THE BEST DAY IN THE HISTORY OF SPORT

Get ready to swallow a whole lot of gush. I’m just going to say it, THE SLAA TEAM IS HOT AND I WANT TO MARRY ALL OF THEM (in a barefoot beach ceremony in Fiji). Coach Jimmy and his crew of unstoppable running machines were the indisputable heroes of Sierra Leone’s first international marathon. Let's bask in the glory of that outrageous medal tally, marvel at those freakishly fast times and reflect on what a superb day it was....

The morning started at death o'clock when the girls and boys in blue gathered at the start line for some warm up stretches, motivational rants by Coach Jimmy, press interviews and a heavy session of posing for cameras in anticipation of facebook profile photo updates.

Our runners looked fierce (particularly Samual on the right) in their armour of electric blue nylon vests. If only Tony Shallop, godfather of St Mary’s could have been there to see his iconic logo plastered everywhere. Sadly he was flat out at the Freetown supermarket and couldn't make the trip.

I don't like to be a Debbie Downer but I think I need to mention the great disappointment of Makeni. Four of Sierra Leone’s best runners who signed for the 5km race got caught in the pandemonium of the start line and took off like rockets with the marathon runners who left 15 minutes before the 5km group were due to start. Coach Jimmy realised this disastrous error soon after and set off on an Okada to bring them back to the start line. Sadly he couldn’t catch them because they were too damn fast! They all went on to finish the circuit in less than 15 minutes which would have beaten the winning time for the 5km race, but instead resulted in disqualification for all four runners. Totally and utterly ROBBED.

The boys were stoic in the face of disappointment though and like true sportsman spent the rest of the day madly cheering on their teammates and cruising girls. 

First blue shirts across the line ( apart from the tragically disqualified 5km boys)  were gold medal winner Victoria 'Flojo' Bestman followed closely by her  dazzling team mate Frances Samara. Their biggest triumph of the day though was getting hold of those orange bags that were reserved only for international runners. Good on you ladies!  

Big ups to Chris Johnson who crossed the line first in the half marathon in an incredible time of 1 hour 15 minutes. Chris opted for the half because he was recovering from the evil MALARIA. Imagine running 22km with malaria!! James Bai Sesay came in a close second and after that the wash of blue singlets kept on coming.

First woman to cross the line in the half marathon, pint sized runner, Mamie Lohun enjoying her moment on the podium after basically embarrassing all her competitors with an outrageous lead. You rock Mamie!

Forget the money shot of the marathon winner crossing the finish line, this is the bare bones image people want to see of our valiant hero. Sierra Leonian marathon debutante, Idrissa Kargbo crossed the line in a time of 2 hours 46 minutes. Freaking incredible!

Like E.T, our Champion comes back to life and faces the international media. The journalist enquired what he was thinking about during those 2 hours and 46 minutes. "I was just going through p squared's discography in my head, gee their second album was good", was his reply.

Our man on that number 1 podium right where he belongs. His closest rival Tim Elsey from London was around 15 minutes behind him.

The victory lap through Makeni. What better way to celebrate winning a marathon than by going on another run. 

NICE ONE, NICE ONE

It was a scene of calm excitement at the Sierra Leone National Stadium this morning as the SLAA runners crammed themselves into Ibrahim Tours most prized poda 'Nice One'. This noble chariot will take the runners to the far away capital of Bombabli district for the Marathon event of the century.

Farewell Nice One...may your drive be smooth, may your banged up sound system be relentlessly blaring P squared and please get the runners to the start line safely.

CHOP MY MONEY

The past couple of weeks have involved some shameless fundraising for the freetown runners. Let's face it,  begging people for money can be a drag, but one thing I have learnt is that most people are easy to guilt trip can be very, very generous. Look at this fist full of money that has been donated so far.

I know this looks staged but it did actually happen for reals. This anonymous donor from the Special Court generously handed over $100!!

This donor was not quite as willing to part with his cash but after several gin and tonics and some applied force he eventually surrendered - and gee, what a flattering photo of us both.

I realised that the team needed a uniform so I asked the friendly people at our favourite supermarket if they would donate some running shirts. Without a hint of hesitation Tony, the boss of the St Mary's dynasty, reached into the cash register and agreed to pay for 23 shirts (including 1 for coach Jimmy). Paradox Company Limited specialists in the printing of sports t-shirts have done a marvellous job .  BTW, SLAA stands for Sierra Leone Athletics Association.

The father of 'The Mother of all Supermarkets', Tony Shallop is delighted by the result. If you're in Makeni on the weekend, look out for the shirt which will be modelled by 22 ripped bodies most likely to cross the finish line hours before any of us.  

LOOK AT IT

Coach Jimmy beams at the thought of his beloved runners whipping some ass in Makeni

Look a di 6 pack

Three world class athletes torturing themselves with some casual afternoon stair training

So these are the marathon heavyweights. The guy in the middle (Chris Johnson) came second at the Monrovia marathon last year in a time of 2 hours and something or other...anyway. It was very fast.

Some fake running by three of the 5km favourites

                                                         And now for some real running

Let's not forget the ladies. There should be three or four competing - I wish there were more. Unfortunately Zainab in the middle is too young, but give her a few years and she could be the next Zola Budd.