Yokohama reunion

Catherine, her manager Lisa Buster and her coach El Mostafa Nechchadi all arrived safely in Yokohama earlier in the week in order for Catherine to acclimate to the time zone. Today, her husband, Anthony arrived as he is always there to support her for a marathon. It always amazes me how dedicated he is to her career and what an important part of Catherine's success he has been! He left Kenya on Thursday, arriving in Japan on Friday evening. Before his body adjusts to the time difference, he will be back on a plane on Monday for the long trip back to Kenya. It's quite a long way to go for a weekend! But he would never have it any other way; he re-arranges his work schedule, he misses classes at the university where he is studying at night, and he drags his tired butt across the world because he WANTS to and he loves being Catherine's support. I have spoken with many elite athletes over the past year and there is a common theme whenever I ask what makes them successful and what is most important about being an accomplished athlete. Each and every one has stated that it is a strong support system that is key to their success. Catherine is fortunate to have a rock solid support system in Anthony, Lisa and Mostafa!

Good luck to all the participants on Sunday at the Yokohama Women's Marathon and Go Catherine!

Sunday May 10, 2009

Today we interviewed a former Olympian and London and NYC Marathon champion, Douglas Wakiihuri. He was the first Kenyan man to win a gold medal at the World Championships in 1987. He lived and trained in Japan for many years and is very well-spoken and we interviewed him about women in athletics and how things have changed since he was competing. He invited us to Nairobi National Park where he is organizing an event later this month called the Sotokoto Safari Marathon. He has combined his ties with Japan and his love of the marathon to put together this event that will only be a half marathon this year but will progress into a full marathon next. The starting point is inside the game park at the ivory burning site and the finish line is there as well. (They will have rangers on duty the day of the race to ensure protection against any animals). He was very interesting and I’m looking forward to his race; he granted us permission to film the start and finish and Catherine’s brother, Cyrus, will participate in the race as will Irene Limika and Nephat Kinyanjui, two of Lisa’s other runners.

After the interview, we had lunch with Douglas and then Irene met me at the Park with her daughter, Deborah and her husband and another friend. Deborah is so adorable! Douglas provided a ride back to our apartment for all of us and I spent some time with Irene and her family at Wasini. Once Deborah decided it was time to go they went back home . :)

Post Olympics

Today Catherine arrived from Beijing after a long day of traveling, however, her journey was not even close to being over. I picked her up at the airport just after 7am and she left for Kenya just after 8pm. She will arrive in Nairobi Thursday evening and leave Friday morning for Mombasa. She made a comment earlier that was very cute: "I'll be in the air so much I'm like a bird!"

When she arrived she look well rested and she told me of the wonderful time she had in China both at the Olympics and sightseeing in and around Beijing. When we got back to the athletes house I asked to see her silver medal. It was absolutely beautiful! It is in an oriental looking silver box with a pattern on it similar to small paisleys and it is fastened by a small toggle. Inside is a red lining with a gorgeous shiny red box. On top of the box it says Beijing 2008 with the Olympic rings. When you open that box you see the silver medal fitted into a little recessed circular area and the neck ribbon gets tucked underneath in a separate little compartment. I wanted to take some photos of Catherine with her medal but her phone kept ringing! Everyone knew she was back! While I waited for her to get off of the phone, each of the other athletes tried on the silver medal while I took their photographs. They were all so inspired and each of them mentioned how much they would like an Olympic medal!

When Catherine was off the phone I took several photos of her with her medal. She was wearing a red shirt and blended right in with the beautifully packaged medal!


After a short visit that included some Kenyan tea, I left because Catherine had a very hectic day running around taking care of various errands as well as fitting in a visit to the Chiropractor! She gave me the camcorder that she and Anthony used to take videos while in China and I have watched several; they had great fun with it!