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!

Catherine Ndereba heads to Lisbon & WinCatherine getting noticed!

I can't believe how quickly the time is flying. It seems just yesterday that I was posting Catherine had started her spring marathon training! Now here we are already at the warm up race before the Boston Marathon! Catherine will run the Lisbon Half Marathon this weekend. She left today for the Sunday race so there should be plenty of time to adjust to the long flight and time change. Before I know it, she will be back here in Pennsylvania training! I surely hope we are finished with the snow for this year; I would hate to see Catherine turn around and run away from that!

Some good new about the film! We are starting to get recognized by blogs around the web and HOPEFULLY this will turn into donations so we can get back to editing! Check out these blog posts on WinCatherine.

RunBlogRun is a running blog by Larry Eder who is no stranger to writing about Athletics! (His other site, www.runningnetwork.com is a very popular and informative site as well) He posted a great piece asking the running community to help support the film; please check it out here: RunBlogRun article

RunTri.com is a cool site whose mission is to: "Inspire you to envision, strive for and achieve success that once seemed impossible"; they are a "non-profit resource providing practical training and racing advice to athletes with realistic priorities: Families, friends and work come first; Then, Be Epic." Read the article on WinCatherine and check out the site here: RunTri.com post

Yet another example of how quickly time is flying: it has been almost a year since we left for London and Kenya to film with Catherine! Since returning in June, the goal has been to raise the budget so we can take all the wonderful footage we shot and start to edit it. I never in a million years expected it would be so difficult to raise money for such a great project! I try to stay positive though and know that eventually I will contact the right people and organizations to get the film funded and back on its way! Please, if you can donate even a little, every bit helps (and if you need a tax deduction for your donation, we have a way you can do that too!) Also, if  you or your company would like to be a part of this film, please contact us directly at info@sparklinblueproductions.com. We have sponsorships available at all levels! Click here to DONATE NOW!

Checking in with Catherine 2/27/2010

I wanted to check in with Catherine to see how training was going for Boston and just to see how she was doing in general. I spoke to her Saturday evening after she had a good speed workout earlier in the day. I can always tell when she is relaxed and in good spirits because she laughs quite frequently! There are times when I call her and she has just finished a workout and has visitors arriving, or has to get ready for one of the many committments she has to attend and there is definitely a difference in her voice. Those are the times when she is in "work mode" and just like  most of us when we are working, we are more concentrated and "on". I love catching Catherine when she has time to relax and be at ease; it's like chatting with a girflriend at a slumber party! She admits to relishing the moments when she is able to take time for herself; she maintains an extremely busy schedule. 

 Catherine in her "garden" at her home outside Nairobi

She told me that it has been raining and I always joke with her that when it is raining it is great for her garden but not for training. I could visualize her face lighting up as she told me how well her crops are doing and especially the maize which she loves to use for cooking. She laughed when she told me she had "corn on the cob" for dinner that night! I asked her if when she is back in Norristown to train this year if she would give me some cooking lessons; I want to learn how to make some of the great Kenyan and Kikuyu dishes that use tons of fresh vegetables, beans and meats! She agreed and told me I would need to pay her; a big check; one with six figures and then she giggled for a bit. It was so cute! I told her I would pay her with hugs and she readily agreed! (if you scroll back to the November post before she left for Yokohama you will see photos of Catherine cooking her favorite dish, Mokimo, and all the fresh vegetables used! You'll also see photos of her relaxed and laughing which is exactly how I pictured her as she told me I would need to pay for her cooking lessons!)

After chatting for a bit more, I had to ask Catherine about the upcoming Boston Marathon. I know she has done several phone interviews already and I asked if she gets a lot of the same questions before each race: what does it mean to be back in , how is your training going, etc. Knowing that she has been aware of the enormous amount of snow we have been having this winter (her manager, Lisa, told me if Catherine sees any of the photos of the snow she may never come back!) and wanting to keep things light today, I simply asked her what her ideal weather for Boston would be. Here is her response:

"I don't want it cold, like freezing cold, and I don't want it extremely hot. Like back in 2004 it was hot and humid and I was full of cramps" She said "45 degrees (Farenheit) up to about 72 would be fine."  I told her I would place my order immediately!

