Insights from the MTN Marathon - Oscar Bamwebaze

The Healing Power of The Mind

Two days ago, I successfully completed the MTN half marathon race. I painfully jogged, at a fragile pace, across the finish line. As far as I could see, my heroic moment was largely ignored by everyone present (with the exception of the USA Peace Corps who cheered me on at the top of their voices), because I was among the last people to cross the finish line.

I may not have won any special prizes that day, but I was one of the happiest people in the race, and probably one of the best rewarded runners in the history of the MTN marathon. I began the race with some wisdom, but I was much wiser upon its completion.

From a scientific point of view, I was totally incapable of running a half marathon. For one year or more before the marathon, I jogged once a month. Prior to the marathon, I had no prior training or practice of any kind. For two months before the race, I was down with two attacks of influenza. When I wasn’t on a course of antibiotics, I was on something coarser- decongestants, first generation antihistamines, bronchodilators, expectorants, etc.  I was even on medication a few hours before the marathon!

Mentally, I was faced with some tough challenges: There would be no friends or relatives to give me a warm welcome at the end of the marathon; I was wrongly listed among the 10 kilometre runners instead of the 21 kilometre runners, and I found this out a few minutes before take off! “You are going to be disqualified for being in the wrong race.” I anxiously thought to myself. “You will faint if you run…”, I silently thought again, reflecting upon my poor preparation.

Before the race, I had silently hoped that there would be very many unfit or unhealthy participants, who would endlessly linger on behind me. But before take off I took a quick glance at the 21Km group and it was fully comprised of men and women with lean, strong muscle. “All these people will overtake you.” I thought to myself in anger. “You are going to be the last because you are the most unfit guy in this race!”

More by nurture rather than nature however, I am fundamentally an optimist and I could not permit myself to lose confidence in my abilities. I made up my mind to run the marathon and to push myself to the limits of my abilities in the process. I was inwardly willing to go to any lengths to cross the finish line, even if it took me three days.

As soon as the race started, I stopped listening to the negative ‘voices’ in my head. I focused my mind on anything positive- the beautiful scenery (whenever there was one), the smiling faces of the other runners, the cool breeze, the warmth in my muscles, the withering runners whom I gradually overtook with great ease, etc.

I threw positive or humorous remarks at anyone who appeared within my view, and I chatted along with other runners, even if they were all strangers. Here, for some strange reason, we were all friends.

Exactly 1 ½ hours into the race I encountered my first major challenge. I was running through the industrial area and it was clouded with the exhaust fumes of vehicles intermixed with insecticide. I got an asthma attack on the spot. Though mild, it began to give me a lot of trouble. Within a few seconds I began to feel as if someone was scratching my lungs with a scrubbing brush!!! Being in no mood to quit the race, I pushed on despite the pain and discomfort. At this point, many other lean muscled runners were beginning to give up. Exhausted, they jumped onto motor bikes or taxis and fled off the scene. Others just stopped running and started strolling casually as if they were tourists in a strange city.

I happily overtook these tired guys. A few minutes later, while I was jogging up a steep hill, I got muscle pulls/ strains in both my front thigh muscles. The pain was excruciating and instant. My legs froze still on the spot, and in spite of my solid will to persevere against the odds, I just couldn’t move anymore. Some runners by passed me. By the worried look on their faces, it was quite clear that they thought that my race was over. I, on the other hand, thought differently. I wasn’t going to give up.

I massaged my thighs and proceeded to walk briskly. I was very dehydrated and hungry, but I had no money with me at the time and I felt as if I was in the middle of no where. I met a tired couple eating bananas. They had given up on the race and resorted to feasting on juicy city fruits. I begged them for a banana and they willingly handed it to me. I gobbled it up in seconds and it gave me a buzz of energy. I continued to walk and in the course of so doing, I overtook more runners. I was silent for I had no more energy left to throw out jokes at bystanders.

When the pain in my thighs ceased, I jogged and then stopped when it returned. I kept up this pattern until, three hours later, I crossed the finish line.

This was a great experience and it taught me the following lessons:

1. You are your greatest source of motivation:

No one can motivate you better than yourself; therefore, don’t look up to others for motivation but look deep within yourself. There will always be positive and negative voices in your head, and what determines your fate or fortune is which voice you choose to listen to. Don’t waste your time listening to negative self statements for they are baseless and unfounded.

2. The Facts Are What You Make Them:

Life is full of facts, but they do not have an existence of their own. They do not have an independent reality. They will always take on the shape and texture that you give them. Depending on your life perception, these facts will be for you or against you. You make your own reality. If you think that there are any facts against you, change your life perception and make them become for, rather than against you.

3. There Is No Joy without Suffering

You can only become happy if you are willing to suffer and endure the pain necessary to overcome your life challenges. There is no lasting reward for people who avoid suffering.

 4. Envy Is a Barrier to Growth

There will always be some one with more or less than you posses, and yet, despite this, we are all equal. If you let your mind cry about what you do not have, you will only waste away in solitude. We are all gifted, and anyone who is better than you at one thing, is weaker than you at another. Don’t be envious of others, but see how your strengths can compliment on their weaknesses. Some one may be a faster runner, but you might have a better sense of humour than him. Let such difference be a source of joy and unity. We are the way we are for a reason. God rarely makes mistakes.

5. Have confidence in your abilities

If you put your mind to something, you will emerge victorious. There is no greater force in nature than the human mind. We are suffering, not because we can not overcome our suffering, but because we have been conditioned to utilize less than 10% of our mental potential. You are a lot more powerful and valuable than you think.

6. Don Not Procrastinate

Never wait for the right moment to pursue your dreams. If you want to do something, just do it, whether you are prepared to do it or not. Nothing kills motivation more than procrastination. The right moment is always now. Stay firm in the present, for it is all that you truly have.

7.Have Faith in Humanity

Whether it is clear to you or not, there is someone out there who has faith in your abilities. I could not have made it to the starting point of the MTN marathon if my friend, Mary Musirika, hadn’t given me a ride in her car. And I would have probably collapsed in town after the marathon, had she not taken me for a sumptuous meal in the plush environs if Garden City after the marathon. I say this to say, love abounds in this life like the stars in the sky. All you have to do is open your ears and eyes.

8. The Human Mind is a Healing Force

You are what you are today because of how you think, what you have been conditioned to think, and how you choose to use your mind. There is no challenge you can not overcome if you choose to use your mind wisely.

 9. Life has its meaning, not heroism, but in simplicity

The beauty of this life lies not in the well publicised achievements of those we have been conditioned to consider great, but in the amazing tales of simple men like me and you, who persevere everyday against the odds and emerge victorious. Each time we choose not to despair, or resign in the face of a major challenge or tragedy, we add a unique tone to the endless melody of this life. In our simplicity, we give this life its colours, its voice, its tunes, its tinge, its contours, and its texture. This life wouldn’t be what it is today, if it weren’t for you and me. So, let’s march on confidently everyday, with our heads held high above water, until we achieve our dreams, for we have already began to do so. We are here to lift up those who are weaker than us, and to motivate those who are stronger than we are.

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