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

New Interview with Catherine Ndereba

Check out this great interview with Catherine at GaryCohenRunning! I'm sure you'll find it worth the read!

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

Cooking with Catherine

It's been over two years now since I first visited Kenya and since I had my first traditional Kikuyu dish at Catherine's house. Every time I have traditional Kenyan food, I love it and want to learn how to make it. The Kenyans cook with such fresh ingredients, the food is very healthy and tastes great. I have been asking Catherine for awhile now to give me a cooking lesson and we finally had the date scheduled!

I arrived at the athletes' house around 1:30 and Catherine was just finishing her lunch. The house was quiet as her brother, Samuel, was off at a race in Michigan, so it was just Catherine, Irene and Simon there.

Simon Ndirangu smiling as usual!

The lights were out to keep the house cooler, and everyone had already done their morning training so they were relaxing. After socializing for a bit,  it was time to shop for our ingredients. First, Catherine took out some dried peas and left them in a bowl to soak while we were out. 

soaking peas

Our first stop was to Dollar Tree, or what I refer to as "$20 Tree" because it is virtually impossible to leave there without spending at least that much! We both love that store but knew we didn't want to spend too much time so we grabbed a few items and went on our way. Our main stop was at this amazing produce store not too far from where the athletes' house is. This store is more like a large stand; it's just a plain building and there is nothing but produce; massive quantities of it at extremely cheap prices! You walk in, take a number, and when you're called someone waits on you, you tell him/her what you want, they get it, put it in a box and even take the box out to your car if needed. (Usually, when the athletes shop here they buy large quantities and the box is heavy)! The whole process is very streamlined and while it can be extremely busy, it usually moves along fairly quickly. We got our fresh vege supply and returned to the house.

At this point it was too early to start cooking so Catherine asked me for a favor; would I take her shopping? Of course I would; if that is the price of a cooking lesson, it is well worth it! I know she loves to shop and without a car in the U.S., it's hard to do large shops! Once Irene heard we were hitting the Walmart, she was on board for the trip! The three of us hit Walmart and had fun; Irene shopped for her daughter Debra and bought herself a matching outfit. Catherine shopped for her daughter, Jane, as well as for her niece and one of her friends asked her to pick up some educational DVD's. We went through a huge bin of DVD's and her and Irene both got a few titles suitable for youngsters. My recommendation was for them to find Sesame Street DVD's if they wanted educational ones, so we found them and they both purchased that as well. Overall, we had a good time shopping and laughing but it was getting late and it was time for the "lesson" to begin!

 Irene Limika models one of her new outfits

Once we got back to the house, we laid out all the ingredients and Catherine immediately started preparing. The cooking lesson for the day was Mukimo and stew. I've written about mukimo before, but if you haven't read the posts, it is a traditional Kikuyu dish made from potatoes. It is similar to mashed potatoes but there is no butter in it. It is simply made with the potatoes and a select few vegetables and is a healthy staple of the Kikuyu diet. Usually, you don't eat it by itself; it is served with some stew or soup in the same bowl and eaten together. Today we were making a stew with beef in it.

Catherine jumped right in and started grating carrots as I took notes, photos and video to be sure i didn't miss a thing! I also wanted to help and when I asked, Catherine was very cute; she didn't think I knew how to peel potatoes without a peeler! I laughed because she just assumed that we all use the peeler here, which of course we do but it doesn't mean I didn't now how to peel with just a knife! So, Irene and I went to work peeling all the potatoes and cutting them up. Catherine chopped, grated and prepared the remaining vegetables and Irene cubed the beef. I asked questions along the way and took good notes because I know that the next time I will be making the dishes and Catherine will be grading me! She has already told me that Irene will not be allowed in the kitchen with me when I do so she can't help. Catherine said she will be the proctor and make sure I do it all myself to earn the good grade!

fresh ingredients ready

mmmm, onions and garlic

 

everything prepared

Catherine starting to cook

 It was a lot of fun learning and I have a real appreciation of the work involved. It's not that it is hard work, but it is quite time consuming getting everything prepared, letting things simmer and cook, and then making the final preparations which includes "smashing" an entire pot of potatoes. The key to a good mukimo, Catherine taught me, is to not have any lumps! 

 those are not lumps, that is corn!  