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!

Speaking Out

I spoke with Catherine on Monday after she returned home from Nyeri and I asked her how the half marathon went. She said it went well but that she was very disappointed that the turnout this year was much smaller than in years past. She noted that there were several other races too close to this one which prevented many athletes from competing there. She was interviewed after the race and she called on AK (Athletics Kenya, the governing body for track and field in Kenya) to do something about spreading out the events so they don't occur so close to one another. I don't know that she expected the reply that came from AK head Isiah Kiplagat today (read article). I will be sure to ask her thoughts on that the next time I speak with her! I can't wait to see the footage our crew filmed there!

You can see some of her television interview here: (love her new hairdo!) Catherine Ndereba @ Nyeri Half Marathon

Nyeri Half Marathon-Nyeri Town, Kenya

Only days after finally returning to her home outside of Nairobi, Catherine was off to her hometown of Nyeri with her husband, Anthony, and daughter, Jane to stand at the helm of the Nyeri Half Marathon. This is one race that she does not "run" as in compete; she "runs" it as in organizes the race with Anthony. This was the 13th year for the race and the event is held each year in the town near the village where she grew up and gives opportunity to runners that Catherine herself did not have when she was a young girl. It is a place where athletes can showcase their talents and possibly be noticed by one of the three organizations that employ athletes; the Prisons, Police and Armed Forces.

The race, however, is not limited to just locals, and athletes from all over come to participate.

Nyeri is located in the small Central Province of Kenya approximately 2 hours north of Nairobi. The course this year was more difficult than in past years and had more hills but despite the change, there were new course records set for both the men and women.  Ernest Kebenei (photo) won the men's race in 1:01:31 and he hails from Uasin Gishu district, which is the Rift Valley Province where Eldoret is the district capital and the training home to many elite runners. It is in Western Kenya. Gladys Kerubo, the women's winner with the course record of 1:11:44, is from Kisii which is the district capital of the Nyanza Province in Southwestern Kenya. (Here is a good map of the Kenyan provinces map)

Catherine mentioned that two boys she sponsors, Paul (her nephew) and John, did very well. She helps them with their training in Ngong and also provides them with uniforms. The boys ran 1:05 and 1:15 for the half marathon distance. Catherine's brother, Samuel ran the race in support of Catherine but he did not finish as it was not part of his training schedule at the time.

I sent a Kenyan crew to film Catherine and Anthony out among the locals to capture them in action and see how they interact with the villagers and athletes, and I can't wait to see the footage! When I spoke to Catherine, she said the event went very well however she was disappointed that the Vice President, who was scheduled to be their special guest, had to cancel and did not send an official in his place. I have found that this is a common occurrence with Kenyan officials; they are often canceling appearances and sometimes send a replacement but other times do not.

When I spoke to Catherine today, she was back in her home outside of Nairobi and is looking forward to time at home with her family which includes nieces, nephews and siblings. Her sister, Esther, also just had a baby girl named Maryanne and I know Catherine will enjoy helping out with her newest niece as well!

Farewell for now dinner...11/12/09

I really should have posted this a few weeks ago when it actually occured but I somehow missed it. I guess with all the postings on Facebook and twitter I neglected to post to the blog! Anyway, better late than never because I think everyone will enjoy some of these photos.

