. "I would hope that the race would want to see somebody at the front wearing a USA singlet," he said. "I mean, after I won New York, it was a great thing for this country. I went on Letterman. I read his lame top-ten list. People started believing in U.S. distance running again. Doesn't that count for anything?"
But despite the runner's complaints, the BAA appears ready to stand firm. "Every runner has to realize that it's not about who wins or loses, it's about the common man and woman and giant beer can who give the race its unique character. It's about the runner who selflessly raises $5000 for medical research. It's about fairness..."
And having a fast internet connection.
(No actual wire service accounts were harmed in this story.)
It's not April Fool's Day, but what the hell...
(Boston, MA) - The BAA's new online entry system apparently claimed a famous victim who failed to get his entry to the 2011 Boston Marathon in on time. Meb Keflezighi, Olympic silver medalist and the first American runner in a generation to win the prestigious New York City Marathon, was shut out of the Boston race when the 21,000 available entries were filled in a little over eight hours. That means Keflezighi will be watching the 2011 race on TV instead of racing the Kenyans up heartbreak hill.
"I'm disappointed, obviously," said Keflezighi from his home in Mammoth Lakes, California. "I tried to log in to the web site, but the server was busy. I didn't think it was a big deal because last year we had like, what, 60 days before they ran out of entries. I went out for a long run and when I got back I tried again and the race was full."
"Of course California being three hours behind didn't help any," the former Olympian added.
Race Organizers downplayed the outcome of using their new online entry system. "It's unfortunate," said Hancock's sponsorship and event marketing chief Doug Fluffman, "but we thought our [race entry] system performed remarkably well, all things considered. It's certainly more fair than relying on snail mail. At the same time we sympathize with Mr. Tetrazini and we certainly hope he is able to get up a little earlier next year so we can welcome him to Boston in 2012. Of course, if he really wants to run this year's race, there are still some charity numbers available."
For his part, Keflezighi said he wasn't interested in raising money to gain entry to the hugely popular BAA marathon. "I would hope that the race would want to see somebody at the front wearing a USA singlet," he said. "I mean, after I won New York, it was a great thing for this country. I went on Letterman. I read his lame top-ten list. People started believing in U.S. distance running again. Doesn't that count for anything?"
But despite the runner's complaints, the BAA appears ready to stand firm. "Every runner has to realize that it's not about who wins or loses, it's about the common man and woman and giant beer can who give the race its unique character. It's about the runner who selflessly raises $5000 for medical research. It's about fairness..."
And having a fast internet connection.
(No actual wire service accounts were harmed in this story.)
February 12, 2011
Tanzania Journal - Day 3: Immersion
Feast with Oju's family.
Running Log, 12/26/10 -- about 4 miles, out and back from L'Oasis
Our first full day in Arusha was in many ways, as remarkable and memorable as any we experienced during the trip. And yet, when I describe it, it sounds commonplace. I woke up, I went for a short run, we went into town to the market, we visited Oju's family's house. We returned to the hotel. Why was it so extraordinary?
I had gone to bed the previous evening listening to loud voices and music from the alley behind our hut, and in the distance, the barking of dogs back and forth in the night. When I woke up, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was actually morning and that I had slept through the night. The wild barking of the dogs had been replaced by the reassuring crowing of roosters. Without stopping long to think, I pulled on my running stuff and prepared for my first solo run in Tanzania. It was Sunday morning, and I figured that there wouldn't be many people out and about this early. I figured wrong.
I had planned to follow the same route that Joni and I had run the previous afternoon, going a little bit further this time. I went down to the gate and stepped out into the lane, trying to pretend that it was just another run. The first thing I noticed as I took my first tentative steps was that I was not alone. Someone was already walking along the lane. I took my first turn and there were more people walking, plus a bicyclist. After a couple of hundred meters I turned again onto a slightly wider road and was amazed to see people of all ages walking in both directions, some heading down to the main highway, others coming back. Sometimes a bicycle or motorcycle would go by, sometimes a truck or car. This was at 6:45 on a Sunday morning.
