IndieGoGo Campaign is Go, Go a Goin...Help us make it happen!

We are over half way there but have only 4 days left in our campaign to raise the funds needed for filming Catherine in Boston as she goes for an unprecedented 5th win! More important than that, however, we will be there to capture her doing what she does just as naturally as running: inspiring student athletes. You can see Catherine's face just light up when she is around children. She is in her glory and children are drawn to her. 

On Wednesday, our first scheduled day of shooting in Boston, John Hancock, in partnership with the Boston Scholar Athlete Program, brings members of Boston high school track teams together to meet and train with world-class marathoners, including past champions, Olympians, and top Americans.

I can't wait!

Please help ensure that we will have to funds to film all of the activities race week has to offer! Share our IndieGoGo campaign with everyone you know! click here to visit our IndieGoGo campaign

Check out the perks listed on the right side of the page and choose the one that you love best!

I'll be reporting from Boston next! Thank you to those who have supported us!

One Week and Counting....

It is only one week until Catherine heads to Boston for the 115th Boston Marathon and we will be right with her filming! We need to film Catherine in Boston. That race is such a part of her resume that it would be a sin not to film with her there. The campaign to raise money for filming in Boston has been going very well and we are just shy of our half way mark! However, with only 8 days left on the campaign, we really need to step things up. Please click here or on the IndieGoGo link on the right side of this page and do what you can. As little as $10 will help and don't forget to check out the perks! 

Ok...end of plug :)

A lot has been happening! Catherine arrived last Tuesday and the next day went right to one of her favorite places when she is in the U.S.; Dr. Johnny-King-Marino's office! She doesn't get the chiropractic care in Kenya that she gets from Dr. Johnny!

This past weekend, Catherine ran in the Cooper River Bridge Run and placed 5th. More important than the place she took was that she ran injury free and felt good! Hopefully she is getting a little used to the East Coast weather here in the U.S.; it's been a little crazy. We've had temperatures range from the upper 70's to the low 30's! But, this should only prepare her more for Boston!

WinCatherine has been mentioned in a new blog: MyRun Australia so please check out the site! http://www.myrun.com.au/

I'll try to post again before heading up, otherwise, I'll be posting from Boston!

Catherine Returns to the U.S.

Only 2 more days until Catherine returns to the U.S. to prepare for the Boston Marathon and only 16 more days in our fundraising campaign!  It's amazing, we got off to such a great start; Unfortunately. there was a glitch in the system and our fiscal sponsorship wasn't initially linked to the IndieGoGo campaign, so we had to refund a few donations and ask that the donors re-enter their contribution. So we're still waiting for them to re-donate but please don't let that stop you! We really need everyone's help here. With so many people out there in the on-line universe, it shouldn't be that difficult to raise $4000 to cover filming and the expenses related to it! Send the link to your friends, send it to your Facebook account, don't be afraid to send it anywhere because you just never know who you'll talk to or run in to!

Here is the link you want to share:  http://www.indiegogo.com/WinCatherine-The-Story-of-Wincatherine-Nyambura-Ndereba-1

Photo courtesy of Victah Sailer

See you in Boston! 

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

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

Prime Example of Catherine as a Role Model in Kenya

I wasn't really planning on a blog post today but I came across an article online that was discussing the drought for American men and women in winning the Boston Marathon. As I looked over the list, I noticed that there was not ONE female Kenyan winner before Catherine Ndereba's win in 2000. Since then, there have been three others besides Catherine's four wins: Margaret Okayo, Rita Jeptoo and Salina Kosgei. There were plenty of Kenyan MEN winning, going back to Ibrahim Hussein in 1988 but no Kenyan women. To me this just emphasises even more the role Catherine has played in influencing women in Kenya! 

You can view the list of previous winners here

Boston Marathon Race Day: April 19, 2010 Part Two

 view of the finish line of the 2010 Boston Marathon taken from The Lenox Hotel

 

Race day in Boston was amazing! From very early on there were people on Boylston Street milling around and making final preparations. We had many options for filming; the view from my room at the Lenox Hotel offered a prime spot facing the finish line, they also invited us to their rooftop party which had an incredible view of Boylston Street approaching the finish line and beyond and we also could get down on the street near the bleachers and shoot from there as well. We started the morning capturing the run Catherine did with Joan Benoit Samuelson. Our Boston DP, Russ Jaquith, followed them on his bicycle and filmed them during a light run along the Charles River. The footage looks amazing! They got back from their run just in time for the womens' start. Catherine watched the race with her friend Helen and Lisa in a lounge reserved for managers and coaches of the elite athletes. At 11:20 am a reporter from WBZ interviewed Catherine just beyond the finish line and asked her about her injury and missing the race. As usual, she was completely gracious and upbeat. 

