Originally posted on cruisingrunner
No, the title of this blog post isn’t some clever metaphor, because literally, I went running on an airport runway. We recently spent almost two weeks in Funafuti, the main atoll of the country of Tuvalu, where they have an airstrip that was originally built by the U.S. during World War II. Apparently, the Americans used Funafuti as a staging area for preparation for the Battle of Tarawa in the neighboring island nation of Kiribati (where we are headed next, by the way). The airstrip today is used as the only airport in Tuvalu, therefore by definition it’s an international airport, with twice weekly flights to/from Fiji. The island is not very big, and it’s long and narrow, so the airstrip runs right down the middle of town taking up much of the usable land.
But the airstrip is much more than a runway. In the early morning and early evening it’s a hub of community activity. There are walkers and joggers, rugby games and soccer games, kids riding bicycles and, of course, tons of motor bikes zipping along. During the heat of the day, mostly all that remains are the motor bikes and an occasional car or truck. There are no fences or security barriers, but one of the local women told me that all of this activity is technically “illegal” and that you aren’t actually allowed to be on the runway. Clearly this law isn’t enforced in any way.
Runway or playground?
When it’s time for a plane to land, there still isn’t much in the way of security. The fire engine comes out and gives three warning sirens spaced about 5-10 minutes apart, although I don’t remember the exact timing. After the first and second warning you still see a few motorbikes crossing the runway, but by the third siren, it’s mostly clear. We were able to stand basically right on the side of the runway as the plane touched down. Seriously, it would have been harder to get any closer without standing right on the runway itself. When it’s plane time, the entire airport vicinity becomes buzzing with activity. Women set up handicraft displays and there’s tons of people just milling about. Taxis are in the parking lot and the duty free truck shows up for last minute purchases by the departing passengers. After the plane takes off again, the activity gradually dissipates and everything goes back to normal.
Plane day!
So, after we were a few days there in Funafuti, I joined the evening crowd on the runway and went for a slow, hot run. Unfortunately, I went just a little too early, and the sun was still a bit too high in the sky, so I pretty much overheated after 10 minutes. But I was stubborn about it, and didn’t quit until I completed a full lap, up and back, of the runway.
Gresham Family Exodus 