I ran down the road avoiding the pedestrians, bikes, and vehicles, and at the same being careful not to stumble on the stones and ruts. I had to keep reminding myself that Tanzanians drive on the left side of the road, not the right, and I tried hard to stay well out of the way of the few motorists. I reached the main highway and decided to turn East, out of town, instead of West the way Joni and I had gone the day before. There were lots of of people walking or standing on the side of the road, many of them waiting to catch a ride from a dala dala, one of a motley fleet of minivans that seemed to run at all hours. I'll have more to say about the dala dalas, but I had not yet ridden on one and knew nothing of their ways.
Although there were some stretches where I had to be cautious, for the most part I was able to progress more or less unimpeded by running on the shoulder between the pedestrians and the lanes of traffic. I started running faster, but soon felt a tightness in my lungs. Even at this early hour, the air was foul with the black haze from diesel trucks, buses, and the dala dalas, as well as from the smoke from open fires. After a few days, all of us would find that being in the city left us with persistent sore throats and hacking coughs. When we blew our noses, the tissues would be black with airborn pollution.
I ran for about a mile and a half, reaching the top of a fairly long rise where a wide dirt road came in from the side. This seemed like a good place to turn around if I didn't want to miss breakfast, so I headed back. Ten minutes later I was feeling pretty pleased with myself as I made my turn off the highway onto the dirt road, and ran confidently up the hill. The smaller road that led to the hotel was around here somewhere... but suddenly I was passing buildings I had never seen before. For a moment I felt complete disorientation -- like waking up and not recognizing the room you are in. I had a moment of panic thinking that I had no way to find my way back, but then regained my composure and realized I had only to backtrack a little bit. Retracing my steps for fifty meters, I saw that I had passed right by what now seemed like an insignificant alley between two houses. This was, in fact, the lane back to the hotel.
After a shower and breakfast -- eggs, toast, some nondescript cereal, and delicious fresh pineapples, bananas, and mangos -- Joni, Loren, Ann, Ann's brother Peter, and I headed toward town. We walked down to the main road, turning West this time, and then continued for another mile or so until we got to downtown Arusha.
In writing this, I searched for pictures to help convey what the downtown area was like. Unfortunately, all I found were a handful of mostly antiseptic pictures of big buildings, statues, and ourselves. There's a picture of Loren and me, on some quiet street outside some nice building, and I want to turn the camera in some other direction away from the calmness. Maybe the absence of any photos with grit reflects that fact that we were feeling uncomfortable at being so obviously from somewhere else; maybe we thought we would be insulting the inhabitants by taking pictures of what we found unusual -- the street vendors, the teeming market, the garbage in the streets; or maybe it just didn't occur to us to try to capture the hot, hustling, unwashed heart of the city. Whatever the reason, I have no images other than the ones in my memory that capture the feeling of that first walk into downtown.
Loren and Jon find a quiet corner in downtown Arusha. Not even a hint of tan yet.
It soon became obvious that what we were doing was following Joni, who led us through a series of errands. Much of the cityscape was familiar -- big, modern buildings, with well-dressed men and women coming in and out, billboards for cell phones and coca cola, traffic lights and uniformed policemen. But much was exotic and unexpected -- the women with full baskets of fruit on their heads, the men pulling impossibly heavy wooden carts filled with produce.
And then there were the flycatchers. These were young men who hung around downtown waiting for white tourists to show up. They would then engage the tourists in English, Italian, German, or whatever was needed in a clever sales pitch for some cheap painting or trinket. If the victim tried to say hapana, asante -- no, thank you, they would smile and pull out a slim English-Swahili phrasebook for sale. If the customer grew really annoyed, they would reach into a bag and offer to sell a t-shirt emblazoned with the words "I am a mzungu, no I do not want to buy anything." The flycatchers loved talking to Loren, who would engage them in discussions of their favorite American hip hop artists.