Unfortunately, since we were working we did not get to see much of the race but what we did catch was exciting and we heard bits and pieces of the commentary. It was very exciting on all fronts and amazing to see Ernst Van Dyk win his 9th title in the men's wheelchair division, Robert Cheruiyot set the course record in the men's race and Teyba Erkesso hold on to a commanding lead to win the women's race. Being right there in the midst of all the commotion near the finish line was incredible and the atmosphere was electric! We went over to the Fairmont Copley and Catherine was with Helen in the lobby waiting for their friends to come in from the course. Salina Kosgei, last year's winner of the women's race, came in third and Catherine was there to greet and congratulate her as well as the other winners. Even though she hadn't run today, many people approached Catherine in the lobby and she greeted them all with warmth and signed autographs or posed for photos with anyone who asked. Lisa went off to greet Moses Kigen Kipgosgei, one of her other athletes who came in 8th in the men's race; he was having a lot of foot pain so they went to have the podiatrist look at it.  Catherine and Helen waited in the lobby. They were sitting on a sofa and Denise Robson's mother was right next to them when she learned that Denise had won the women's masters race! It was so awesome to watch the emotion well up and overtake her; the proud mama! I was glad to hear that Denise won; she was awesome!

Around 1pm we went back to The Lenox to film from the room and the roof and get some nice shots of people crossing the finish line.  

view from the roof of The Lenox Hotel

There was a big marathon party going on all day at the Lenox and the energy at the place was a lot of fun and made our job more fun too! 
Boston DP Russ Jaquith films from top of The Lenox Hotel

After getting some nice footage of the finish line we went back to the Fairmont Copley because there were still some interviews we wanted to do. I really wanted an interview with Joan Benoit Samuelson since she has actually been an inspiration to Catherine! I was finally able to grab a quick interview with her and that was really important to me especially since she had such a busy schedule all week! I also did a follow up interview with Jacqueline Gareau who was the official winner of the 1980 Boston Marathon and was only recognized after Rosie Ruiz was exposed as a fraud for jumping into the race with only one mile to go; another amazing lady at 57 years old who ran today on the 30th anniversary of her win!

We wrapped up late and headed over to the John Hancock post race party where the elite athletes, John Hancock employees and other race officials were. There were some nice speeches on behalf of John Hancock's 25th anniversary of sponsoring the Boston Marathon and all of the athletes were introduced. It was quite a gathering of impressive talent! Afterwards, the athletes were taken to a different party on the same floor; this was a party for all of the great volunteers who work so hard to help out with the marathon. The athletes were introduced one by one and a few of them spoke to the volunteers including the winners and American's Ryan Hall (4th) and Meb Keflezighi (5th) . I am always amazed when Catherine gives an impromptu speech; she always sounds so eloquent and thanked the sponsors, the BAA and especially all of the volunteers. Just having Catherine there and being asked to speak spoke volumes about her place in the history of the Boston Marathon. When that part was finished it was late and Lisa, Helen and Catherine wanted to get back to the hotel. It took about a half hour just to say goodbyes because people kept coming up and asking to have their photo taken with Catherine and she was all too happy to pose with them. 

Catherine poses for photos with fans at the John Hancock post race party

Helen grabs a photo with 4th place American Ryan Hall

 

By the time I got back to my hotel, I was exhausted; (I can't complain about how much my feet hurt because I didn't run the marathon so I won't!) I wanted to make sure I was packed before hitting the bed so I wouldn't have to get up extra early :) I was up at 7 in order finish packing and meet my college friend, Robin, for breakfast. It was fun to get to see her again!

I wanted to start my drive back to Philly between 11 and noon but was waiting to hear from Lisa first because with so many flights routing through London being canceled I knew there was a chance Catherine and Moses would need a ride back to Philly. Sure enough, the flight they were scheduled on back to Kenya was canceled. So, I ended up having company for the ride back! I do feel badly for them though; they were planning on heading home to Kenya. It was nice not driving alone though! We made great time and fortunately did not hit any traffic at all! We made the drive in just over 5 1/2 hours. As much as I love having Catherine here, I hope she is able to get a flight in the next day or two; Jane Murage (see previous blog entries or the trailer) is getting married on Saturday and Catherine is the maid of honor; I know she is extremely anxious to get back in time so as not to disappoint Jane.

