Last weekend the capital of Benin hosted a 1/2 Marathon race, that a few of our Mercy shipper crew decided to join last minute....no...no training was done ;) just the pure thrill and curiosity of it pushed these crazy "Kovos" (white man) to come out for the long, HOT run. Just like most things in Africa...things tend to be a little backwards..., here is some of the footgear my friend Ginger, who raced, saw during the race! It will blow your mind! ha. Take a CLOSE look...
(black socks/blue sandals)
old tennis shoes with NO back, shoelaces used to tie around the ankle!
barefoot, and thats just a few...many ran in jelly sandals I used to wear on the 80's!
The race was hosted by a big Water Company...and yes...they ran out of WATER after about 1/2 the people came to the stations...leaving our poor untrained Mercy Ship crew at the mercy of buying baggies of water off the baskets on women's heads and some kind onlookers who handed them theirs! Have no fear though because they kept cool after the people at the stations THREW buckets of water on them soaking their footgear and socks, leaving them to the last half of the race with wet and wrinkely feet!!! At the finish line no one was cheering, so they almost kept running because they weren't sure they had reached the end, ha. Someone just told them to stop! I wasn't there to see this spectacle as I was working, but I thought you might get a kick of out it. I know I did. Another day, another adventure. To each its own I guess.
