New IndieGoGo Campain-Help us reach the finish line in Boston!

Memories from Boston 2010

Well, we got a little taste of spring in Pennsylvania yesterday and it reminded me that it is one month away from the Boston Marathon and almost time for Catherine to arrive back here to prepare for it! Time has flown by and it was almost a year ago that Catherine unexpectedly suffered an injury that prevented her from running Boston. This year she is back in good form and every excited to go back to the race where she is the only woman to have won there four times!

Parents and students equally excited to meet the Kenyans at The Elmwood School 2010

I'm really looking forward to filming with Catherine in Boston again because last year it was amazing to see how she affected everyone there, even when she wasn't able to run. It was awesome to see her with the other Kenyans interacting with the students at the Elmwood School in Hopkinton for Adopt-A-Marathoner day. This year some of the elite athletes will be visiting a high school and this presents an opportunity that we can't miss; this is where Catherine is in her glory, interacting with young people, encouraging them, motivating them and sharing her experiences with them.

I have created a new, short term IndieGoGo campaign to raise the funds needed to film in Boston. The money will go towards paying the crew, hotel, meals, logging the footage and equipment. Whether or not you have donated before, please consider a donation to help us capture this special event. You can donate through the IndieGoGo website by clicking here .  Your contributions are tax deductible (to the extent of the law) due to WinCatherine being a fiscally sponsored project by Fractured Atlas.

If you prefer, you can also donate directly through the WinCatherine website.  It doesn't matter where you donate, but it does matter that you DO donate. Even as little as $10 or $20 will help us reach this short term goal! If you cannot make a contribution at this time, please pass the links on to your friends, family, Facebook friends, Twitter "tweeps", running clubs, bowling leagues, classmates, co-workers...you get the picture; anyone and everyone! The whole idea behind crowdfunding is a little from a lot of people works!

Stay tuned for progress and for reports from Boston. I'm looking forward to seeing Catherine at the end of the month when she is back in Philly; it seems like it has been so long!

Please help us reach the finish line of this short race; the longer race is still underway as we work towards completing WinCatherine: The Story of Wincatherine Nyambura Ndereba in time for the summer Olympics 2012!

2011 Updates

As we near spring (finally!), I wanted to post some updates on Catherine's schedule. She will be running the Boston Marathon this year and is looking forward to it after being unable to compete last year due to her injury. Her manager, Lisa Buster, is working on creating a full schedule of events but for now, in addition to Boston, she will run a Half Marathon at the Gifu Marathon in Gifu Japan.

Gifu is the birthplace of Naoko Takahashi, and she will be in attendance. Catherine and Naoko hold a special bond; Takahashi held the womens' marathon world record (2:19:46)for only six days before Catherine smashed it with her 2:18:47 in Chicago 2001. I met Naoko Takahashi at the Sotokoto Marathon in Nairobi when we were filming in Kenya. She was lovely and had only great things to say about Catherine and she was sorry they didn't get a chance to visit with each other then. It is nice that they will get to visit together at Gifu.

There have been many news articles now that Catherine has "bowed to pressure" and will run the World Championships again this summer looking for a third title. It's not so much "bowing to pressure" as it is that she has wanted to give some of the younger girls the opportunity to compete, and there are a limited number of positions available on the team. Catherine is already the only woman to have won the World Championships twice.

As for filming of the documentary, we are still looking for funding. Film funding is highly competitive and we're hoping that the message this film brings will attract the sponsorship needed. Please remember to pass along our websites to your friends, family, business associates and anyone else you think may be able to help. It is through your help that we will finish the film in time for the 2012 Olympics!

http://wincatherine.com/        http://wincatherine.blogspot.com/ 

http://www.facebook.com/WinCatherine

Happy Holidays

I spoke to Catherine on Christmas Eve and she was in great spirits being home for Christmas! Anthony was on "stand by" for work so they were unable to spend the holiday with his parents so they took Jane and Kevin (Catherine's nephew) to Anthony's parents to spend the day and Catherine stayed home to be with Anthony. They plan on going to church on Christmas morning and then having a bbq with friends after. It definitely is a joyous time of year in the Ndereba household :)

Catherine told me all about her recent trip to Japan which was for a different reason than her usual trips there. She filmed an episode of Fuji TV's Junk Sports and said it was a lot of fun! She "competed" alone against several teams and they did some running and from what it sounds like, it was a type of obstacle course. I would love to see it and will check to see if Fuji TV broadcasts online! If anyone catches the program, please let me know how it was!