Our plan for the day involved meeting Joni's friend Oju, and taking a dala dala to his family's house in a neighborhood a few miles from our hotel. Oju himself lived in the village of Monduli, about 30 kilometers from Arusha and the place where Joni had stayed in 2007. I will have a lot more to say about Oju. After buying some gifts for Oju's family at the central market, we met Oju and found a dala dala headed in our direction.
Here's how the dala dalas worked: each one had a driver and a "runner" who leaned out a window or the sliding door of the van to announce the destination and encourage people to get on board. At a stop, the runner would leap out of the van and make sure everyone and everything got in. We found out that dala dala carried not only people, but cargo, too -- baskets of fruit or vegetables being popular. When we thought the van was full, it wasn't. More people would get on. When it was time to pull away, the runner would bang his hand on the roof as a signal to the driver, and the dala dala would speed off to its next stop where even MORE people or bananas would get on.
There were dala dalas everywhere and almost every one sported an image or slogan to make that particular vehicle stand out among all the others. Some of these decorations were solemn -- for example, references to the bible or Koran -- but most of them were images or logos taken from popular culture. Some proclaimed their allegiance to American sports teams or English football clubs. Others had the face or name of a famous public figure -- a hip hop artist or politician. Together they formed a kind of garish and bizarre art form, a series of glimpses into Arusha's and our collective unconscience. Loren and I found them fascinating and hilarious.
The dala dala took us back in the same general direction we had come from, continuing on the highway that I had run that morning. I was surprised when we stopped at precisely the point where I had turned around on my run, and we all tumbled out of the van and collected ourselves.
We were at the beginning of another dirt road that snaked uphill into another recently built neighborhood of shops and two-room houses. As Oju led us up the hill, it began to rain. At first the rain was pleasant, making the heat less oppressive. But soon it was a full downpour and the dirt road was a river of mud. We took shelter under the porch of a low concrete building, while Oju and his cousin disappeared. Considering the heavy rain, I was struck by the lack of urgency to cover bins of produce or other things. Although activity slowed down in the street, it didn't completely stop, and there were people and animals who simply continued to let the rain fall on them. In about ten minutes, maybe less, Oju returned with three umbrellas. We paired off and continued walking up the road, through the mud, two people to an umbrella, which was really like not having an umbrella at all. Luckily, the rain was already less intense, and by the time we reached Oju's family's house about a half mile up the road, the rain had stopped.
On the way to Oju's house, waiting for the rain to let up.
How can I describe what it was like to arrive at Oju's house? It was a distinctly strange and wonderful experiences to step off the soupy dirt lane, duck through a gap in the trees and find ourselves in the open courtyard of their home. There was the main house with a room for sleeping and a room for living/eating; there was a separate structure for cooking meals, an outhouse, and a pen with goats. I think there might have been a chicken coop, too. When we entered this compound, we were treated like long lost relatives by this Tanzanian family. Although our clothes were now sodden and caked with red mud from the road, we felt like honored guests at a state dinner.
Oju's father (left), mother (middle), and brother (right).
To be continued...
February 11, 2011
One Shoe, One Sock, One Win
The 3000m at Saturday's New Balance Indoor Grand Prix was one of the most exciting races most of us had ever seen. The last lap is such a desperate struggle among such good athletes that it takes your breath away. It's also a treat to have Tim Hutchings calling the race!
If you didn't see it on ESPN2 on Sunday, the broadcast is now posted on YouTube, and embedded below. Enjoy!
If you didn't see it on ESPN2 on Sunday, the broadcast is now posted on YouTube, and embedded below. Enjoy!
February 10, 2011
Penn Runs MA #1 300m
Isaiah Penn won the 300 at last night's Bay State Conference Meet, running 35.58, the fastest time in the state this year.
