With the day time temperature in the mid 30s and the fact
I don’t consider myself particularly suited to running in the heat (evidenced
by my effort in the Windsor Half Marathon last September… http://jhr190764.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/quick-quick-slow.html),
the only way I was going to get any training done in the Gambia was by getting
out as early as possible in the morning.
On this front I was helped by the daily 5am call to
prayers emanating from the nearby Mosque!
However with day break at about 7am and a need to get back by 8am to be
ready for our daily schedule there was only limited opportunity.
I had hoped to generate a bit of interest among the
locals with a view to having some company on my runs (I suppose I had a clip
from Rocky in mind!) but, while I
witnessed plenty of enthusiasm for football and sprinting, the mention of 5 mile
plus runs received a fairly unenthusiastic reaction! 
Faced with the prospect of going out on my own, I came to the conclusion there was just one viable route to take. Other than in and around the capital, Banjul, in The Gambia there appears to be just one long tarmacked road stretching through the length of the country with all other roads being dust tracks (or mud tracks in the wet season!). Our lodgings at Kaira Konko were adjacent to this road so I decided to head out along one side of the road for 2½ to 3½ miles and then cross over and turn back to complete 5-7 miles.
Over three runs, I ran 17 miles in The Gambia and this proved to be the difference that enabled me to complete 100 miles for the month. This was a bit of a challenge in February given the shorter month and the fact that with a bit of a cold and getting organised for my trip I missed out on a number of days of training.
Clearly though, the main purpose of my week in The Gambia
with Lesley and our friends Pete and Jeanette (and a party of five associated
with Carmella’s school) was to get a flavour of the work with which Carmella
has been involved during her visits over the last seven years. As reported in my January and February posts,
our visit coincided with the last week of Carmella’s seven week trip. This, her longest stay, was made possible
through a successful bid for funding from the British Council and the
dedication her school (All Saints Junior
in Fleet) has towards its twin in The Gambia, the Soma Proper Lower Basic School.
A key impression I gained in our week was of a community
that in a material and infrastructural sense was so much less well off than
what I am familiar with but had riches that were a revelation, most
particularly the spirit of friendship and community that was so evident.
I had nothing but awe and pride seeing Carmella engaging
with the community of Soma – promoting educational ideas and “getting things
done”, particularly pushing against “Gambian time” to meet deadlines on work
associated with a community celebration of peace taking place at the school
while we were there. 
This turned into
a great event that saw me in a slightly surreal moment being drawn into a dance to the
chant of “Ebola is a killer disease!” – part of an educational production put on by the school’s drama club (I hasten to emphasise that there have been no cases of Ebola in The Gambia in the outbreak that has had such a distressing impact in West Africa in the last year and is hopefully now on the wane). 
My week in
The Gambia involved more than running and dancing! We did also spend time in the
classrooms of the school sharing out greeting cards of peace made by children
at Carmella’s school, getting a chance to see the school work of the Soma
children and discuss this with them and their teachers and helping to tidy and
re-organise the school’s library.
We also gained a flavour of the hardship of those working
in the nearby rice fields. This was a
particularly emotive visit for one of Carmella’s Fleet colleagues who saw the
product of her fundraising which had brought about significant improvement to
the path to the rice field – replacing a part where the women working the field
had had to walk through extremely hazardous conditions that had been the cause
of at least one fatality. It was obvious from what we saw that, even with the improvements that had made, there was still much more to do. This was particularly apparent as we walked over precarious bridges (and we were doing this at a time of low water) and considered how the field workers have to carry heavy loads over these having worked throughout the day and with very great distances to walk.
After this we visited a more remote village and gave out clothing we had brought over from the UK. This included a huge bag of garments knitted by Lesley’s mum.
The visit to The Gambia has certainly added to my commitment to raise funds for Kaira Konko Scout Active Support and given me fresh determination to push myself to the best of my ability in the Paris Marathon.
As a step towards the latter of these objectives I was pleased to return to the UK in time to take part in the Hampton Court Half Marathon along with fellow members of the Bearcat Running Club.
Furthermore, as a conclusion to my February training and
mindful that I was 18 miles short of reaching 100 miles for the month, I set
out for a long run on the last day of the month. My aim was to run at a relatively easy pace but somehow my
plans went awry and I found myself, for the first time, completing 20 miles in
a time of less than 3 hours! As I took a
selfie to record the moment I reflected that it was just as well there were no
vultures on the tree behind me as there had been the previous week! Even though I was still feeling pretty
strong, the sight of my running style at 20 miles might have been a great
temptation for them to tuck in!
Things
are certainly heating up (and at the moment I’m loving it)!
I close for now with a note of my appreciation for the support already given to my fundraising for Kaira Konko Scout Active Support. As things currently stand, the half way point has been reached towards my target of £500. All help to enable this target to be reached and surpassed is hugely appreciated!Donations can be made through my fundraising site:
With thanks and best wishes…
John