Three days before Catherine was to leave for Japan she invited me to dinner at the home where she lives while training in the United States several months each year (Norristown, PA). Most of the other athletes that normally share the house had already returned home to Kenya having finished their racing seasons before Catherine. There was only one other athlete still living in the house, Kellen. It was a great time for Catherine to spend some time with her best friend, Helen, who lives a few hours away in Maryland. They are extremely close (you may remember seeing Helen in some photos posted from our filming last year) and they used to train together. Helen is great; she's funny, smart and she and Catherine pray together almost every day and they can call each other any time even if it is in the middle of the night. They just don't get to spend much physcial time together because of the distance and Catherine's race schedules. Oh, and I forgot to mention, because Helen makes it so easy to forget, she is blind. You'd never know it though. She talks about "I have to see this" or "I loved the pictures; thanks for sending them" and she is an amazing person. She's also a very talented runner and has both bronze and silver medals in the Para-Olympics. Anyway, the point is not that she is blind, it is that she does not let it define who she is; similar to how Catherine did not let the village people define who she was as a young girl.

So, Catherine called me up to invite me and in order to entice me said she was making Mokimo; as if she needed to bribe me to come visit! Catherine's Mokimo is a real treat. It is her favorite meal and she doesn't make it very often while in the US so I was quite flattered to be invited! When I arrived, she and Helen were upstairs and when they came down, Catherine went to work making the preparations for the Mokimo.  
Catherine prepping the Mokimo

 



  














 only fresh ingredients

catching up with Helen

Making Mokimo the way Catherine likes it is hard work! It seemed like she mashed forever and her arm even got tired! (She said she's out of "Mokimo-making-shape" living in the US!)

I always have so much fun just hanging out with both Helen and Catherine; they are like two little giggly school girls! Don't get me wrong, I always enjoy being with Catherine but when the crew isn't around and we're not filming, there is a different level of relaxation and we all just revert into gigly schoolgirls. We had a blast and there were times that the two of them would slip into Swahili and Kellen and I would just watch them laughing and talking. I teased Catherine that we needed to take lots of photos for me to post on Facebook to tease her husband that the Mokimo was ready and make and waiting for him!

it's ready, come and get it!

 yummy!

Catherine and I shared a story with Helen (that I won't go into) but it had to do with an "interesting" day of filming a few months ago back in Catherine's hometown and the laughter was just incredible! We all know the public Catherine and how graceful, poised and humble she is but I wanted to share a more personal side of Catherine with the world which is one of the reasons I am making the film WinCatherine! I hope you enjoy the photos!

L to R: Kellen, Helen, Catherine

The REAL Story on Catherine Ndereba's 2012 Olympic Ambitions

I've been reading a lot of blog posts and online articles about Catherine's 2012 Olympic ambitions. Many of the comments just did not sound like anything Catherine would actually say: "Ndereba vows to be the oldest Olympic medalist at 40" or "Ndereba covets Gold....". These just aren't the type of statements that I could ever picture coming from Catherine so I set out to find the REAL answer. 

It may not make for such exciting headlines as some of the others but it goes like this: Someone asked if Catherine planned on retiring soon. Her reply was that she plans on running through the next Olympics if her body stays healthy.

Now that sounds more like the Catherine I've gotten to know over the past fourteen years. I was surprised to see the word "covet" in relation to her; the only time I would ever expect to see that word in the same sentence as Catherine would be if it were in citing a bible passage. It's interesting how things get twisted around for the sake of good headlines. Fortunately, I don't claim to be a "writer" and mostly consider my writings here as thinking out loud. 

(And for the record, when Catherine does run at the Olympics in 2012, she'll be 41!)

Post Yokohama Report

I spoke with Lisa, Catherine's manager, last night. Ahhh, the wonders of the internet! We chatted briefly via facebook before she had to leave for the airport to fly back to Philadelphia. She has been traveling with all of her athletes on and off for the past six weeks and is very anxious to get back home! Catherine will remain in Japan with her coach, Mostafa and travel to Chiba for next weekend's Ekiden. Catherine's husband, Anthony, left Tuesday night (they are 14 hours ahead of where I am in Philadelphia, PA)