Finally, as the year ends, I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year. I am grateful for the support we have had to date for the film "WinCatherine" and am optimistic that the New Year will bring much needed sponsors and support. We really need to get the film edited and the remaining footage shot so it can be complete in time for the 2012 Olympic season. Please ask your friends, family and colleagues to visit the website  www.wincatherine.com and contribute what they can.
 

Update on Catherine Ndereba and WinCatherine

Wow I hadn't realized how time has flown since my last post! With Catherine back in Kenya and so much work to do, the time just got away from me!

To get up to date, the IndieGoGo campaign ended and even though we fell short of our $10,000 goal, we have not given up! There are too many people looking forward to this film and to Catherine's story. Especially now that many American celebrities have taken up the cause against bullying, I feel it is important to get this story out to the world. Catherine is an excellent example of a child who did not let the bullies get her down, who did not let bullying define her or prevent her from achieving her goals! She also does not harbor resentment towards those who bullied her. 

I recall when we were filming in Kenya at her secondary school, Ngorano Secondary, one of the teachers had sent word that Catherine would be there and several of her former classmates were there when we arrived to film. I learned that one of the men there was one of the biggest bullies to her when she attended there! She treated him with the same respect as she did the others. She did not need to point out to him what his past actions were. Standing there as the success she is I'm sure was reminder enough to this man that his actions in the past were inappropriate. I can only hope that he has raised his children to be more respectful than he was.

Whether it is called teasing, bullying, or just plain being mean, how children treat each other is a major topic of discussion in the world today and for good reason. Children need to embrace their individuality and need to be more tolerant of others. This is one of the main messages we want to impart in the film.

Moving on to news of Catherine, she returned to Kenya at the end of October in time to be present for Jane's graduation ceremonies from Primary school to Secondary school! This was extremely important to both Catherine and her daughter because probably the biggest sacrifice Catherine has had to make for her career is the time she has missed watching Jane grow up. It was a very special occasion for the family to be together for this important event!  Catherine has been spending time at home with her family and enjoying having everyone together!

When Catherine left here, she had just finished nursing an injury to her foot that she sustained at a race she ran in Virginia. When I spoke with her she told me she has been increasing her mileage by 5 miles each week and was feeling great!  She should be up to about 30 or 35 miles a week by now.

As for news on the film, we are still in need of funds to get the footage edited. We are looking for individual donors as well as corporate sponsors. We know there are organizations out there that would love to be associated with this film and promote the central themes of womens empowerment, Title IX issues and the importance of girls in sports and education, anti-bullying, health and fitness and faith. If you or anyone you know may be interested in supporting the film with a sponsorship, please get in touch with me at stefani@sparklinblueproductions.com. 

Finally, I'd like to welcome any readers from Women Talk Sports; you'll notice their badge on this blog page. Please visit the site and check out the many great articles, blogs and contributors there!

Post Fundraiser

So it has been two weeks since the “Prefontaine Film & Fundraiser” to benefit the making of the documentary film WinCatherine: The Story of Wincatherine Nyambura Ndereba and I am just now getting to posting about it. I apologize for the delay. Life has been very hectic and time was marching by but I wanted to share my thoughts.

I am very grateful to Johnny King-Marino for suggesting this event and for promoting it to his patients, co-workers, running clubs and friends, as well as for bringing on sponsors to cover the cost of the theater! It was a very generous gesture on his part and I am deeply grateful.

The night started off well when I actually got a metered parking space right outside of the theater.  It doesn’t sound that important, but I had a lot of items to get out of the car and into the theater.  The staff at The County Theater was great; they were so nice and very accommodating. They gave us a table to display concessions and allowed us to sell whatever we wanted so the proceeds could go to the film. They even donated the popcorn for us to sell!