Penn was one of several Tigers to win their events. Justin Keefe won a deep and highly competitive mile, running a season's best 4:29.02 (sixth place was 4:32.72). Tylor Hart won the high jump at 6-2. Swardick Mayanja won the shot put by three feet with a heave of 49-8. North also won the 4x400 and 4x800 relays. The 4x400 team of Orion Wagner, Ben Clark, Terrell Doyle, and Penn ran a season's best time of 3:32.71. The 4x800 team of Keefe, Jon Long, Mike Schlichting, and Ezra Lichtman ran 8:32.93 to win by seven seconds.
Earlier Lichtman finished second by .03 to Framingham's Ben Groleau in the 1000. Dan Ranti took 2nd in the 2-mile. Nate Menninger was 4th in the 55.
For the girls, Kayla Wong won the 55 hurdles, running 8.53 in the final (and matching her season's best 8.47 in the qualifying heat). Carla Forbes won the 55 in 7.39. Forbes (18-3.25) and Wong (16-9.5) also went 1-2 in the long jump. Meghan Bellerose had a great race in the 600, running 1:37.99, a personal best and the 11th fastest time in the state this year. Emily Hutchinson and Lucia Grigoli went 2-3 in the high jump. Devika Banerjee finished 3rd in the 2-mile. Madi Nadeau took 3rd in the 300.
North's 4x200 and 4x800 relay teams finished 2nd in their respective races.
Bay State Conference Meet - Boys Results
Bay State Conference Meet - Girls Results
Penn was one of several Tigers to win their events. Justin Keefe won a deep and highly competitive mile, running a season's best 4:29.02 (sixth place was 4:32.72). Tylor Hart won the high jump at 6-2. Swardick Mayanja won the shot put by three feet with a heave of 49-8. North also won the 4x400 and 4x800 relays. The 4x400 team of Orion Wagner, Ben Clark, Terrell Doyle, and Penn ran a season's best time of 3:32.71. The 4x800 team of Keefe, Jon Long, Mike Schlichting, and Ezra Lichtman ran 8:32.93 to win by seven seconds.
Earlier Lichtman finished second by .03 to Framingham's Ben Groleau in the 1000. Dan Ranti took 2nd in the 2-mile. Nate Menninger was 4th in the 55.
For the girls, Kayla Wong won the 55 hurdles, running 8.53 in the final (and matching her season's best 8.47 in the qualifying heat). Carla Forbes won the 55 in 7.39. Forbes (18-3.25) and Wong (16-9.5) also went 1-2 in the long jump. Meghan Bellerose had a great race in the 600, running 1:37.99, a personal best and the 11th fastest time in the state this year. Emily Hutchinson and Lucia Grigoli went 2-3 in the high jump. Devika Banerjee finished 3rd in the 2-mile. Madi Nadeau took 3rd in the 300.
North's 4x200 and 4x800 relay teams finished 2nd in their respective races.
Bay State Conference Meet - Boys Results
Bay State Conference Meet - Girls Results
Tanzania Journal - Day 2: Christmas
When it comes to travel, I have a 19th-century mind; it moves at the speed of an ocean liner, not a passenger jet.
Although I accept the reality of it, my brain locks up thinking about how it's possible to go for a solitary pre-dawn run in Newton on a freezing morning in December, and then, only 24 hours later, be weaving my way through a hot crowded street on the outskirts of a sub-equatorial city, breathing in the fumes of diesel trucks and the smoke of charcoal fires.
I didn't travel to Tanzania to run, or to take a break from running for that matter. I went there with my family to visit Joni and to learn more about a place that has been important to her and a mystery to the rest of us. But like the gazelles and wildebeest of the Serengeti who (according to our Safari guide) have scent glands in their hooves to guide them to water and nutritious grasses, I always seem to use running as a sixth sense to help me understand my surroundings. So I ran in Tanzania, holding on to my stubborn streak for a few more days while I tried to understand this new world in which I found myself.
