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!

Back in the USA

It is a cold, dreary, windy and very rainy day so I figured it would be a good day to catch Catherine at her home away from home in Norristown, PA. She arrived in the US last Friday after an exhausting week. Having just arrived home in Kenya on Tuesday the 23rd after the Lisbon Half Marathon, she had to turn around on Thursday and head to Philadelphia four days earlier than expected due to the impending British Airways strike. She arrived exhausted on Friday so I didn't want to call her then. I was away for the weekend and knew she would be busy catching up on chiropractor and massage appointments! So as I sat at my desk staring at the pouring rain, I decided to welcome her back. The first time I called, she was speaking to her friend Helen so I waited a few hours to call back. I gave them plenty of time because I know how the two of them can chat away especially without the time difference and being that Helen is in Maryland, they can now talk for free! When I called back she recognized the caller ID and picked up the phone with "Hello Stef". 

It was fun catching up and we talked about everything it seemed today! We talked about how quickly our kids are growing up; her daughter, Jane, will turn 13 in a few weeks while my oldest will graduate college just four days after that! Catherine recalled seeing photos of my children on Lisa's refrigerator when she first came to the United States in 1995. That was before she had Jane and my kids were only 4 & 7. We were just two mothers chatting about how time flies and how when we are young we only want to be older, and when we get older, we don't want to get any older! We talked about the rainy weather and how it prevented her from training today. She said she was bored and wished she could go to the mall. She invited me over for mokimo (you may recall seeing the photos from the last time she invited me back in November before Yokohama) and I was seriously thinking of blowing off the rest of the day and taking her to the mall, finding a WiFi spot and working from there. I was even willing to brave the weather and was excited because she promised to show me how to make the mokimo. Then it dawned on me. Sure, I could blow off work. I could go out in the rain. I could even find a WiFi spot and work remotely. But, my bubble burst when I remembered, oh yeah, I woke up with a sore throat and nasty cold and there was no way I was going to put myself anywhere near Catherine and risk her getting a cold! So, here I am back at work and she is still at home not wanting to swim her training today!

We talked about her race this weekend at the Crescent City Classic 10k in New Orleans and she said it had been 13 years since she has run there. She came to the US to train for the first time in 1995! It sounds like such a long time ago yet seems like just yesterday!

We talked about Boston and I was disappointed to learn that she will return home to Kenya after the marathon but she will be the maid of honor at her friend Jane Murage's wedding on April 24th so must get back. Jane even changed her wedding date in order to allow Catherine to be in the wedding because her original date conflicted with the Boston Marathon! You may recall Jane from the fundraising trailer; she also trains under Lisa Buster. She has been directly influenced and inspired by Catherine so it was very important to her that Catherine be at the wedding.

After 45 minutes I finally wished her a safe trip to New Orleans and she promised that when she gets back, and before she leaves for Boston, that we will go shopping and get the fresh ingredients needed for her to teach me how to make her famous mokimo!

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

A Norristown Sweep!

It was a great day today for the Kenyans who train in Norristown, PA under the management of Lisa Buster of Promotion in Motion Ltd International as they swept the top three places in the women's race and the 2nd place in the men's race at the ING Philadelphia Distance Run. Catherine won the race for her 7th time (the first since 2002) with a time of 1:09:43 and she was in great form. Close behind her was Irene Limika in 2nd place right on Catherine's heels at 1:09:46. Coming in thrid was Nerriah Asiba at 1:10:26 who also ran strong. (Both Irene and Nerriah had personal bests) On the men's side, American Ryan Hall took 1st place (1:01:52) with Catherine's brother, Samuel Ndereba right behind placing 2nd (1:01:56). Lisa had 5 runners entered in the race today and 4 of them were on the podium; Caroline Chepkorir was 11th on the women's side.