Audience patiently awaits the event to begin

 I called the event for 6:30 expecting it would take time for people to get settled before starting with the trailer at 6:45. I didn’t count on people arriving early and the matinee before us to run a little beyond 6:30 but everyone was patient!

Catherine arrived with her manager, Lisa (who is also my sister), as well as Simon Ndirangu, (one of her training mates while in Norristown) my parents and Dr. Johnny. They had all gone out for Philadelphia cheesesteaks before! 

Catherine & manager Lisa Buster greet attendees

Catherine greets attendees

 

The audience awaits the start

Catherine in the audience

By 7pm it was time to start with the showing of the WinCatherine trailer. 

The WinCatherine trailer plays before an almost full house

When it ended Prefontaine began. I was nervous but knew that no matter what, people would leave the theater inspired! The time flew and before I knew it the films were over. I had wanted Catherine to speak to everyone but she did not want to. I am not good at speaking in front of audiences but wanted to thank everyone for coming out and supporting us. I was able to speak better than I expected and I sincerely believe that was because I am passionate about WinCatherine! I feel it is so important for all of us to have role models who have been able to overcome teasing and obstacles to realize their dreams. Especially in light of recent news and so much awareness now about bullying and teasing, Catherine’s ability to persevere in the face of adversity is truly inspiring.

Speaking to the audience after

When the event ended, Catherine stayed behind to talk to people and take photographs with them.

Catherine poses with fans George Bruno & Karla Kay Shantz

 Many people thanked us for a nice evening and I was relieved that people were not only entertained, but also inspired. My hope is that the people who attended will pass on the WinCatherine website, blog and IndieGoGo websites and generate more donations. We really need to raise more money and finally get into editing; we are getting so close to the end of 2010 and that means closer to the 2012 Olympics and I know we need to capitalize on the Olympic momentum that will start building in 2011! 

 

Simon Ndirangu (L) & Catherine Ndereba (R)

There are ONLY 30 DAYS LEFT on our IndieGoGo campaign.  Please don’t forget to visit WinCatherine on IndieGoGo to make your donation and you can help make WinCatherine a reality!


   

Catherine Ndereba & my mom, Arlene Buster

Me and Catherine Ndereba

Post Crim and Some Blogs to Check Out

Catherine returned to Flint, MI this past weekend to run the 2010 Crim Festival of Races 10 mile. When asked how many time she had won the race, she said "like three or four times" but someone corrected her that it was actually SIX times! She really had no idea just how successful she has been at the Crim!  She won every year from 1996-2002 except for 1997 when she was pregnant and did not run.  She had not been back since 2002 because each year since, she has been training for either the World Championships or the Olympics, and it did not fit into her training schedule. She was genuinely glad to be back and had told me while we were cooking the weekend before, that she was looking forward to it. She placed 5th and was very happy with that. She has now run three races since coming off her injury and she's feeling healthy. Her speed work is also progressing so things are good!

As for the documentary, we are still looking for donations and sponsors for the film and hopefully this week we will see a new surge in people who want to see this film happen and are able to donate.  Several bloggers have written posts and I'd like to thank them here.

I want to send a huge shout out to Leah at her Chasing Atlanta blog. She wrote a post about WinCatherine and asked her readers to check out our websites and help out if they can! Chasing Atlanta is a great running blog so please check it out and look through her previous posts as well. 

I also want to send a big thank you to Ryan at I Run Flint for the blog post letting his readers know about the WinCatherine documentary and asking them for help as well! Please check out his blog that is also full of inspiring stories. Ryan also sent in photos taken of Catherine at the Crim race last weekend. 

Thanks also to everyone who has already helped out and supports this inspirational film. Keep passing on our IndieGoGo campaign to your friends and family and together we will make it happen!

photo courtesy of Ryan Litwiller

photo courtesy of Ryan Litwiller

photo courtesy of Ryan Litwiller

Back in the USA

It had been awhile since I'd seen Catherine; the last time was when we drove back from Boston after the marathon there. Her flight back to Kenya had been canceled due to the volcano ash and her trip home was postponed. So it was really nice to see her on Sunday and catch up on everything! I arrived at the Norristown training home where there are currently four Kenyan athletes living: Catherine, her brother, Samuel Ndereba,

(sura ya kazi!)

