Eight days ago, I proudly completed an enormous 21.1km run—the first of my “Two Half Marathons in a Year for SOS Africa” challenge. It was really tough! Back in 2011, I planned to run a half marathon for this very worthy cause but was sidelined by a knee injury. This year, not only will I be finishing what I started, I’m running double the distance!
Between October 2021 and early 2024, I did almost no exercise, debilitated by undiagnosed chronic abdominal pain. After surgery in February last year, I slowly began rebuilding my fitness: swimming, strength and conditioning, mobility work, plus a big dose of time on feet in a high-volume training block from December onwards. Just five days before the run, I woke up unable to breathe through my nose and with a fever that kept me in bed for two days. I gingerly headed out for a tentative jog in the spring sunshine, though, which gave me hope I could still run, not just walk, on the day.
Nervous excitement began to kick in as I prepped my fuel for during the run and laid out my SOS Africa tee I’d had made—complete with custom bib clips from a friend, featuring my name and South African flags. I hardly slept on the final night, waking very early. Then, calamity replaced the calm morning I’d hoped for: the train didn’t show, nor did the rail replacement. After two hours of stress, a cab and a bus got me to the start line with five minutes to spare. I dashed back to my bag for forgotten mid-run fuel after a pre-run massage—and finally, with seconds to go, I was warmed up and poised in the starting pen. As the city mayor set the run in motion with an airhorn, despite the hectic start to the day, I gathered my thoughts, slowed my breathing to do what I could to prepare mentally. The sheer mass of runners meant it was a whole 7 minutes later that my section crossed the start—perhaps just enough time that perhaps I needed to reset.
During the run, when it got hard, I tapped the South African heart on my chest to remind me of my “why”: the SOS Africa kids. That same purpose pulled me through those difficult, dark, wet, and frosty training runs throughout the winter. After 18km, my left hip cramped. Stretching didn’t help and nor did walking, so I gritted my teeth and ran through the pain—knowing the quicker I finished, the sooner I’d get some relief.
Every cheer and word of encouragement from my incredible support crew and sponsors both on the sidelines and online lifted me. It was the hottest day of any long run I’ve done, but their backing was the boost that carried me to the end.
I finished in 2 hours 35 minutes, five minutes under my estimate—a personal best and thanks to my wonderful sponsors, have already raised nearly £600 for SOS Africa!
SOS Africa Half #1: done. Bring on the next one in October!
By Shaz Arocho