Since Catherine had not seen Anthony is many months, I did not want to call her and take up time she could be spending with hubby so I asked Lisa how Catherine was feeling and how she felt the race went. She said Catherine was extremely pleased with her run in Yokohama, especially since she had not been able to conduct her speed workouts in the weeks leading up to the race due to a nagging hip flexor problem. She was being treated for it by her amazing chiropractor (Dr. Johnny King-Marino) and through massage therapy but had to back off of the speed work. I am happy to report, however, that she was pain free throughout the race and feels great afterwards! Many people wonder, and many also ask if she is disappointed if she does not take first place in a marathon, but those who know her know that she is never disappointed as long as she runs well and is healthy. She is always happy for whoever wins and is content to know that whatever happens was Gods plan for that day. This is what attracted me to Catherine's story in the first place. She doesn't just "say" those words; she BELIEVES them and you can tell it is completely genuine! She also never uses excuses and has never dropped out of a race; she listens to her body and adjusts. Rather than look at her hip problem as the reason she did not take first place, she is pleased that she has recovered from a common problem among runners, was able to run well and pain free and still take  third place. Not too shabby in my book! (notice I did not say she didn't "win", I said she did not "take first place" because first, second, third or 100th, she is still a winner in that same book of mine!)

Yokohama Women's Marathon results

The internet never stops amazing me! Here I was, sitting in my Pennsylvania home, watching the Yokohama Women's Marathon LIVE online via a player called Keyholetv that allowed me to watch the Japanese TV Asahi, while chatting on Facebook with a friend from Chile and talking on the phone to a friend in PA and watching the Pittsburgh Panthers football game on the tv :)  The resolution on the marathon online was not great, and I couldn't understand a word of the commentating, but what was important was that I could actually WATCH Catherine run a race on the other side of the world!

It was an exciting race and for most of it she ran in her usual spot at the back of the pack. It was nice just like Catherine said before going there; the women got all the attention because there were no men so I didn't have to worry that the coverage would focus on the men and not the women's race (which happens all too often!) When the pack broke up, Catherine ran in second behind the Russian Inga Abitova until Japan's Kiyoko Shimahara caught her near the end and Catherine took 3rd. It was great to watch Anthony out there at the finish give her a big hug as always! The photos are not that clear but you can see exactly what I saw on my screen!

Catherine's Most Important House

This morning we arrived at Catherine’s house at 9am all ready for church. Since religion is such an important part of her life, I could not do a film about her without including this. When we arrived, her sisters Esther and Caroline were there as well as her sister in law, Lyddiah with little Stephen. We spent a short time there and then they all piled into Catherine’s car and headed for church. (Anthony was already at church for the early service since he is a church elder)

I did not know that the entire group was not going to Catherine’s church; she dropped them near Ngong to attend their own churches so when she arrived at PCEA West (Presbyterian Church of East Africa West) it was just Catherine, Ruth and Filhemina. As always, Ruth looked adorable!

Catherine was scheduled to lead the 10am service that is conducted in Swahili. At 8 am there was a service conducted in English and at noon is a service in Kikuyu. It was a beautiful service and even though I could not understand the language, the music was beautiful and it was easy to see everyone’s commitment to the church. After the service there were a lot of people gathered outside having tea, socializing and it was extremely child friendly. There was a popcorn vendor and kids running around playing and I could see how they make it so people want to come to church which I thought was very nice!

girls enjoying their popcorn

We were able to say hello to Anthony before the next service started and it was very evident what an important role both he and Catherine play in their church. Catherine caught up with church members and friends and Ruth ran around being cute and friendly!

We left them to finish their day without cameras and after lunch I let the crew have an early day; we had been working every day and even when we weren’t out shooting Jon still had a lot of footage to back up and manage so they deserved some time off! I took some time to relax as well and call home and talk to my older son, Eric as it was it 21st birthday! (Happy Birthday Eric!)

An interesting week....

