2012 INS Marasong

January 14th, after a 1 month postponement, the 8th Annual INS Marasong was finally here!!!

It is unique in several different ways:

• It is the only half marathon in Pohnpei
• There is no entry fee - so that "free" t-shirt really is free
• There are big cash prizes
• It is run at 4 o'clock in the afternoon

 Just before the race, Lori was great and came over to make signs to cheer us on along the course.

Doadoahk mwahu = Good job!!!

Marahra, Marahra = Faster, Faster!

I had been most nervous about the heat since it was scheduled to start at 4pm.  Eek!  But my prayers were answered because I woke up to a very cloudy day, which ended up sticking around all day and producing light showers to keep it cool.  I was pumped!

The time came to head to the start and get signed up. Laurel accompanied me to send me off and also witness the variety of competitors trying to get their share of the prize money.  It was so interesting to see the range of people signing up.  Some people have never run more than a 5k but figure, "Hey, why not try 13 miles to get some money?!?!"  I have to say I can't blame them and admire them for trying.  Several students were actually among those who have hardly trained and still made the whole distance.  Impressive!

Signing up for free!!!

Everyone was numbered

Yes, some girls even run in their skirts

I really enjoy having my race number on
me in permanent marker for some reason.
It's like it makes me feel like a real racer :)

Gathering for a group photo just before the start.

45 daring racers signed up

Promptly at 4 o'clock, we lined up at the start...

and took off!

 This race posed a couple of mental challenges that I hadn't dealt with much before.  First, I had to remember that many of these people had never done this distance before.  That meant that they took off way too fast at the start only to die off about 1 mile in.  I had to make sure I ran my own race so I wouldn't wear myself out.  Second, there were no mile markers, so you didn't really know how far you were at any point in the race.  I actually found that I liked that because I could just run without constantly counting down the miles in my head.

I really enjoyed seeing people all along the race.  I had wonderful fans waiting for me as I made the turn to head all the way out to The Village!

Then there were many groups of kids on the side of the road clapping as we ran by.  Families gathered outside of their houses for entertainment.  I was the source of MUCH laughter as I ran by!  They found it so funny that I was a menwai, girl, at the front of the pack, and wearing a tie dye shirt.  I just laughed right along with them as usual, waved, and greeted them with a smile and kaselehlie!

Getting too hot wasn't a problem at all.  There was precipitation falling throughout the ENTIRE race.  At times it was a nice sprinkle and at other times it got a little harder and I had to constantly keep wiping my eyes to see the road.  But I was just happy to feel cool!  It's a great rolling course with beautiful views of the ocean.  It was so nice that before I knew it, I was on my way back and nearing the finish.  For the first time I got to run through the finish tape as I came in 1st for the women and 4th overall!  I was so excited!!!  Again, racing in Pohnpei is wonderful :)

Not a dry inch on me, but all smiles!!!

Laurel, Lori, Mike and Scott were waiting at the finish with the neon signs and loud cheers.  They were such troopers to stand out even in the wind and rain for me!

 

The wind and rain continued to pick up as the rest of the runners finished.  I would guess that around 25 runners made it across the finish line.  The rest were picked up in trucks and driven to the finish
Post-race we had an bountiful supply of the island's most delicious bananas - Karat and Menihle!  Then we were given Christmas gift bags.  And last we had the awards ceremony where the cash prizes were given.

Tinkerbell! And what's inside?

Why it's quite the assortment - energy drink, bath soap,
shampoo, towel, Nike hat, pen, Doritos, and...

the free shirt of course!

Cash prizes!  Relo took 3rd for the women, so we're
both pretty thrilled with our checks :D

The Nakasone family was a great sponsor and we even
got a brief talk on the importance of healthy lifestyles on the
island as diabetes and heart problems continue to increase.

My fellow competitors adorned in our free finishers medals

Axton was my student last semester.  I was so proud of him!
He ran 13.1 miles without even training. Crazy!

You know a race wouldn't be complete without something mango!  Laurel had so thoughtfully picked up a huge bag of dried mangoes for me while she was in Hawaii over the break.  I knew right away that I would save them for the big race.  So we finally got to dig in to the sweet deliciousness of dried mangoes!

Yumm!!!

She's so good to me!

I can't wait to...

dig in!  I could make myself sick on these.

To top off an already great day, Laurel got everything prepared for homemade pizza.  My favorite!  It became a very fun joint-effort of Laurel, Lori, and me to create our masterpieces.

Doadoahk mwahu!

Absolutely delicious!!!  Exactly what I needed for my
post-race meal!

And with that, I called it a wrap.

International Half Marathon - check!