Running Log, 12/25/10 -- 27 minutes, mostly out and back from L'Oasis (with Joni)
We departed from Washington-Dulles shortly after noon on Christmas Eve aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Addis Abbaba. After a thirteen-hour flight, we arrived in the Ethiopian capital city at about 9:30 a.m. local time on Christmas Day. One consolation to our schedule was that the last few hours of the flight we passed over the Sahara Desert as the sun came up. The word "vast" is not adequate to describe the emptiness of that expanse spread out tens of thousands of feet below us.
When we touched down in Addis, we were anxious that we had missed our connection. We hadn't yet realized that most flights on this airline were several hours late. Instead of having to rush, we had to wait. We eventually got on another plane for the short flight to Mombasa, where we waited on the tarmac for another hour. Mombasa is on the Indian Ocean, and it was very hot and humid, a stark contrast to the New England winter we had left behind! At first, the flight crew let us stand at the open rear door of the plane to get a little air, but eventually they made us sit down and we all sweated profusely. Finally, we took off for the short flight to Kilimanjaro Airport in Tanzania, arriving around 2:30 in the afternoon.
After more than 24 hours of travel, my frontal cortex was mushy from lack of sleep and from being subjected to a relentless program of bad Christmas Carols that the airline had chosen to play over the airplane PA system at every opportunity.
At Kilimanjaro airport we showed our proof of vaccination against yellow fever, paid for our visas, and passed through doors to another world. On the other side of those doors we were met by Joni, Rob (our guide), and Peter (our driver). We -- that is, Rob and Peter, who wouldn't let us help -- loaded up the land rover and we drove out the airport gates toward Arusha.
What did I expect to see? Although I vaguely knew that Arusha was home to about one and a half million people, I didn't realize that all of them would be out in the streets at once. The main roads into and out of the city were two lane highways that somehow accommodated cars, trucks, buses, minivans, along with a steady stream of handcarts, bicycles, pedestrians, and even livestock along the shoulders. Off the main arteries, dirt roads fanned out into narrow neighborhoods of shops, shanties, schools, churches, and two-room homes of cement block walls and corrugated metal roofs.
After what seemed like hours (but was probably only 40 minutes) of driving and catching up with Joni, we turned off the paved road onto a narrow dirt lane that led up into a dense neighborhood of shops and houses. The land rover lurched and bounced over the heavily rutted road as Peter expertly avoided other vehicles, motor bikes, and pedestrians. It didn't seem like this crowded side road could have its own side road, but after a quarter mile, we turned down what seemed to be a driveway that was even more narrow and treacherous than the road we had come from. This route brought us after a few hundred meters to the gates of L'Oasis, the hotel where we would be spending the next few days before setting off on our safari.
After such a long trip, the relief in arriving somewhere was profound. It was wonderful to set our bags down in the circular huts constructed to resemble Masai homes, but with tourist accommodations like electricity, running water, and mosquito nets over the beds. (The picture at the beginning of the blog is Ann standing in front of our hut on the day we arrived.)
It was now four in the afternoon and the moment of truth for the day's run. If it had been a solo run, I would never have done it. Not only was I mentally and physically beat, I was thoroughly intimidated by the teeming life of the city. Stepping into the street seemed like the act of a crazy person. It wasn't that I thought anything was going to happen, but then again, who knew what might happen? And if anything ordinary or extraordinary happened, I had no confidence I would know how to respond. I felt like Paul Simon's words in "You Can Call Me Al" were written about me:
A man walks down the street
It's a street in a strange world
Maybe it's the Third World
Maybe it's his first time around
He doesn't speak the language
He holds no currency...
...and so on.
Not for the first or last time, I turned to my daughter for help.
I asked Joni if she would run with me -- nine-minute pace, ten-minute pace, it didn't matter. I needed the reassurance that it was ok to do this, that I wasn't stepping off the end of the earth into something that made no sense. Although she, too, was tired and hadn't run in weeks, she agreed to be my guide, and after a quick change, we passed through the gates at an easy trot.
