Community news reporting calls for journalists to step into a community and hear its heartbeat, record the daily struggles and joys of the residents. To take things up a notch, Berea Mail journalist, Danica Hansen has decided to take part in Stella Athletic Club’s Couch to 10km Challenge. Watch her journey unfold in the diary of The Jogging Journalist. Today we bring you the 13th post in the series.
THE much-anticipated Checkstar Verulam Falcons Challenge10km race was cancelled after heavy rains left the Durban promenade flooded on Sunday, May 22.
While the organisers made the right call, given the extreme weather, it was a major anticlimax after so much preparation. And I do mean preparation – I’m talking several checklists over here:
On Saturday, I ran around with a list of errands to make sure I was race-ready – collecting my race number, buying energy bars and visiting several shops to deliberate over shorts with zip-pockets vs a waist pouch – we are talking intense scientific conversations here.
I had another checklist to run through on the morning of the race – if you can call it that – 04.30 is more like midnight for a night owl like me. The thought of getting up before the sun for a 6am race start was anything but chill-vibes as I nervously laid out my clothes, packed my bag and prepared my breakfast – doing everything I could to give my groggy morning self a chance.
ALSO READ: Jogging Journalist: Stepping up to the plate
As my head hit the pillow at 21:00, I was sure I had ticked off every last thing… until, I remembered that I joined Stella Athletics Club a few weeks back. When entering a formal race, runners need to purchase a temporary licence or join a running club that will supply a licence number – to be worn on race day.
As Murphy would have it, my licence number was missing from my meticulously laid-out pile.
ALSO READ: Jogging Journalist – racing against the clock
What followed was a frenzied search as I turned the house upside down but to no avail. I went to bed and had a near-sleepless night with that missing number running through my mind.
At 04:30, I received the news that the race was cancelled, only to open my sock drawer and find the number had been there all along, tangled in-between the layers!
This weekend, Stella Athletics Club has organised an informal 10km run – hopefully, I have gotten all my nerves out with last week’s endless checklists. Wish me luck!
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