The weather could not have been ordered to be more perfect; it started off a bit cool but the sun was warm and there was no wind. It was an amazing day to be outside and this race throughout Philadelphia is a gorgeous course. It starts on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway near the Philadelphia Art Museum (where Rocky ran up the steps). They even had a Rocky impersonator out today who was a lot of fun! The course then winds around some city streets before returning to the Parkway and heading down the West River Drive which runs along the Schuylkill River, then across a bridge and back down Kelly drive on the other side of the river and ends up back in front of the art museum again. I rode in the back of the ladies press truck again this year (which consisted of a pick up truck with 4 pop up camping-type chairs in the bed); it was fun and I was able to get some footage of Catherine and the others. It was a bit of a challenge however because there were two men who were running with the lead pack of women and they kept blocking my shots! I was very happy when the women finally moved past them! For most of the second half of the race it was Irene and Catherine jockeying for first. The press truck took off at about mile 10 so we could make it to the finish line before the runners so I did not get to see how the end played out until the finish but since the times were so close I can picture how it went. Catherine is just too hard to beat in a kick at the end and she finally made her move, although I'm not sure at what point that actually was! It was very exciting to watch though!

The awards ceremony was nice and the trophies this year were especially nice with the Liberty Bell prominent
. Each of the winners received a beautiful lei made from fresh flowers and as is usual for Catherine, before she boarded the bus back to the hotel she walked over to a little girl sitting on the curb watching the race with her family, bent down and placed the flowers around the little girl's neck. It always warms my heart how much she is drawn towards children!

L to R: Catherine Ndereba, Ryan Hall & Samuel Ndereba

Catherine Ndereba (r) and manager Lisa Buster (l)

2009 ING Philadelphia Distance Run-Watch it live

You're supposed to be able to watch the 2009 ING Philadelphia Distance Run live here on Sunday 9/20/09 at 7:30am www.competitor.com
according to this site:
http://www.runwashington.com/news/1972/314/Watch-Live-Webcast-of-the-ING-Philadelphia-Distance-Run-on-Sunday-at-7-35-am-See-Ryan-Hall-Olympic-Medalists-Constantina-Dita-and-Catherine-Ndereba.htm

Another Race Weekend Approaching!

The Philadelphia Distance Run is almost here and Catherine will be running as well as several other of her housemates in Norristown, PA. The athletes from Lisa's "camp" who will run this coming Sunday, September 20th are: Catherine Ndereba (37), her brother, Samuel Ndereba (32), Caroline Chepkorir (22), Neriah Asiba (28), and Irene Limika (30). Neriah and Irene both ran this race last year as did Catherine. Catherine will be looking to win at this race for the 6th time! Last year she placed second.

The half marathon is a good training run for the athletes who will be competing in a fall marathon in a few weeks. Catherine's fall marathon has not been announced yet but as soon as I am able, I will post it!

As for the Philadelphia Distance Run, the athletes in Norristown love the race especially since it is so close to their second home!

Update: First Post of 2009

Happy New Year! (ok, so I’m a little late!)I realize it has been awhile since I last posted and I have been working behind the scenes to put together the fundraising trailer (check back to view this soon), business plan and proposal that will lead to raising the money needed to make this film! I am dedicated to making sure this happens because I really believe this story needs to be told! The more I learn about Kenya and Catherine's journey to get to where she is from where she came from, the more I am convinced of this. In a country where education for women was not a given right as it is here in the US, where opportunities for girls were nowhere near equal to those for boys and where athletics for girls was certainly not a priority, Catherine's perseverance in her goals is an inspiration. How lucky girls are here in the United States to have Title IX! I'm sure many people don't even know what Title IX is and like myself, just take it for granted that girls are entitled to the same opportunities as boys, even if that doesn't always happen. But it actually is the law!

I have always known that Billie Jean King has been a pioneer in making sure women and girls have equal opportunities in sports and prize money in professional sports. I've always been a huge tennis fan and used to play a lot of tennis so I was familiar with her efforts and her organization, The Women's Sports Foundation. But it wasn't until last year that I really learned the extent of how far the U.S. has come in assuring that girls have equal opportunity in education and sports when I became aware of Title IX.