We turned left, and then right, threading our way between houses with women and small children in the yards. We jogged along, passing boys, girls, men, and women, walking or riding bicycles, dressed in shabby clothes or in suits and beautiful dresses. It was Christmas, and surely some of the well-dressed men and women were coming home from church. The smell of charcoal was in the air, and my lungs felt pinched by the smoke.
Although it was very warm, I noticed that no one wore shorts. I also was amazed that except for a few catcalls -- cries of wazungu ("white people") -- almost everyone ignored us. Apparently people in Arusha had seen everything and even the sight of two pale runners plodding along the street in their running gear didn't merit any special notice.
We ran for about twelve minutes, down a long hill that led us out to the main road and then along the side of that road for a bit. Along the main road there were so many pedestrians that several times we had to slow to a walk and wait for an opening to move ahead. After a half mile of this (probably less), we turned around and picked our way back the same way we had come. For the most part, no one but a few younger boys took any notice of us. Then it was back up the hill, retracing our steps, trying to remember the turns. Feeling elated and energetic at having completed this modest round trip, I dropped Joni off at the hotel, and then continued on the dirt road past the hotel. I ran for about two minutes, picking up the pace until I was running very fast, letting my legs stretch out and play after nearly twenty-four hours of being cramped and inactive. Then I turned around and jogged back to the gates of the hotel.
Next: Immersion
February 09, 2011
Tanzania Journal - Day 1: Early Morning
At the end of December, I traveled with my family to visit my daughter in Tanzania, where she had lived in 2004 and 2007. It has been a month since we returned, and it has become more than a little embarrassing that I haven't written anything about the trip.
For the first couple of weeks after I got back, my friends would ask me, "So, how was Africa? Did you keep your running streak going? Did you see any lions?" I always stammered out something vague to buy myself more time -- "It's hard to describe in a few sentence, but it was..." I would say, "...unforgettable, eye-opening, disturbing..." I would promise more detail, but not just yet. I made excuses saying that I needed to get over the jet lag, get used to the cold again, stop taking the anti-malaria drugs, regain my suddenly uncertain footing in the first world, and then I would be able to describe the trip properly...
Well, all those things happened, but still I dragged my feet.
There were a few times when I sat down fully intending to start writing. But then I would give up after a few paragraphs. Usually this would happen after a particularly intense flashback to something I had seen or experienced, and the sights, sounds, and smells of a certain day in Africa would fill my mind, and I would think "If I could capture that one scene it would begin to explain all the rest..." and a few sentences would appear, clumsy and awkward, not unlike the handful of phrases in halting Swahili that I managed -- after much effort -- to master by the end of the trip. It was discouraging to have so much to say and to lack the skill to say it.
But I also knew that, like speaking Swahili, writing about the trip wouldn't happen unless I accepted the risk of embarrassment and failure. What I really needed was to get to the point where the need to describe our journey overcame the certainty that I would never be able to capture it all in anything like the richness it deserved.
I finally reached that point yesterday morning. After spending an hour shoveling snow, I came inside and found an email from Rob, our Tanzanian guide during the trip. We had sent him several emails, as well as pictures of all the snow we had in Newton (this was two storms ago), but hadn't heard back from him for a while. In his email, he apologized for the long delay in responding. He had been ill for a couple of weeks with typhoid fever, but was feeling much better now, and was about to set out on another expedition. He wished us well with the snow (but made sure we knew that it was a perfect 80 degrees in Arusha). At that moment it suddenly occurred to me that I'd like to go back to Tanzania some day, and with that thought, I decided I was ready to begin to write about my FIRST trip to Africa...
Running Log, 12/24/10 -- 3M in early AM, usual morning loop
Ann tells everyone that I hate to travel. I claim that this is an exaggeration, like saying that I hate Christmas or dinner parties... or any other endeavor that requires large amounts of planning, social negotiation, and worrying about food. The truth is that whatever the challenges, once I'm in the middle of these activities, I do fine and I generally enjoy myself, but the period leading up to them makes me anxious; I have to fight the urge to head for the hills. Knowing this about me, Ann was very delicate in approaching the idea of a trip to Africa.
