The Short Run to Freedom

I think one of the things I have learned the most since moving to South Africa is how disgustingly prideful I am. I feel like I am constantly having to suck up my pride, which is certainly nothing to be proud of because it makes me realize how big of a beast my pride is... Thankfully this is something that I'm learning and growing in. Here is my most recent pride-sacrifice --> blessing I have experienced...

This morning there was the annual Freedom Run at the Drakenstein Prison (about 3 mi from Bridges Academy). This is the last prison where Nelson Mandela stayed before being released in 1990. There is a statue in front of the prison of Nelson Mandela in the same pose he had when walking out of the prison. (If you are looking for a nice long read, check out '"The Long Walk to Freedom" - Nelson Mandela's autobiography)

Because he was in prison for a total of 27 years, the longest race of the Freedom run is 27km. It counts down, not in km but in years so the 10k marker would say "17 years", counting down to the 27km finish or 0 years (FREEDOM!!!). There is also a 10k run and a 5k walk/fun run. 19 of the Bridges Academy students, one house parent, and our school principal had signed up to do the 5k run. I have been running with a running club in Stellenbosch for almost a year now and Saturdays are our long runs (15 to 42 km). This week I was planning to do the 27km race, but was too late and missed the registration date. I begged someone on the phone to do the 27, but he said, "you can still do the 5k!" and I laughed a little and said thanks and hung up. (I have turned into a running SNOB...ew.)

Then I started thinking about it and went ahead and signed up to do the 5k with my kids. While driving from home to the school, I had to drive past the 27km run and pass one of the guys I usually run with. We had to distribute shoes to some of our students who didn't have "tekkies" (running shoes) for the race (once we got there - saw that about 25% of the kids participating did not have shoes...).

We all warmed up for the race together - I led them in a little jog and stretch, but the kids added their own flair to it with a bit-o clapping and singing that I certainly would have not come up with. While we were waiting for the race to start, they started playing games all together - in 1 group in Xhosa - involving singing and dancing and a bunch of other kids came up and just watched. Then our kids invited them in to join and I wanted to hug all of my kids. I really get so proud of them sometimes. They are so good with younger kids, so inviting, loving... They explained the games to the other kids and made sure that they all felt included. I couldn't stop smiling

Then the race started. I took off with Bongeka and Zandile (one of our new grade 8 kids). Zandile stayed with me for atleast the first km, then decided to start walking. Soon after, I saw Ayanda walking and told him to run with me. He ran with me the whole rest of the race!!! I was running fast for me (that's not saying a lot, but I do run pretty often and Ayanda probably only runs when we do stuff like this). We ran through the farms and barracks at the prison and looped back around. At the last km, he said "Yoh!" and started walking, but I convinced him that 1 km isn't too bad and he ran through the end. We then cheered on everyone else that came through. (I kept running to the guy with the microphone telling him specific things to say to our kids like "Hey, Bridges Academy girls - if you don't run through the finish line, the bus is leaving without you!" or "Bridges Academy - no walking! Either run or dance it out!" It was pretty great...)

There was live music (cheesy Afrikaans pop)and some little stands around after the race. Our kids found one that were giving away free prizes for playing a game. Our kids (like most kids/human beings) love free stuff, so they grabbed me because they needed to have an adult with them. So the "game" ended up being to look through a bank brochure and be able to find the answer to the question "How much do you have to pay to use another ATM" and win a pen, pad of paper, and a lanyard to hold keys. Real fun... The kids were a bit disappointed. Then the guy (realizing that his advertizing attempts were sadly lost on our demographic) said "Yeah, so tell your parents about our bank so that they sign up with us". Jokes on him, they don't have parents! So in the car on the way back I heard the kids talking about that line and laughing. I told my kids that I thought of telling the guy, "That's me, sir", but I didn't to save on a long explanation. They said I should have said it.

Once again, I am reminded how freaking much I love these kids and how blessed I am to be doing what I'm doing. Running a 27k would have been great for my ego, but running a 5k was great for my soul.