My first 10k

It’s been a personal goal of mine to run a 10k for sometime now. In recent months I’ve been training for a 10k back at home in late October. So when the opportunity came up to join my colleagues in Erbil and participate in the first international marathon for peace and non-violence, I figured why not get in a practice 10k before the real thing back at home?

It was the most ridiculous experience. To start, they wanted us to arrive a full two hours before our race. It already was about 90 degrees when we arrived and the temperature kept climbing. I was interviewed by two news stations - one local and one Turkish - and had my photo taken about a billion times. People were very interested in why I was there and what I thought about Erbi and the run.

After a few false starts, we finally started the run. There were a few folks that looked like legit runners, but clearly the majority of the participants had no idea what they were getting into. Most people were either wearing these funny, cobbled together workout outfits or trying to run in jeans and tshirts. A few of the kids were running barefoot and a lady from our Baghdad office tried to run in sandals (she quit early on).

It was so hot. We were running straight into the sun for a good part of the race. I soon broke into the Galloway Method (two minutes running, one minute walking) and soon noticed a group of about seven young boys (between the ages of maybe 8 and 14) were following me. They would walk when I walked, and run when I ran. Eventually, they came closer and we started talking about our favorite bands (they like lady gaga and Justin Timberlake), movies and their favorite sports (boxing, tennis). They stuck with me the whole way and I was glad to have their company. The 10K was the last race of the day and the race planners didn’t have enough water. So for about 3/4 of the race, the water stations had run out of water. But the boys were looking out for me and every so often, one of them would drop off from the group and bring me a cold bottle of water.

Despite the 100 degree heat and water scarcity I finished! When I crossed the line they told me I finished among the top 7 women in the 10K.

Seriously? All I could do was laugh.