We've still the evening's celebrations to come, so I'm off to enjoy our last night and make the most of every last second. I can't believe the event I've been planning for for so long has been and gone. Everybody had a different story all had had the time of their lives. What a feeling! We collected our green medals and congratulated each other in a big, excitable ORBIS huddle. But somehow we pressed on and at just short of 9km, broke into a run which brought us across the finishing line in a respectable one hour and 20-something minutes. I was lightheaded, my legs ached and the 2k ahead seemed like a marathon. We ran where we could, speeding past the crowds lining the roads, stopping when we reached a logjam and sidestepping the hose pipes that drenched large swathes of runners.Īt about 8km I thought I couldn't go on. Having someone look out for you in a situation like that is a special thing. We stayed together through the whole race. Then I thought of my boys, and particularly the one whose birthday it was today, and trudged on, heart pounding in my dry throat. The sun began to beat down and for the first time I wondered if I might stop. Again and again, the crowd around us seemed to be saying 'Here comes Andrew Lowe! Here comes Andrew Lowe!' It spurred us - me, Clare and said Andrew Lowe - on as we ran out of flat road and started to climb a few hills. Or if there were, they were soft and rounded and accompanied by polite apologies and smiles. Despite this, it was completely unthreatening, good-humoured - and there were no elbows out. I don't think I've ever seen so many people in one place. We stopped and started for the first few kilometres in a frustrating dance, dodging potholes and rubble, ducking and diving this way and that among the purple and red T-shirts. Then we were off - or were we? The streets were so densely packed that the flow was clogged and lazy. There were cool young chicks in customised t-shirts - ripped, embroidered, sleeves rolled up gangs of long-legged lotharios, some in hats made of banana leaves, or plastic sacking, chanting, singing jostling and laughing. This was a very proud, excited local crowd, everyone full of good will, here at the event of the year for a party and nice stroll, maybe a few minutes running if the opportunity presented itself. Our white - rapidly reddening - faces stood out. As we waited at the start with considerable apprehension, we had time to take in the incredible techicolour scene we were part of. We gave them a few empty bottles and jelly sweets, they let us take their photos. The crowds were already revved up, groups limbering up wherever you looked, young Ethiopian boys squeezing in and out of the heaving hordes and scoping the best targets for handouts. We travelled light - just a bottle of water each, a few tube of rehydrating sports goo and lucozade tablets. We hoped that the heat and perspiration would take care of the rest. The ladies of a certain age had discussed lavatory tactics at length the night before - the prospect of being caught short in the centre of Addis too horrific to contemplate - so we dived into the loos one last time before setting off on foot to Meskil Square. Approaches to the pre-run repast varied from the succint and monastic two bananas, to latte with boiled eggs, fruit salad and yoghurt. We dressed in tense silence and headed down to join the sea of red and purple t-shirts assembled in the hotel breakfast room. That's some motivation.īut now! I've finished the run, I've done it, I've taken part in Africa's biggest road race, and the beers can't come too soon.īack to this morning. The hopes of my family were pinned on me - at least one of those three dear little boys back home is still young enough to think that Mummy just might WIN the run. But every time I heard the Mrs Doyle mantra - 'Oh go on!' as a lovely, cold beer, glistening with dew was pushed across the bar, I responded with a prim, 'No thank you!'. I woke with a clear head, having tenaciously stuck to my no-beer diet the night before. The event raised over €7,000 for Orbis Ireland which will go directly to helping its mission to eradicate trachoma, a painful blinding eye disease, from areas of southern Ethiopia.So the day of the Great Ethiopian Run finally arrived. After a fun shot gun start and a few birdies later, everyone came together for a celebratory dinner and prizes were awarded. The event which took place at Powerscourt Golf Club saw various teams tee off and compete for a four ball champagne scramble. On 21 April, members of Avolon participated in the Orbis Ireland Golf Classic. ![]() ![]()
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