Irene Limika and Simon Ndirangu.

Fortunately, it was Sunday, the day no one trains  because it is the day for church and relaxation. The weather the past few days had been ridiculously hot & humid; above 95F, and they all said how difficult the heat was. So not a good day to train but, it was a perfect day to go produce shopping! Thankfully, as soon as we were ready to leave, the skies opened up and a huge storm passed through, cooling off the sticky temperature by over 20 degrees; it felt SO nice!

When we got back from the produce store, Catherine started cutting up vegetables. She loves to cook and I love watching and learning. I am hoping to be able to cook like the Kenyans soon! They use all fresh ingredients and the stews are SO good! So I watch and take mental notes. I reminded Catherine about her promise to teach me how to make Mukimo and she said she definitely will soon. I can't wait! In the meantime, I took good notes on how to make Chapati. It is really a team effort both on the track and off with this group of runners managed by Lisa Buster. In the house, they all take turns preparing meals and sometimes even prepare them together. I find it interesting especially since in Kenya it is definitely NOT that way. There, the women do the cooking and you generally will not see the men in the kitchen! I mentioned that to Samuel and Simon and they both agreed that is true but here in the U.S. they all work together!

Here you can see how they all made Chapati as a team!

First, Samuel mixes the dough; today he combined some Chapati (whole wheat) flour with some white flour, he mixed in some shredded carrots and combined with enough water to make the dough. It almost looks like pizza dough!

Simon Ndirangu (L) & Samuel Ndereba (R)

Then he put some oil on the table so the dough wouldn't stick and rolled the dough out very thin. The next step was to score the dough vertically with a knife so the dough now stood in strips.

Next was to roll up the strips into pinwheels (looking almost like a Cinnabon!) He then dipped the pinwheels in flour, dusting each one lightly.

 

 Then it was time to roll out each "bun" into a perfectly formed circle that looked almost like a large pancake!

It was at this point that Irene stepped in; she would take each "pancake" and cook it in a very hot, cast-iron pan, carefully turning it often so it doesn't burn (trust me, you have to be careful! Last year in Kenya Catherine's mother taught me how to make Chapati and let me make a few. Catherine was able to pick out every one I made because they were a little burned!)

Once Irene had cooked each Chapati, it was time for Simon to step in. He took each one, put it in the cast-iron pan and basted it lightly with oil making sure not to burn them. And that was it! Chapati was ready!

In the meantime, Catherine was working on the stew. All the fresh veges she had cut up were simmering nicely to form it. Finally it was time for dinner and well worth the wait as always! 

Catherine was in great spirits and said she's feeling great and looking forward to some upcoming races; the Beach to Beacon in Maine August 7th and the Cigna Falmouth Road Race August 15th. 

It was a fun, relaxing afternoon/evening with everyone and I'm looking forward to more days like it. Welcome back Catherine!

Here we had some fun taking our own photos!  There's no hiding that Catherine & Samuel are brother and sister!

Me & Catherine

    

  Me & Samuel

Me & Irene

A Birthday Home Then Back in the USA

July 21, 2009 Catherine's birthday celebration

Well here it is mid-July and it has been a bit unusual not having Catherine here in the United States.  Except for the year she had Jane, this will be the first year in 15 that she will celebrate her birthday on July 21st IN Kenya with her husband! She has been in the United States training and competing every other year. The photo here was taken at her birthday celebration in the U.S. last year and for fun I photoshopped Anthony in to the picture. I'm glad she'll actually be with him this year so they can celebrate his birthday a little early with her as well (his is July 25th). She will, however, spend part of the day traveling as she leaves that night and arrives back in Philadelphia on the 22nd. Fortunately though, she has been training in Kenya and nursing her torn muscle back to health and hopefully will be in top form again in no time!

As for the film, things are moving along but we are still feeling the effects of the economy and raising the budget is taking longer than expected. The good news is, we have extended our IndieGoGo campaign and you can still donate (even as little as $10) to help! Just think, if Catherine Ndereba's story can inspire one girl to pursue her dreams, one girl to make a better life for herself, you will be a part of that! Please check out the IndieGoGo campaign donate whatever you can to help.

