Prisons Cross Country Championships

The Kenya Prisons Cross Country cometition was held over the weekend in Ruiru which is just outside of Nairobi. It was held at the Prisons Staff Training College which is where all employees of the Prisons go to school and learn their jobs. (It also happens to be where Catherine met her husband, Anthony, and where her sister was when we filmed there last year. But that's getting off track!) Before the race I read several articles online that mentioned that Catherine was competing for this or that, one of those being the senior title. It was refreshing however to read today that at least one article got it right as to Catherine's intentions in the race. I know they got it right because I spoke to her last night after the race as she was relaxing with Anthony watching some news before going to sleep. The truth is, Catherine (as with many other elite athletes) does not run every race to win. When she is training for a big marathon, each race leading up to that has a purpose in her training plan. When I spoke with her she was very content with the run, especially given the fact that she has been fighting a nasty cold. (When we filmed her training run in Kenya, she was also battling a cold). I  know how hard it is to breathe with a cold without having to run, so I certainly can't imagine how it feels to run any distance with one! But this is something that athletes deal with all the time. Regardless of the cold or that she still came in 12th overall, Catherine was at the race as much to support her Prisons team as to get in a good training run!

As always, she spoke eloquently during her post race interviews and you can read what she had to say here (about half way down the page):  post race interview with Catherine Ndereba 

By the way, stay tuned for an announcement once Catherine signs paperwork for a spring marathon!