 














The finished stew

  The table is ready....

After two hours everything was ready and we sat down for the meal. After a lengthy and heartfelt grace by Catherine, we all enjoyed the delicious dish! 
Mukimo, left and stew, right 
 

Catherine offers Anthony a plate, too bad he's in Kenya and can't join us!

This is how it is served

During dinner, I asked Catherine about how she was feeling with her running and she was very happy with her run at Falmouth where she placed fourth. She is looking forward to the Crim race in Michigan next week. We also discussed where she may run a fall marathon and she is undecided about that at this point in time. Her and Lisa (Buster, her manager) need to look at her schedule and figure it all out. Once they do, I will post where she will run.

I am looking forward to making the meal on my own the next time but we decided to hold off on scheduling until after the Crim race where, she heads with her brother next weekend. After that, we will schedule my test! I will post my "marks" after I receive them (if I pass)!

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!

Mokimo Monday before Boston Marathon Monday!

Last night I had dinner again with Catherine Ndereba. When we were at the mall on Saturday, Catherine invited me to come back to the house for some Mokimo but I was busy that night so she asked me to come on Monday. I officially dubbed the night "Mokimo Monday"! I always look forward to her mokimo. She says it is very easy to make but I can see it does take a lot of arm muscle! Picture a huge pot filled with extra thick mashed potatoes with other ingredients all mixed in and you can imagine how hard it is to stir smooth! She makes a stew to go along with it and that had beef, squash, tomatoes and other fresh vegetables in it. When you put it all together it is a delicious, nutritious meal! You can find photos of it from the last time she had me over for dinner on the blog post from 11/24/2009 here 

Samuel Ndereba

Also at dinner was Catherine's brother, Samuel Ndereba,  

Moses Kigen Kipkosgei (who is also running Boston Marathon next week) and Simon Ndirangu who is Lisa Buster's newest runner. It was a very late dinner, 9PM because they had such a full day going to the chiropractor, training and with Catherine and Moses packing for Boston and then their trip back to Kenya. As always, it was fun. I felt a bit left out at times though because my Swahili is not very good and there was a lot of talking going on that I could not understand! Simon offered to be my Swahili teacher so I may have to take him up on that  at some point!

 Moses Kigen Kipkosgei

Simon Ndirangu

Catherine is looking forward to being back in Boston and Moses is looking forward to running there. I asked Catherine if she gave Moses a lot of good tips and she had a twinkle in her eye when she said "of course" :-)

It was a nice diversion to spend some time with the runners. It's been a stressful week since Catherine's announcement. The BAA revoked my media credentials for the Boston Marathon saying they didn't feel I needed them now that Catherine was out. I had to write a letter of appeal letting them know that there is still a story and just like any other journalist, I have to deal with it and incorporate it. I still have interviews and events planned to film all week! Fortunately, they reinstated the credentials late yesterday and now I can focus on finalizing all of the arrangements. It will be a busy week but I'm looking forward to it! I haven't been in Boston in 12 years and am looking forward to not only filming with Catherine but to visiting some college friends!

I'm also looking forward to my stay at the Lenox Hotel and can't thank the great people there enough for partnering with WinCatherine and sponsoring my stay there while filming! The Lenox is located right AT the finish line of the Boston Marathon!

After tomorrow my posts should be from my room there and who knows, it could be overlooking that finish line!