We want to send out a very special thanks to Marathonguide.com for their generous donation to WinCatherine! Marathonguide.com is a great website for " Everything Marathoning - Information, Results & More" and you can check them out here: marathonguide.com

I'll be sure to post some new photos as soon as I see Catherine after her arrival!

Catherine at the Safaricom Lewa Marathon 2010

Catherine and her husband, Anthony were in Isiolo this past weekend to attend the 2010 Safaricom Lewa Marathon. It is the only marathon held entirely within a game reserve and the race benefits the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy. Even though she did not run, Catherine and Anthony came out to support Safaricom and the Conservancy. You can read more about the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy here.

I know people run marathons for many different reasons but but I'm especially fond of this worthy cause. It is so important to protect the wildlife. I can only imagine how awesome it must be to be running alongside such amazing animals! I wonder if part of the motivation to keep going is to outrun the lions! :-)

Please don't forget to stop by and support our fundraising campaign at our Official Website or at our IndieGoGo site.  We need your help!

WinCatherine on IndieGoGO now accepting Tax-Deductible Donations!

I mentioned an announcement would be coming regarding the IndieGoGo campaign and now it is official: Our fiscal sponsor, Fractured Atlas, has now  partnered with IndieGoGo which is great news for anyone making a donation to WinCatherine!  Now in addition to choosing a perk or incentive for your donation, your contribution is tax-deductible (to the extent of the law)! Click here to visit WinCatherine on IndieGoGoo;  check it out and be a part of making this film happen!    

Now on to other news:

I spoke to Catherine today for the first time since her return from the UK in conjunction with the Kenyan Community Bedford program (see previous post). She said it was an excellent trip! Along with a few other top elite athletes from Kenya,  they visited an elementary school, a high school and a university where they ran with the students.  They visited a hospital where Kenyan Community Bedford has been involved with raising money to support the children's ward, and they also did a run on Saturday with adults. The program was designed to  inspire both the British and Kenyan people in the communities.  The schedule was quite busy and there was not much time for training but Catherine said it was all a great experience!

Photo by Ken courtesy of Kenyan Community Bedford

Catherine is now back in Kenya again and continues to heal from the injury to her piriformis muscle which forced her to withdraw from the Boston Marathon back in April. At this time she is not in pain and has just begun to add speed work back into her training.  One of Catherine's many strengths is that she has always been able to listen to her body and progress as she sees fit. She's hoping to be fully healed soon so she can resume her racing! For now she is enjoying being back home with her family. Her daughter arrives home tomorrow for an extended weekend break from school and Catherine is very excited to spend time with her and celebrate Jane's belated 13th birthday!

Want to see footage from Catherine's visit to the UK and much more?  Please don't forget to check out the IndieGoGo campaign and our website and donate whatever you can to help us get this film finished; there is a lot of amazing footage and interviews waiting to be assembled!

WinCatherine on IndieGoGo, RunnersWeb.com and more....

Much has been going on since my last post. First, we now have an IndieGoGo campaign going to raise money to get to the next stage of the film. click here for WinCatherine on IndieGoGo We have many hours of footage shot with Catherine in Kenya, London and Boston and more that need to be logged. We have interviews that need to be translated from Swahili and Kikuyu. And, we need to edit a longer cut to submit with an application to apply for a grant from the Sundance Documentary Fund! Crowd funding is fairly new and people have been having much success with it by appealing to their audiences to help fund what they want to see. Do you want to see an inspirational film about how Catherine Ndereba was able to defy the conventions of a male dominated society and rise from a remote village in Kenya to become the great athlete that she is? Every runner, every student, every athlete of any type can benefit from the lessons learned by dedication and hard work so this is your chance to make a difference and help get the film made! Pass it on to your friends, family, running clubs, Facebook friends, and even enemies :-) With as little as $10 you can make a difference if you pass it along!

Today, RunnersWeb.com posted a link to WinCatherine on several of their pages! If you go to the home page, http://www.runnersweb.com/ the trailer is right there! Also, if you navigate on the left and go down to "Women's Sites" at the bottom, it will take you to a page that lists an incredible number of sites pertaining to women's running and we are listed alphabetically under WinCatherine! (hmmmm, maybe a change of name to bring that up to the top!)

