For some reason or another, I could not fall asleep last night until after two a.m., and today I had to wake up at five a.m. to join Abdelhak and some other friends in the town of Rich.
Rich, a small, somewhat charming town, would usually have played no part in my travel or tourism plans. Today, however, was different, as a ten kilomter race was taking place in the town, and a local girl was running in the race. Abdou had planned to go, in his capacity as the founder of a local association for atheltics and development. He invited me to join him, and so I did.
I can generally think of many things that I would rather do than watch people run. Nonetheless, I had a very pleasant and interesting morning. I watched with incredulity, as only today did I realize that it is possible to run well without 100 dollar sneakers, polyprelene clothing, and specially formulated dry-wick socks. Apparently, as I learned, people can run fast in just about anything.
Ever see a man in cargo pants do a consistent seven-minute mile? I never had, before today.
In addition, I had the chance to witness some of the Royal pomp and circumstance of the Moroccan state. The race finished, generals and colonels and ministers and governers stepped out from their ceremonial (shaded) box at the finish line, and walked in a parade of suits and uniforms to the main stage. There they were greeted with cheers and hurrahs and seemingly unprompted ululations from the brightly dressed women in the front lines of the crowd.
And that is about it. After getting back, I spent the rest of the afternoon (until now) resting, trying to regain a bit of my thinking capacity after my restless night.
More soon. Enjoy the photos below.
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