Safra Bay Run & Army Half Marathon 2009 (1 of 3)

Strapped tight to a distinctive steel chair and about to be hurled into the air at a force many would not get to experience in their lifetime, I felt resigned to my fate having no energy left to resist.

"Are you all usually so quiet?" asked the man in black, a big jovial character with a bald head and a thick beard.

"Only when we're about to die," replied our friend on my right. That got all of us laughing.

After making sure my two friends and I were all safely bolted, the same fellow stepped away from the platform and made his way to the controls.

He broke our silence again a few minutes later.

"Do you prefer a countdown or —"

"Yes, please," came my hurried but enthusiastic reply, cutting him off.

"Alright!" he said. "One..."

Before I realized it we were being catapulted into the air at an impossible height in such a short period of time at a previously unimaginable speed. Just a few minutes earlier there were four of us free falling from a height of about 50 meters, held by the same type of straps and cradled by the same kind of chair. This time, there was room only enough for three. I had chickened out first but the only female among us wouldn't allow herself to be outdone. That's how I got myself into that position, a high and adrenalin-pumping at that. I raised my hands in an act of bravery and surrender, like I had done during the free fall, copying my friend Paul actually, letting out a scream while praying all the while for a safe landing and a strong heart that wouldn't fail me.

That was about eight hours after I completed my first 21 km run at the Safra Bay Run and Army Half Marathon. But that's getting ahead of the story, let me start from the beginning.

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To be continued...