Now on to news about Catherine. On June 6th she will arrive in Bedford, UK along with a group of Kenyan runners with a mission of inspiring members of the community there. The program is being set up with the co-operation of Bedford Borough Partnership and Kenyan Community Bedford. (You can read the announcement here and what they hope to do: Kenyan Athletes to visit Bedford.) This is the list of athletes attending from Kenya: marathon runners Paul Tergat, Catherine Ndereba, Duncan Kibet and Samuel Wanjiru, with middle distance runners Wilfred Bungei and Benjamin Limo..Notice anything here?  I find it interesting that Catherine is the only woman among the group! There are many talented female Kenyan athletes now but Catherine is the only one invited on this mission. In my opinion, this demonstrates how much of a hero Catherine is to her country.  On the other hand, does it also show that women are still much farther behind the men in representation in Kenya?

Catherine is still working on recovering from her injury so was not able to take part in the Prison Championships this year. It was odd for me not being there either; I was there the past two years! I miss Kenya and look forward to getting back there one day to complete filming. I learned some sad news last week regarding someone I was looking forward to interviewing. He was a man who literally helped Catherine start her career and I learned he passed away suddenly from a heart attack. I spoke with his wife and she said he always followed Catherine's career with so much pride. I'm sorry that I will never meet Rajesh Padia but look forward to meeting his wife Kalpa when I go back. (when you see the film you'll learn what his role was in Catherine's journey).

I wish all the Kenyan athletes a safe journey to Bedford and look forward to hearing all about it upon their return.

Please don't forget to promote the IndieGoGo campaign! This is a great way to help get a film made that YOU want to see!  http://www.indiegogo.com/WinCatherine-The-Story-of-Wincatherine-Nyambura-Ndereba

Boston Race Week

This is the first time I’ve had to write a blog entry since arriving in Boston. I decided it was best to drive up so left around 9:30 on Wednesday morning and made great time; I got into Newton by 3pm and that included stopping a few times along the way. I needed to pick up some digital storage cards for the camera we would be using during the week. After picking up the cards I had to stop at the John Hancock convention center which is where the elite athletes stay. Since Lisa, Catherine and Moses were flying up, and since both Catherine and Moses will return to Kenya from Boston, I said I would transport their additional baggage in my car so they wouldn’t have to pay the airline “per bag” charge so I wanted to drop the bags off for them. It was a very short distance to my hotel and I was still checked into The Lenox Hotel by 4pm! The room is really lovely and the sales/marketing manager, Scott, made sure to reserve the room with the absolute BEST view of the Boston Marathon Finish line for me! The view looks down Boylston Street and although the actual finish line graphics weren’t painted on yet, you could see the faded line that is always there throughout the year. I could also watch as the crews down below setting up the bleachers.

I decided to take a little walk to see how long it would take to get to the Fairmont Copley Plaza which is where many of the media events will be held.

The weather was perfect; a little breezy and fairly close to 70 degrees! I returned from my excursion just in time to hear from my good friend Richard from my Boston University days. He had just attended his daughter’s school play and was heading in to pick me up. I was excited to see him because it had been almost 13 years since the last time I saw him! He picked me up and drove me around some old haunts of ours including the BU campus and the apartment where we used to live with some other people. I didn’t have the guts to go up and knock on the door to see who lives there now! After driving around a bit more he took me out to the suburb where he lives and I got to see Laurie, his wife and his daughter Samantha. (His other daughter was away at college). They have an adorable, tiny yorkie named Chloe and it was fun to play with her! After visiting for a bit we headed back into the city and Richard took me to his favorite restaurant there. It was excellent and it was fun to just sit and talk and reminisce about our BU days. Finally it got pretty late and since I had such a long day coming up I needed to get some sleep.

I got back to the hotel and into bed as quickly as possible because I was exhausted from the long drive. It was only 12:30am but I knew I’d have no problem falling asleep. No sooner had I dozed off then I heard a text message. It was 1:30am when I finally looked at that text and read that my cinematographer was still in LA! It turns out there was a fire on the plane and the flight had been delayed. He said they hoped to be into Boston by 7:30 am; I was nervous because we were scheduled to be at a location an hour away at 7:30 am! Needless to say, I didn’t get much sleep that night worrying about whether or not we would make it!

