Imagine driving 4 hours for a 50km Ultramarathon... only to discover you forgot your running shoes.

Sometimes life doesn't need to be difficult. It just needs you to forget one very very very important thing.

So, I travelled to Hoima for an ultramarathon. I am running 50 kilometres for the first time. The Great Escarpment Ultra Run. This run is a dream run. It is one of Uganda's bucket-list runs, offering 25K, 42K, 50K and an intimidating 80K through the breathtaking landscapes around Hoima. Apparently, this is not like any other run. I have heard all sorts of myths and legends about it. I came to make my own story.  I have been looking forward to it for months.

In my excitement, I couldn't keep calm so I travelled 2 days prior to the run. Always be prepared. The 240km drive from Entebbe itself felt like the universe was cheering me on. I had planned to leave at 8:00 a.m. I actually left at 7:20am. 

There was hardly any traffic. The traffic police didn't stop me once. My coffee stayed hot, my playlist was perfect, and every kilometer closer to Hoima made me more excited. I could already picture myself crossing the finish line, looking like one of those runners in the adverts.

I arrived in Hoima just after eleven. Everything had gone according to plan.

Then I opened the boot to take out my luggage. I don't travel light so I had 4 bags for 3 nights. I took the bags out one by one, and finally, when it came to time to remove my shoe bag, it was no where to be seen. 

No running shoes! I closed the boot, opened it again, and still no shoes.

I had driven four hours to run 50 kilometers... without the one thing designed and needed for running 50 kilometers.

It's like going to dig without a hoe, or turning up to milk a cow without a pail, or arriving for a Maths A-level exam with a calculator. You can admire the effort, but you are not getting very far.

I had remembered everything else... the watch, energy bars, water bottle, socks. Yes... I remembered the socks, but just not the shoes that go with them.

For runners, shoes are sacred. People have long-run shoes, speed shoes, trail shoes, race-day shoes, recovery shoes. Some people own enough running shoes to open a small branch of a sports shop. I only have 6 pairs of active running shoes and I did not remember to carry 1 pair.

So, I just stood there wondering and looking for the silver lining behind this dark cloud, or maybe I could make some lemonade from these bitter lemons or better still find tequila and salt.

The silver lining came in form of a brain wave. This was going to be my moment to change the sport forever... What if shoes are overrated? What if I start barefoot ultrarunning? Forget carbon plates and fancy cushioning. How about running in socks? They are lightweight, breathable, and also guarantee you will know exactly where every stone, thorn and bottle top on the route is located.

That could be the next big trend. Next year's race will have a barefoot category. Runners will even say shoes have been slowing them down all these years.

Sigh! In reality, here I am, trying to figure out what to do next. 

Do I look for a sports shop?

Do I borrow a pair?

Do I ask another runner if they happen to have an extra pair of Asics gel Kayano 31 in size 7.5, my preferred long-distance shoes?

Do I become the founder of barefoot ultramarathoning?

Or do I just admit that the hardest part of an ultramarathon is not the running...

...it is remembering your shoes.

From where my feet are...

...I am still trying to figure out what happens next.