Zingers and Stingers

December 12, 2010 at 8:58 am (Uncategorized)

Advice on running a Malian half-marathon:

Don’t follow the blinking lights.

When the map says, “Follow the loop around,” it actually means take a sharp right.

Be polite when asking directions from armed guards.

Don’t trust said directions to the elephant statue unless you have confirmed them with at least three people.  And even then, wait until you can actually see the damn elephants.

Wear a face mask so that when you’re in rush hour traffic on the outskirts of Bamako, the dust that means you can’t see five feet in front you doesn’t entirely coat your runs.

Carry a supply of small rocks with you to throw at the youth in donkey carts who think their morning’s entertainment is going to be following you the last 4 miles or so.

 

Sunday marked the beginning of In-Service Training, a two-week training session back at Tubaniso.  The kick-off for said two weeks of training was a half-marathon from the stage house in downtown Bamako to Tubaniso.  Eight runners and three bikers set off at 6:00 for the long haul, taking over empty streets in the pitch black, the guards simply shaking their heads at us and giving encouraging shouts of “Du courage!” as we set off.  I have to say, after a month of living at the stage house, it felt particularly apt to be running away from the place.

Most appropriately, I ran a “Malian half marathon,” which includes your bike escort getting you lost downtown and therefore running approximately 15 miles instead of 13.1.  At least we got back on track eventually.  There was some concern that I would have to take a taxi.

The other incredibly exciting event of the last week (besides learning about mulching, fish farming, and tree grafting) was the opportunity to suit up and transfer a bee swarm to a Kenyan top bar hive to both make honey accessible and to make hive management possible.  One collar bone sting later, we had checked on a hive, which is in the process of creating a new queen (the royal jelly cells look like little peanuts hanging off the comb) and moved the swarm from the overturned flower pot they were inhabiting to a new hive.  The swarm was incredibly healthy, creating beautiful brand-new comb and starting to cap a few combs.  My odd obsession with bees has been solidified.  Maybe the venom still in my chest is forging a bond.  Or giving me superpowers.  Either option is acceptable.