Instead of getting up at 5:30am, I got up at 6:30 and waited to hear news of the flight. Finally, at 7:30am I heard from Russ that his flight was in. I knew he still had to deplane, get his bags, take a cab to his brother’s place and pack some gear before getting to me so I made the decision to leave without him and just meet him in Hopkinton which was about a 50 minute drive. I did not want to be late! It turned out to be the right move because I got there just after Catherine and the other athletes did.

Hopkinton is the starting point of the Boston Marathon and each year the Elmwood School in Hopkinton hosts a program called Adopt-A-Marathoner. The short version is that the elite Kenyan athletes participating in the marathon come to the school and talk to the children. The students spend the month leading up to this day learning about Kenya and by the time the day arrives they are so excited! I was so excited for the event because I know how much Catherine loves kids and you can see her light up when she is around them. As much as the children get out of this program I know Catherine gets just as much. The athletes are announced just like a team of professional athletes at the biggest playoff game of the year; dried ice fills the entrance, spot lights swirl around the gymnasium and an announcer with a booming voice introduces each athlete by mentioning their name and major accomplishments. The athlete then dances out of the entrance with arms raised in the air and then makes a circle around a designated area and all the while the kids hi-five them. The atmosphere is electric! It’s an awesome program that the kids look forward to each year and never forget. The Elmwood school is just for second and third graders and the third graders actually experience the athletes in their classroom as well as in the gym for the big event! After the main event, a class of students does a short two lap run with the athletes around the circle in front of the school. It was great to film this event and to talk to a few of the older students from the track team that were invited back to participate.

After interviewing the principal, Ilene Silver, Russ and I headed out to film the starting line of the race. Unfortunately, we were scheduled to shoot more exterior shots today but since Russ’s flight was delayed the plan had to change. It was rush hour now and there where awful shadows across the road so we had to wait for them to go away! We finally got our shots and then headed back into Boston. We stopped at a tiny Thai restaurant in Brookline on the way back and it was really good! It was a long day but we got some great footage at the Elmwood School!

On Friday we stopped at the Fairmont Copley Plaza to pick up our press credentials then attended the elite athlete press conference. It was short and sweet and then the elite athletes broke out to table to field questions from reporters. I interviewed Denise Robson, a single mother of three who after a divorce went for a run with some co-workers and is now among the elite masters runners. She was really cool and her outlook and attitude were amazing! I also interviewed legendary runner Bill Rodgers who won four Boston Marathons and four NYC Marathons!

After the press conference, we went to the ribbon cutting opening the Expo and then called it a day so Russ could go back to where he’s staying and get the data downloaded from the camera and backed up! I met with another college friend for dinner and got to meet her husband and 3 year old son. I stayed out later than I wanted to but it was fun!

Saturday was a rainy, chilly day in Boston. First on tap was a breakfast organized to recognize past winners of the Boston Marathon. I interviewed two ladies who were both past winners and both had interesting things to say.  

(Lisa Rainsberger) 

I also spoke to a woman who was the winner of the Boston Marathon in Iraq! Afterwards I interviewed a former director of the Boston Marathon  

Tim Kilduff

and then filmed Catherine speaking on a panel at the Expo. 

(L: Helen  Cherono R: Catherine Ndereba)

I learned during the day that Lisa had an extra spot available for the Red Sox game where some of the past winners were going to throw out the first pitch. We had dinner in the Players Club and it was sponsored by John Hancock. They have a program where employees can get help training for the Boston Marathon either in person, or for those who don’t live in Boston, they get the same training via the web. Catherine and a few other athletes were invited to mingle with these runners as well as do the first pitch. Unfortunately, the Red Sox game last night was called due to rain and it was tied 1-1 in the bottom of the 9th inning when that happened. They had to finish the game tonight and it was already the 12th inning when we were told we wouldn’t be staying. It had gotten too late and we learned it would be at least 45 minutes between the end of the current game (which no one knew how long it would go) and the start of the second game. The directors didn’t want the athletes to be out too late so we went “home”. It was raining and cold anyway! I was exhausted but determined to get a blog entry written!