8 Life Lessons from the 2022 Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon

"How do you know if someone ran a marathon? Don’t worry, they’ll tell you." Jimmy Fallon

Yes, I am here to tell you that I ran the 2022 Standard Chartered Marathon, and I have got a medal to show for it. 21kms to be precise.

Personally, my greatest challenge was the Ole-Sereni hill towards the Inland Container Depot (ICD) area, and the last stretch towards the finishing line.

Vince Lombardi put it well, “The will to win is not nearly so important as the will to prepare to win. – this sounds cliché until you run a marathon. However, for marathons its the will to finish. Marathon are run and completed in the mind. It requires your 101%. I picked several lessons that enabled me to finish the marathon and I think it’s important I share them.?

1.?????Prepare, Prepare, Prepare

So many marathoners were picked up by ambulances. Some in critical state. I guess most of them it was due to poor preparation or no preparation at all. Some prepared well but may have missed some important “dos or don’ts before or during the race. For others, prior preparation entailed training on the same route days if not months to the marathon just to acquaint themselves with the challenges and obstacles on the route. In life, its paramount to prepare for eventualities. Failing to prepare, is preparing to fail.

2.?????Remember It’s a marathon, not a sprint

At the starting line to flag the marathon off was the new Cabinet Secretary Hon. Ababu Namwamba and Africa’s 100meters sprint record holder, and the world’s number eight fastest man – Ferdinand Omanyala. It was good seeing Omanyala there. The thing is - this was not his race. Sprints have adrenaline rush; they require few seconds of focus and the muscles to dash the sprinter in seconds to the finish line.

Life is all about long distance and not sprinting. Starting strong is good but finishing stronger is much better. I ran along a Cytonn Investment Chief Executive Officer – Edwin Dande. What I learnt from him is that he maintained his pace throughout the race.

The thing is, you need to understand the race that you are running, and keep to the dictates of the race.

3.?????Remain Focused

There were many distractions. From those who had boots for a marathon run, to the skimpy dressed lasses with hair dangling and make-up on, to the shouting and screaming ones and the story tellers. The run meant different things to different people. If you were not focused it was easy to be diverted from the target.

Not everybody who participated in it was determined to finish. That is the same with life – Not everybody in your circles and networks is there to support your dream. Some are distractions that if not careful they can derail or stop your dream.

4.?????Celebrate your achievements

People registered and participated in different races according to their abilities and drive. For some it was a day out with family, for others the marathon was imposed on them by their bosses as they had to represent their companies for brand visibility, while for the elite runners it is their profession. ?No matter the reason for participating, the fact that they all showed up is worth celebrating.

I did 2:49:37 for 21kms half marathon and I am truly happy with my achievement. This is my personal best time. Next marathon I will be looking forward to breaking my own record.

5.?????Run your own race – Know yourself

One of my colleagues finished the marathon way after everybody had finished and even left. I waited for her to finish so that I can cheer her up. I was proud of her for not giving up. She told me she walked at some point when the going got tough, but she was resolute that she had to finish the race.

Some people took shortcuts, others never came closer to the finish line and opted to just go home as they were embarrassed to finish after everybody else had. ?In marathons, and in life, sometimes you make great progress, and sometimes your progress is reduced to a crawl.

Whatever the case, learn to run your own race. If need be- crawl, but never stop moving.

6.?????You have no idea what you are capable of

Until you run a marathon you wouldn’t know what you are capable of.?I completed my first marathon in 2015. I struggled a lot to even get past the 5kms mark, but I finished. All through I have continued to improve. I compare myself to myself.

Before I started, I was questioning my ability in all spheres – mentally and physically I felt not to the cut. I doubted myself. This is normal for everybody doing it for the first time. The most satisfying moment of participating in a marathon is discovering that you are strong enough to finish it.

Next time try it. You will be surprised. I’ve surprised myself in every marathon I’ve ever run. It just keeps getting better.

7.?????Always Appraise Yourself

I discovered all the elite marathoners had sport watches and they all timed themselves at the starting line.?Marathoners analyse and go through their performance to determine how they can improve themselves.

I timed my race, but my target was to simply beat my last marathon time. Stats from https://live.ultimate.dk/ show that the first 9kms I was doing 51.55min/km and thereafter my speed dropped to 9.44mins/km. This shows that I need to improve on my endurance and finishing.

In life we need to evaluate ourselves too. If in business that would entail analyzing your business against other market players, note the milestones through the journey. ?It's important to learn from mistakes and do the best to improve yourself.

8.?????Cheerleaders will always come

The colleague I waited for was happy to see me at the finish line. She increased her speed when she saw me cheering on. A handful of strangers joined in. For her it was like the whole world was cheering her. She put on a smile and finished in style.

Thinking of it – that is the feeling in our everyday life. We all like to be cheered on when doing the right thing. If my colleague had dropped off, she wouldn’t have been cheered on. Strangers cheered her on because she was doing the right thing.

As we expect others to cheer us when thriving, let us also extend the same to others too. Even if they don’t seem to appreciate, they will always remember. Trust me on that.