What happened in Almaty?
I’ve been caught up with my schedule over the last few months and haven’t had the time to post anything valuable here. However, let me share a fun (and somewhat painful) incident that happened during my visit to Almaty, Kazakhstan.
It was a long travel day that started on the morning of September 27th. After a full day of traveling, we finally arrived at our hotel in Almaty just after midnight. A little confusion with the room pricing at reception didn’t stop us from getting the much-needed sleep we craved.
September 28th was a fun day. It was sunny, but the cold easily cut through my only layers—a cardigan and a jumper. We walked around the city for a bit, visiting the Almaty History Museum, before finding refuge from the biting chill in a nearby shopping mall. The mall felt eerily similar to the Tashkent City Mall, almost like a copycat. Of course, I couldn’t resist grabbing a coffee from Costa—a remedy much needed for the weather.
Next, we headed to the kit distribution site to pick up our race bags and bib numbers. There were a few issues with the organizers (a story for another time), but we sorted everything out and called it a day, heading back to the hotel. The night passed peacefully.
September 29th, Race Day.
I woke up early, ready to prepare for the run. But unexpectedly, I felt a sharp pain growing in my abdomen. I brushed it off, thinking it would pass, but I was wrong—so wrong. The pain refused to subside, growing more intense by the second.
My mind, which had been focused on conquering the 10km mark in under 50 minutes, was now preoccupied with thoughts of weakness. At one point, the idea of quitting crossed my mind. But no—I had come too far for that. After all, whether Sultan, Shah, King, or Emperor, who would choose to die on their deathbed when they could fight valiantly on the battlefield?
I asked Bilal, my trip partner, to call a Yandex taxi to our hotel. We were going to the start line.
"START!"
A voice boomed so loudly it seemed to shake the ground beneath us. In no time, I was swept up in a crowd of runners—vicious monsters marching forward without mercy. None of them would stop to let you pass or stay behind for you. For a moment, I thought the crowd itself would be my undoing—not the pain in my abdomen, which had now become intolerable.
My feet pounded against the ground as I forced myself forward. Time seemed to slow as I became one with the chaos, trying to bury my pain in the process. Strangely, the strategy worked. My blurry eyes, barely able to focus through the pain, caught sight of the 8km mark.
I had come so far. Physically, I was still there, but mentally, I was waging a war in another realm. My only goal was to keep my legs moving.
At some point—maybe I blacked out—I found myself with a medal around my neck and an apple in my hand, devoured with primal hunger. Somehow, I had finished the race. I didn’t remember how, but I had.
The pain, which had reduced me to my 7-year-old self, seemed to vanish entirely.
I reunited with my friends, and we left.
It wasn’t just a race of distance—it was a battle against myself.
Peace out!
#just_like_that #running