Ouagadougou-Laye International Marathon

The marathon was today. i was only tempted for about 30 seconds to participate. i have been running a ton lately, finally my running injuries are under control. but here, i cannot run long...too hot.  i did support a friend of mine (Karsten, from the bike group) that ran. He gets a gold star in my book for completing it. it was actually a pleasant morning...probably in the low 90 with a cool breeze. but by 0930 it really started to heat up. initially i was kicking myself for not just running it, but by 1030 i was so darn thankful.  very different from an organized marathon in the US. they ran out of water at the end. there was no actual finish line (this was not appreciated by Karsten). there were a couple of bands.

What is amazing...once again...are the Burkinabe. Many of them were running in these plastic sandals (some without sox), some were running in loafer type shoes, or fashion shoes that looked a little like sneakers. they are hard core. The winner was a Moroccan who ran it in about 2 hours and something. another bike friend of mine (Ronald, who has previously been the star of one of my blog posts) ran it in 3:25 an he was criticizing himself for walking a bit the last 10K...and i pointed out to him that a 3:25 was amazing considering he walked. it was a fun day and fun to support the runners (also a couple of Peace Corps volunteers, one of whom i know). Now i am off to run my 5 miles in the Forest Park in town. it is probably a cool 102 at the moment.

Otto and Johann (Karsten's son) providing some running support

If you can get a closer look, check out the white plastic sandals the guy is running in - tons of people were running in these. we have decided it will be the new running craze (taking after barefoot running) and these simple $2 shoes will start selling for $80/pair and a book will be written...mark my words

This guy had some crazy shoes, i think they were formerly loafers with the toes cut out then taped up. nothing goes to waste around here

The glorious finishers. Ronald and Karsten - both from the biking group. i am so proud of them, it was probably one of the hardest marathons they will every do. And to rub in his hardcore-ness, Karsten rode with the bike group the very next day - we rode hard for about 2.5 hours (40-ish km)

Last outing in Burkina Faso?

At this point i feel so lucky that i have been able to see much of this small country. although generally it is hot, dry and dusty, i have visited some beautiful places.  a few weeks back i was doing an assessment of the medical facilities in Po - a small town in the south near the border with Ghana.  the group i was with decided to take the short detour to Tiebele on our way home - it is about 30 minutes by dirt road. Tiebele is an old traditional village that has remained much unchanged. they have unique architecture and paint their houses with designs.  We ended up having a wonderful guide that we met by chance. Although Burkina isnt a tourist destination, for anyone that lands here it has much to offer. but a huge part of any site is the people. i cannot imagine working in another country with people as kind, honest and gentle as here.

this woman is making the local millet beer

the doorways are small and it is almost like going into a cave.

the inner side of the doorway

the traditional kitchen - but mostly only used during the rainy season. it is lit by a cut out window in the ceiling

this is our guide and the bedroom

all houses are low and have roof top balconies. these are the typical stairs leading up to the roof top

a view of the village from the roof