Our District Cross Country competitions have been happening ahead of a Divisional Competition in Mzuzu. I decide to travel with the lorry north as it collects the runners from Chitipa, Karonga and Rumphi. I have designed a course around the Mzuzu Government School area. At one point the route crossed a little stream over a wooden bridge. Some teachers said it was too dangerous but others soon quietened them down. All the teachers were allocated jobs and Captain Tembo from Moyale Barracks was our official starter.

We had four runners per district in each age category except Mr. HC Nyirenda in Rumphi who had misunderstood and only sent four in total. The atmosphere was brilliant. Banners hung across the start and finish line. When the gun went off it was all elbows and pushing as the field set off. There were no controversial moments and everyone had a great experience. We had held a very successful race and our Northern team easily picked itself. We have a training camp immediately that lasted three days and then we head for Lilongwe in the back of the school truck. As per custom we pick a few paying passengers on the outskirts of Mzuzu so we can buy the children a bag of greasy chips at the roadside. You wouldn’t get away with that in England and all the safeguarding policies. In Lilongwe I have a discussion with an official on the finish line as the ‘funnel’ is the finish line about a metre wide. I ask him what happens if two or three runners finish at the same time. He says that never happens except it did in the first race. My job was to record the runners as they finished. The races started and I got up to listen to reports coming in from around the course. Kalombo wasn’t happy I had left my seat in case someone finishes. They have just started I told him. He later reported my behaviour back to Mr. Msiska who just laughed. Our boys were amazing. Our six man Under 14 team finished 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 5^th, 6^th and 8^th. In the Under 20 race John Kayange finished 1^st even after people had sent him the wrong way on purpose. It is my 33^rd birthday and the North is crowned cross country champions of Malawi. Kalombo couldn’t even look me in the face. We absolutely dominated the event. Our boys won in all age categories.

The post mortem meeting was painful as Kalombo and Ackim Mukolongo set about the north with lots of allegations. I have a big bust up with Kalombo as he told me we had cheated at the last football competition. He shouted at me ‘go back to England if you don’t like it’. I have a meeting with Kalombo in his office when we have both settled down. He said he ‘would only deal with fellow Malawians’ and that he ‘had a big issue with me and Sibale but not the Northern Division’. He just walked out half way through our meeting. I couldn’t believe what had happened. In Mzuzu I couldn’t resist sending Kalombo a thank you letter with a picture of the victorious northern team collecting the trophy. Kalombo just couldn’t even look at the camera. I just couldn’t resist it.