The idea of the trip really became concrete when Joni's six-month internship working for a foreign aid organization in Zambia was extended to twelve months. Ann and I both thought that not seeing Joni for a whole year would be a sorry thing, and both of us -- but Ann especially -- had always wanted to see the countries where Joni had spent so much time. A plan began to take shape to visit Joni in Tanzania over Christmas vacation. We could combine Christmas, New year's Eve, and Joni's birthday in one trip, visit her friends in Tanzania, and go on a safari through some of the most spectacular wildlife parks in the world.
But knowing how anxious I get planning something as tame as a weekend on the Cape, Ann let me gradually get used to the idea, making it clear that I didn't have to travel with her to Tanzania. It would be perfectly fine if I just wanted to stay home and take care of the house and the pets, make sure the pipes didn't freeze, and watch football on TV. Her gambit worked perfectly. After maintaining my neutrality about the trip for months while Ann tackled all the research and planning, all the agonizing about dates and itineraries, with the deadline for buying tickets looming, I announced that of COURSE I wanted to come along.
When discussing logistics, one issue that always lurked was the limited opportunities for running while we were in Tanzania. I felt that running would be an important anchor for me in this strange world, but the opportunities would, of course, be limited. It was also a cruel coincidence that we were scheduled to leave ONE DAY before I was hoping to finish my personal project of running for 365 days in a row. In conversations with Ann and in emails to Joni, I tried to inquire gently about the topic while downplaying the whole running streak thing. I understood that running was not the priority. But deep down, I didn't want the streak to go without an attempt on my part to keep it up. I packed running shoes, shorts, and plenty of socks. No reason not to keep my options open.
In many ways, I had expected that first day of the trip to be the one most likely to kill the streak. Our flight left at 7:20 a.m. on December 24th, which meant we needed to be at the airport by 5:45 a.m.. After a short flight to Washington-Dulles, we would have a layover of nearly three hours, and I figured I could try to get in twenty minutes of running in the airport in Washington.
But that scenario became unnecessary when I found myself wide awake in the very early morning hours of December 24th, long before any signs of dawn appeared in the night sky. I had set the alarm for 4:55, but found myself staring at the clock an hour before that. After a few minutes of indecision, I slid out from under the covers and began pulling on the winter running gear that I had stacked in a neat pile on the dresser, just in case.
Outside, the cold stung my face, but after several weeks of running in these temperatures, I was used to the feeling. I tried not to hurry, even though I knew that when I got back to the house, I wouldn't have much time to shower, eat, and take care of the last little details before the taxi came. I tried to enjoy these last few moments of peace and solitude, while quietly preparing myself for the long journey ahead and for whatever obstacles lay in store for us.
My insomnia that morning let me run first and then take a shower in my own bathroom. (I would come to appreciate showers in a new way on the trip.) I was also able to have a bowl of cereal without worrying about the status of the milk that I poured over it. As I enjoyed this last meal at home, I reflected that I was now one day away from completing my full year of running. If all went according to plan, I'd be running again twenty-four hours later in Arusha, the city in Tanzania where we would be meeting Joni.
As we got into the taxi, it was still dark, with only the faintest signs of blue beginning to appear in the East. I tried to imagine arriving in a place where it was 80 degrees every day. I tried to imagine how I would feel running there, and I thought about the last thing Joni had written to me in response to my questions about it:
"...I am sure you will have no trouble running in Arusha - so long as you don't mind people pointing and staring at you a bit - and yelling Mzungu at you. You also may have some young kids run along with you for a while..."
So if I wanted to continue my streak, I would have to overcome one of my greatest fears -- the fear of being conspicuous. It was one thing to sneak out in my own Newton neighborhood for an anonymous early morning run with no one around; it would be a very different thing to arrive in a strange country on Christmas afternoon and immediately hold my own one-man parade in front of throngs of curious and amused Tanzanians. I knew I wouldn't be able to do it without help...
NEXT: Christmas in Arusha
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