Thursday May 14, 2009

So far this has been an interesting week unfortunately filled with some disappointments but I guess this is documentary! On Monday we had two interviews scheduled with accomplished female athletes Edith Masai and Margaret Okayo. Both women are employed by the prison just like Catherine so I thought it would be interesting to speak with both of them about working with Catherine but also competing with her at prison meets and other professional races, Unfortunately, before we were to meet with Margaret Okayo she messaged to say she had an emergency patient and needed to cancel. We were to meet with her at noon, Edith Masai at 2 and then meet with Catherine to schedule some time with her. It was too late to reschedule so I did some work at home and then we met with Edith. She invited us to her home for the interview and she lives in an area called Ngong (pronounced with the “N” almost silent, more of just a nasal sound). Her home was lovely and warm and she was extremely nice. I also found her to be quite interesting being a divorced woman who did not start running seriously until she was 33 years old and a single mother needing to support her and her son! She is definitely a strong woman who decided what she wanted and went for it! She is now 42 years old and still competing; in fact she has recently switched to a manager in the United States (New York) so she can compete more in the U.S. instead of Europe where she had been competing for years. She also is looking to send her son to a college in the United States when he graduates next year so I was quite impressed with her as well.

Once we finished there we were to meet with Catherine to go over some scheduling but she had a 2pm massage and it was after 4 and she still had not been seen because the therapist had an emergency at home and he was now on his way back. So we decided we would wait until Tuesday and meet with her then. Instead, I wanted to film the sunset in Ngong Hills so Willy drove us to a place called Corner Baridi, literally translated to “Corner Cold” or Cold Corner because it is so high and gets so cold. Jon did some beautiful shots and there were a bunch of schoolchildren who watched and also sold us beaded keychains.

On Tuesday morning we went to Catherine’s house to go over some of the shooting schedule and to coordinate with her schedule as to when we can do some training footage. We spent a good part of the day just discussing what needs to still be filmed and then she took us for a drive to look at her training route and do some planning (if possible!) When we got back to the house Catherine went to change to go out and do a short run and Jon was going to run part of the time with her. Like last time, the monkeys were out but this time they just came right up to us, quite close actually and Catherine asked Filhemena to bring a banana and she tried to lure the monkey with the banana! The monkeys seemed skeptical and finally Catherine said ok, we have to move on so she left the banana on top of the fence. As soon as she left it, one of the monkeys swooped down and grabbed it! They were just too adorable!

We finally all got back into her car and as soon as we left the main gate it started to pour! It was evident that she was not going for a run so she took us by car onto her training route. It is amazing how hard it rains here at times and makes everything SO slick and muddy! The training route is beautiful; she even goes all the way up to Corner Baridi where we were yesterday. We got a nice tour of the different areas where Catherine trains.

On Wednesday the 13th I was very excited for my interview with Kipchoge “Kip” Keino who is one of the most noted athletes in Kenyan history and is also the Chairman of the Olympic Committee in Kenya. Now if you remember I said there were some disappointments so far this week, well this was one of them. We had a 3pm interview scheduled with him and when we arrived we learned he was called away to Eldoret for a state function. Evidently the State is known for calling people to meetings last minute. It turns out there was a burial that related to the post election violence some time ago and he had to be there. It was very disappointing but hopefully we will be able to conduct the interview next week when he will be back in Nairobi for an Olympic Committee election (Catherine is up for a seat on the committee).

Today, Thursday May 14th, we were ready to leave early and our rental car was due at 9am. I got a message from the person arranging the car that it would be there by 10; evidently the person who arranged for the vehicle was stood up and she had to arrange for another one. By 10:30 we still didn’t have a car and Willy’s car would not make the trip; we were headed back to Nyeri and Karatina, Catherine’s birth place. Finally, the woman organizing our car said we could have their van and driver which solved our problem even if we were now over two hours behind schedule. By the time we got out of there and stopped at the ATM it was time for lunch so we stopped on our way out of town.