Overall, the Boston week was an amazing experience! It was nice to meet many of the people I've spoken to on the phone or emailed with, I met athletes of all ages and abilities, saw some college friends I hadn't seen in years and got great material for WinCatherine! The Lenox Hotel made the experience even better; they were so accommodating, friendly and couldn't do enough for us. The people at John Hancock were also amazing and were extremely supportive! 

Now it is back to work in the office and time to do more fundraising; we need to get all this footage logged in but need to raise enough money to get it done! Please remind your friends and any companies you know that can help with donations or sponsorships and ask them to go to www.wincatherine.com/donate.html to contribute to this film! Thank you!

Boston Marathon Race Day: April 19, 2010

It is a gorgeous, sunny day in Boston for the marathon today! Catherine and Joan Benoit Samuelson arranged to meet early this morning in the lobby of the hotel to go for a run! If Catherine isn't able to run the marathon today, this is the perfect alternate; to capture her on an easy training run with one of her role models!  I'll hopefully have some photos to post in the near future!

The Day Before Boston

artwork on display in celebration of the 2500th anniversary of the creation of "the marathon"
 
Today there was a lot of activity on Boylston Street as there were various races going on (for kids, past winners, BAA athletes) and it was great to get an idea of how things will look tomorrow. The weather has not been optimal; it has been rainy since Friday but we were fortunate that it was beautiful for the day at Hopkinton and it is supposed to be nice tomorrow! We headed over to the expo to film some of the crowds there and at one point saw SUN so we ran back to the Lenox, grabbed some gear and the car and headed out onto the course to get some shots; I wanted to get some footage of Heartbreak Hill and some Boston scenery.  When we got out there we found out that a race was in progress in Newton; it was an annual relay taking place where kids of all ages did a loop around Heartbreak Hill, then adults and the event wraps up with a family run/walk. We waited for the event to wrap up and then were able to get out and film the stretch known as Heartbreak Hill. 
statue of John Kelly at the start of Heartbreak Hill

The sun didn't last for long periods of time; it rained then the sun came out then it would rain again. At one point it even hailed! We were patient though and continued on to get some nice shots of the Boston landscape and skyline.

Russ took me to an amazing, "off the radar" spot and to shoot the Boston skyline and it eventually did clear up enough for us to get what we needed. We filmed until the sun was almost down and then we headed back.

When I arrived in Boston and got together with Helen and Catherine the first day, Helen asked me if I would polish Catherine's nails at some point and I promised I would. Last night after the Fenway Park event, I said I would do it Sunday night so I called Catherine to arrange it. Since Russ and I had just gotten back from shooting, we still needed to download all the footage and log it in so I invited Lisa, Catherine and Helen to come to my room at the Lenox and I would do nails! (Catherine and Helen were staying at the athletes village at the John Hancock Convention Center and Lisa was at the Fairmont Copley). The girls had their own nail polish but no nail polish remover and asked if I had any. That's not something I usually travel with but I remember reading some of the booklets in my room; you know, the ones the hotel has on the desk with menus etc.. I've seen hotels have a notice in the room stating if you've forgotten anything to contact the desk to see if they may have it but I'd never seen a notice like the one in my room here at the Lenox so it stood out in my mind. It had a huge list of items that people may forget or want and said if you need something to call the front desk. I figured what the heck; maybe they had some nail polish remover? I called down and sure enough, they said they'd send it right up! I offered to come down to get it but they insisted on having someone bring it up. It was pretty cool and I know this sounds silly but both Catherine and I commented on how great these little remover pads were; no smell and no mess!  

Anyway, I digress! I kept my promise and turned my room into a mini nail salon; Helen decided she wanted her nails done as well so I polished hers with a pretty copper she had and Catherine wanted red to match her toes. I'm always amazed at Helen because even though she is blind, she always comments on how nice things "look" and how pretty things are. She truly is an amazing person!

It was fun to see Catherine have some "girl time" (and now I also know what my backup career can be should I ever need it!) It was already 10pm and everyone was tired but Lisa warned the girls not to go to bed too soon or else they would ruin their manicures. It was cute when Catherine showed everyone how she would sleep so as not to ruin her nails; (picture how a person imitates a bunny hopping; elbows bent and wrists flopped down). Ok, I think I'll stop here; it's late and I must be getting punchy! Tomorrow is a big day!

RunBlogRun Posts Interview about WinCatherine

Larry Eder at RunBlogRun posted an interview he did with me and also calls on the running community to help support the film by making a donation! Thanks to Larry, RunBlogRun and to all the runners in advance for helping get WinCatherine made! You can read the article here. 

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!