Day before the race in Durban - June 15

In the morning we availed ourselves of the breakfast buffet included in the room rate, and walked to the expo at the new convention center.  There we went up to the international runner registration and got our packets, numbers, shirts, etc.  We bought our return bus tickets for R22.  We went in the expo and walked around it – it was jammed.  The line to get into the souvenir purchase area was 20 wide.   We stood in it for a long while but no one moved.  We looked around at the historical display, the rest of the expo, and had enough.  We went upstairs and had a light lunch on the balcony facing downtown Durban center.

Then we walked downtown, through a mall, the art center, the post office, and the Amex office where we changed more dollars into Rand.  At the post office we bought stamps for our postcards and mailed them and I experienced a new security feature - the airlock entry.  To get into or out of the post office, you first enter a glass booth after pressing a button requesting entry.  Then, when the door behind you closes, the door in front opens and you can walk into the post office.   The Amex office was also like this.  We visited the US Consulate to check into advisories and visa needs.  One of our post-race options was to visit a few other countries - possibly Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique; probably not Zimbabwe due to the political unrest caused by the impending national elections.  At the consulate, we reviewed the notebook of current advisories on all the countries, found out that Lesotho has fairly strict visa requirements that we would not be able to manage.  So it appeared that Swaziland, where Tom was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the 70s, was probably our best (only?) option for border crossing.  We decided to decide after the race.

We walked back to the hotel to rest and prepare for the race.   The hotel had a special runner’s buffet featuring lots of pasta which we enjoyed a great deal.  Then up to our rooms to try to sleep.  I may have slept an hour, but mostly just laid there and tossed and turned most of the night, being nervous and running the race in my head.