Today I attended a press conference at City Hall in Philadelphia called V is for Victory. So is IX. First of all, I have lived in Philadelphia all my life and I don’t think I have ever been inside City Hall. The press conference was held in the Mayor’s Reception Room and it was a magnificent room! Everything about it, including the ceiling, was just beautiful. There were paintings of all the previous mayors and a gold-plated chandelier that I just researched and learned is 8’3” and weighs 1680 pounds!(ok you can read more about the room on your own here: http://www.ajaxelectric.com/cityhall/tour7.htm" Anyway, back to the press conference. It was to announce a "new national campaign aimed to educate students, parents, and administrators on Title IX, the federal law banning sex-discrimination in schools." The following is from the official press release: The Women's Sports Foundation and the Women's Law Project are working together to help students, parents, coaches, athletic directors, administrators and community leaders advocate for equal treatment in school and community sports programs. This project will focus on evaluating sports programs and in taking the necessary steps to achieve athletic equity.
Wow. I know I, for one, have always taken for granted that girls were to have the same opportunities as boys in sports. I always knew that the boys had more teams than the girls when I was younger, and I don't remember having all the intramural sports and township sports that my kids had in school, but I knew there were plenty of teams that girls could try out for. I always played tennis. I played on my high school team. I played little league. I had opportunities. Maybe it was because I grew up in the suburbs. Or, maybe it was because Title IX was passed in 1972 and I was only eleven years old and didn't even know that I was benefiting from it. Yes, I took it for granted. But as with all freedoms we enjoy, I now know that there was a reason I was able to benefit, that there were girls and women before me who fought for the rights I enjoyed. And still are. There are still schools where girls do not have the same opportunities as boys, or the same equipment, playing fields, practice time or coaching as the boys. And, federal law mandates this must be equal.
Some people may ask why it is so important to have sports in our schools. What is the big deal? It’s just games. But it is SO much more than that. It has been proven that athletics is more than just fun and games. There are lower rates of depression and suicide among girls who are involved in sports.It has been proven that being involved in athletics decreases the likelihood of smoking, drug use, obesity, drop outs and teen pregnancy. Being involved in athletics leads to greater self confidence, self esteem and body image. It helps in learning time management skills and setting goals. Athletics creates more opportunities for girls to attend college through sports scholarships. These are all important tools for academic and professional success and insuring that girls become valuable and productive members of society. Wow! I can only think of what Kenya could be with a Title IX!

Which brings me back to Catherine; these are all reasons why Catherine speaks to children in Kenya and encourages them to stay in school, pursue their education and why she wants all children to have the opportunity to pursue sports. At Q&A sessions at marathons around the world, she speaks to adults and children about the benefits of participating in sports. Because of the example Catherine has set for other young girls growing up in Kenya, there are more girls pursuing sports and even believing that they can earn a living through athletics. The young girls that you have read about in my blog and come here from Kenya to train in Norristown (outside of Philadelphia) cite Catherine as their role model and are thankful that she has paved the way for them to have careers in running.

At the press conference today, I listened to the various speakers talk about how Title IX has affected them or their children. I listened to Susan Slawson, Commissioner of Recreation for the City of Philadelphia talk about the city’s commitment to this campaign and to keeping girls active and healthy. She speaks from experience having been a teen mother and although she doesn’t regret having had a child, wonders if Title IX would have lead her down a different path. I listened to Carol Tracy, the Executive Director of the Women’s Law Project speak about the rights girls are entitled to and how there are still areas where there is non-compliance. It was inspiring to hear Carol Bower’s experience as a U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist in rowing and how sports affected her life. Because of Title IX, Christine Shimel was afforded the opportunity to play golf in high school and is the girls 2008 Pennsylvania High School State Golf Champion and has received a scholarship to attend the University of Maryland in the fall. And Lurline Jones, who for 27 years coached the inner city University City High girls basketball team, leading to an impressive 647-202 record and many championships, spoke about the number of her players who have gone on to become doctors and lawyers and have successful careers because their love for the game kept them in school, out of trouble and gave them the tools for success. It sounds like the education system in Kenya can learn a lot from examples such as these.

Pictured from left: Lurine Jones (Coaching Legend, University City High), Terri Lakowski(Women's Sports Foundation), Christine Shimel (Kennett H.S. Senior), Wilma McNabb (President, Professional Football Players Mother's Association, Executive Director, Donovan McNabb Foundation), Carol Tracy (Executive Director, Women's Law Project), Carol Bower (1984 U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist, Rowing)

Probably the most recognizable name at the press conference was Wilma McNabb, mother of Philadelphia Eagles Donovan McNabb and a long time youth sports advocate. She understands the value of sports for children and wants to be sure that girls have the same opportunities as boys. Mrs. McNabb is also the Executive Director of the Donovan McNabb foundation which is dedicated to diabetes and she knows firsthand how important activity is in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Participation in athletics lays the groundwork for children to be active and why shouldn’t girls have the same opportunity as boys!