Catherine Ndereba talks about the Bupa Great South Run, her upcoming fall marathon and Ekiden in Japan

Today I spoke with Catherine from her training home in Norristown, PA  about the race she just returned from, the upcoming Yokohama Women's Marathon (November 15, 2009) http://www.yokohamawomensmarathon.com/en/index.html and the 2009 Chiba International Ekiden (November 23, 2009)

Stefani: How did it go in Portsmouth? (at the Bupa Great South Run)

Catherine: Oh, it went great! It was tough though because of the wind; the wind was too much! I was like so much blown by it {laughs}. The first mile of the race and the last two miles, man, they were like, it was like climbing a hill, and I wasn’t climbing a hill!  Oh, my. By the time I was finished my shoulders were killing me because I was fighting the wind! {laughs} The rest of the days when we (she and manager, Lisa Buster) go there it was warm; warmer than here (Norristown, PA); Thursday, Friday, Saturday it rained, it wasn’t that windy but as it kept on raining it kept on getting windier and windier!

Even in the evening, after the race, when we tried to go out with Lisa around 4 or something, it was so windy I was telling her that I could go with my back looking front the wind was too much!

Stefani: So you were walking backwards?

Catherine: Yeah! It was that much windy!

Stefani: How do you respond when people ask why you didn't win; why you came in 5th?

Catherine: I ran a pace that was within my training schedule; I don't count it like I didn't do great. I am happy with myself and I just know that if it was a day with no wind in my face that I would have run within a good time bracket.

Stefani:  So you ran according to your training for the upcoming marathon.

Catherine: Yes, I started off and it was cold and I was wearing something underneath and I just needed to feel my way with the wind.

Stefani. So are you looking forward to Japan?

Catherine: I’m looking forward to Yokohama Marathon and to the Ekiden (2009 Chiba International Ekiden-November 23, 2009). The Ekiden is my favorite!

Stefani. Why is that?

Catherine: Because it’s FUN! It’s the only time you get to run a full marathon with other people!

Stefani. So you and your team members each run a leg of the race?

Catherine: Yes, It is a lot of fun!

S: The Yokohama Marathon it a Women’s marathon; is there a difference to you if you run a marathon with just women?

C: No, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter but I think running a marathon with just women is unique. I think this is my second marathon that is women only and all other ones are with men too. It’s good though because in doing so the women get all the coverage.

S:  Are you referring to the press truck and how many races only show the men’s race?

C: Yes. This is good for women.

S:  I noticed in Philadelphia that when you and a group broke away from a pack of women that there were a few men that hung around and almost boxed you in; do you feel that in a women’s only race when you break away from the pack that there may be less people running close to you?

C: No, I don’t think about that. As long as someone is not stepping on you, it doesn’t matter if it’s a man or a woman!

S: How long will you be in Japan?

C: I’m going to be there I think for two weeks. I’m arriving on Tuesday the 10^th and am not going home until the 24^th.

S: Will Anthony (her husband) be there?

C: Anthony is arriving on the 13^th.

S: Will he stay for the Ekiden?

C: No, it will be a very quick trip. He has school. He will miss Friday. He will leave on Thursday night and arrive on Friday and Monday he will leave again. I guess he’s gonna be in the air more than he’s gonna to be in Japan! {laughs}

S. You’re lucky you have such a good supporter!

C: Yes, I thank God for him!

S: Who else is going to Japan?

C: Lisa (Buster)and Mostafa (El Nechchaddi her coach)

S: When you get to Japan, how long will it take you to adjust to the time?

C: Uh, four days is enough. It takes me like a couple days. I don’t let it get to me too much. So when it’s like the morning there, I can make like it’s evening here when I go for my evening run..

S: So now that it’s getting colder here in Philadelphia, does it make you want to go home?

C: I can’t wait to get home! Today Linus (another Kenyan runner who trains in Norristown with Catherine) called me and he was home and I was feeling so happy for him that he was home and I was feeling like it was me that was back in Nairobi!

S: When is the last time you were home?

C: 9^th of July. I feel like I’ve been here for a decade! {laughs}