We finally arrived in Nyeri around 4pm and went to our hotel to check it out. We had made reservations at Central Hotel which was reasonably priced (1000ksh bed & breakfast/approx. $12!) but I guess you get what you pay for. The bed was “ok” but the room was rather dismal and the “self contained” bathroom was missing a toilet seat (some rooms have one some don’t!) We were not thrilled with the place so we drove to a few others to check out and there were two that were just way too expensive and other less expensive ones were sold out. We drove around Nyeri Town and checked out the area and then stopped at a viewpoint to watch the sunset. The spot we found was at an opening in a coffee plantation. I had never seen coffee plants before and learned that the beans actually are red when they are ripe and then the outer layer is stripped away to reveal a white bean. The coffee bean doesn't become black until later in the processing! It is odd how so much coffee is grown in Kenya but Kenyans are not big coffee drinkers; they do grow a lot of tea as well but they drink that!

We finally stopped for dinner but it was after 8pm and I guess Nyeri town is not a very happening place at night! The only place we found nearby that was open for food was at a bar. Poor Jon did not have many choices as I have learned this is a meat and potatoes type of area and not very vegetarian friendly (although there usually are a few things for him to choose from.) I needed to use the bathroom but once I went in I decided I could wait! I hadn’t packed my TP supply in my purse! I also wanted to wash my hands yet there was no soap or hot water! So just how do the employees keep their hands clean….don’t think I want the answer to that although before we ate they did come around with a pitcher of warm water and fortunately there was a bar of soap in the basin where you wash your hands. After dinner we ended up back at Central Hotel and figured we had to be out by 5am anyway so it’s just a place to sleep. To give you an idea of this place (and you can see photographs) there is a condom dispenser mounted on the wall at the top of the steps at the first floor. The pillow felt like a sack of potatoes and it was pretty difficult to sleep between that and people outside talking; it sounded like they were in my ear! Fortunately I was so exhausted that it wasn’t that difficult to fall asleep but it was difficult staying asleep!
Central Hotel, Nyeri

the "bathroom"

the stairwell

at the top of the stairs......

but oops.....

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 . :)

First Week of May

Today (Monday May 4th) we had a full day of interviews. We started out at Athletics Kenya, the organization that governs running in Kenya. We started with David Okeyo who is the Secretary General and then moved on to Stephen Mwaniki who coached Catherine when she was first discovered by the prisons. On the top floor is a small museum dedicated to Athletics (here they refer to running as Athletics). If you look towards the back of the photo you will see a sculpture that represents Catherine. The room is designed to look like a track.

We then went to the Prisons Headquarters and spoke with Elizabeth Olaba who was the recruiter who actually recruited Catherine. It was an informative day and we got some good interviews!

On Tuesday May 5^th we took a drive out to Catherine’s hometown where we visited her primary school, Kahira Ini and filmed some establishing shots in order to save time when we come with her. It was just like when I arrived here last year; once the kids caught wind that a “mazungu” (white person) was there, word spread and all 330 kids were surrounding us within minutes! They love the cameras and are so curious about white people because they rarely see any. Many of these children have never been outside of their village. The school is almost exactly was it was when Catherine attended except for the addition of actual windows now in place instead of just the opening for the window.

One of Catherine’s former teachers offered to show us where Catherine used to live and we also visited her secondary school and confirmed everything for our trip next week. Then we went into the local town (which consists of a small shopping center) and spoke to random ladies from the village to learn what they recalled about her. It was fascinating to hear some of their stories about when Catherine was growing up. It was a very good day and the drive back was also quite interesting; driving the Kenyan roads at night is extremely scary! Many of the roads are not even paved and the drivers are crazy; they pass on curves, they pass when oncoming traffic is way too close and the matatus, small buses used to transport people stuffed in them like sardines in a can, have the craziest drivers of all, even resorting to driving on sidewalks to get around traffic!

Thursday May 7^th, 2009

view of Rift Valley

Today we left to drive to Eldoret, a town in the Rift Valley known for producing some of Kenya’s best runners. (I say “some” because there are successful runners not from this area, such as Catherine) The altitude is over 7000ft which makes it an excellent training ground for distance runners and there is no lack of them! We went because I wanted to show this area that is so well known as well as to attend a track meet where runners compete in hopes of making the national teams. The officials from Athletics Kenya attend as well as coaches and managers looking for new talent and up and coming runners. It took us over 6 hours to get there and it was dusk by the time we arrived so we found some high ground and filmed the sunset. Unfortunately, there were a lot of clouds on the horizon so we didn’t actually see the sun set but it was pretty nonetheless. We rented a Rav4 because whenever you go outside of Nairobi and venture out onto the roads you need a 4 wheel drive and Willy’s car is a four door sedan that would never make it! After filming we checked in to our hotel which is called the Sirikwa. The room was adequate and we had a bite to eat and got to bed early so we could be out at the “meet” first thing.

When we arrived at the stadium we were struck by how many athletes were there either to compete or just watching! We interviewed some up and coming female runners to hear who their role models were/are and find out if things have changed for women in Kenya in the past ten or so years. It was interesting how many people there now run in order to obtain scholarships to universities in the U.S. We also found runners who wanted to make running their career but there are some who simply want the education that can be obtained through running qualifying times. The meet is a two day competition and some of the events have heats in order to reduce the size of the field. There is everything from 100yd races up to 10000m ones and steeplechase, hurdles, javelin and shotput; everything you would see at a track and field competition. Catherine’s brother, Cyrus, ran in the 5000m race as did one of Lisa’s runners’ brother, Raymond brother to Hosea! There were 350 entrants into this event and they ran in heats of approximately 14 runners each.

runners line up waiting for the 5000m

I wasn’t able to find Cyrus among the sea of faces but we did see Raymond. The heats were fun to watch especially the finishes because some were so close! the kids LOVE the cameras!

We left the stadium only briefly to film a group of runners warming up nearby so we could get a glimpse of the area where many of these great runners train. We filmed until sundown and then returned to the Siriwka. Little did we know we would be having a loooong night ahead of us! We had dinner and were all exhausted so wanted to get to bed early because we were scheduled to film the sunrise and head to Iten before the second day of the track meet. We got to bed early but had no idea that our rooms were located directly across from a night club. Being that it was Friday night I am assuming it was crowded if the volume of the music was any indication! By 2am I called the front desk to ask what time the club closes only to find out it closes at sunrise!!! Needless to say, just as the music stopped at 5am my alarm rang. I learned that neither Jon nor Willy got any sleep either but at least we were all on time to film the sunrise!

We found a nice location on the way to Iten and filmed it. It was beautiful to watch the whole area come alive and there were people walking back already with goods on their heads and backs and matatus picking people up along the road, bicycles and of course, many runners around. We got to Iten and saw why it is the home to many training camps for runners. It is at high altitude and it is beautiful with plenty of hills for training. We had breakfast at the top of a restaurant that overlooks a viewpoint where you can see the hills around and valleys below and it was quite scenic.

After breakfast we returned to Kip Keino Stadium and watched more of the events. We were scheduled to interview someone but he did not have time so we agreed to do it back in Nairobi. We had planned to interview Luke Kibet, an international athlete, but he was called away to run in Berlin to fill in for another runner who was injured so we had to reschedule. After watching and filming a bit more we needed to hit the road back so we wouldn’t have to drive at night. As it was, we got a late start (almost 2pm) then stopped for lunch (which was interesting in itself. I find it odd that at many restaurants they give you one menu for the whole table and then wait for your order but you have to pass the menu around! The first 3 items we tried to order they did not even have! Jon is vegetarian so there was literally nothing on the menu he could eat!) By the time we actually started our journey it was almost 3:30 so we knew it was going to be a rough ride! We buckled up for the trek back to Nairobi and finally arrived there around 10:20pm, tired and hungry. It was nice to be back at Wasini, our home away from home, back to my comfy bed, internet, clean shower and peace and quiet! (Boy have I become spoiled?!)