I now realize how lucky I am to have grown up with the benefits of Title IX. I think the goal of this campaign is great; reaching out to students, parents, coaches, athletic directors, administrators and community leaders to advocate for equal treatment in school and community sports programs. I can only imagine how much Kenya could benefit from having more women contributing to society outside of the home, with successful careers whether in sports or not, and earning an income. How wonderful to have girls involved in something that would reduce their risk of teen pregnancy, something that is quite common in Kenya.

Okay, I will step down from the soapbox now! I will say that it was a pleasure to meet everyone at the press conference yesterday, especially Wilma and Sam McNabb. They were both so nice and gracious and being that I’ve been a life-long Philadelphian and Eagles fan whose parents have had season tickets forever and who is the beneficiary of many of those tickets each year, it was really cool to meet them! I assured them I will be wearing my #5 jersey this weekend during the Super Bowl even though we didn’t quite make it!


Sam and Wilma McNabb

My website for the film is under construction and I will post it as soon as it is complete. I am hoping to get back to Kenya in late April following the London Marathon but of course this will all depend on the fundraising. Please feel free to contact me if you know of anyone who would be interested in helping with the funding of this project! :-)

In the meantime, you can find more information on the V is for Victory. So is IX. campaign at these two websites: www.vis4victory.org and www.vis4victory.org/girls

I hope one day WinCatherine: The Story of Wincatherine Nyambura Ndereba will inspire girls around the world, and in this country, make girls appreciate the opportunities that they have and how lucky they are!

ING Philadelphia Distance Run

Catherine came back to town last Tuesday to prepare to run in the ING Philadelphia Distance Run; a half marathon race set right in the heart of Philadelphia. She has won the race 6 times in the past so what better place to capture her running than in her adopted US home town. On Friday there was a press conference as well as a question & answer session. On Saturday there was another q&a. Afterwards, Catherine signed autographs and customized each one.

It was wonderful to listen to her encourage the children she would meet. I met some children who were so inspired by Catherine's words that they actually signed up right then and there to run in the kids race! It was awesome to see their reaction to meeting a running star! On Sunday morning we woke up at 5am and Lisa called all of the runners to wake them up so they could have their tea and get ready for the race. For the women, it was Catherine, Irene, Caroline and Neriah scheduled to race and for the men, Nephat. We boarded a bus along with all of the elite athletes and headed to the starting area which was at Eagan Square in front of the art museum. It was a beautiful morning for running! We made our way to the elite runners hospitality tent and there is where the runners prepared for the race.

Everywhere I looked I saw athletes stretching, warming up, having tea and mentally getting ready. At 7:30 Lisa and I made our way to the starting line and got in the back of the women's press truck which was a pick up truck. We had canvas camping type chairs to sit on and I set up my camera and waited for the air horn to signal the start of the race. There were almost 15,000 runners, all of various ages so it took quite some time for everyone to get started but the elite runners were at the front of the pack. The race course was absolutely beautiful!

The starting point is right on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway which is lined with all of the flags from countries around the world, from there the course goes through a few city streets, then back up the Ben Franklin Parkway and up the West River Drive which borders one side of the Schulkyll River and then across a bridge to the other side of the river and down Kelly Drive (named after Grace Kelly who was from Philadelphia) and ends up back at Eagan Square on the Parkway. It was a little cool and bright and sunny and it was fun to be able to film the race from directly in front of the runners. At about the 11th mile we had to pull away from the lead pack in order to be able to make it back to the finish line in time to watch the winner cross.

Catherine, her body still recovering from the Olympic marathon, came in second with Irene behind her in third and Neriah in fourth! After the race Catherine was scheduled to start one of the kids races so we made our way to that starting line and she gave a little speech and blew the air horn to start the race for the oldest group of kids. It was a one mile race and both Catherine and the winner of the half marathon, a woman from Russia, held the tape for the winner to cross! After that we were directed to an area in front of the art museum for the awards ceremony. I was disappointed because I wanted to film the kids race for the 10 year olds as I had interviewed a set of twins the day before at the expo and wanted to film their race. However, I did not want to miss the awards. It turned out that they did not present the awards for almost 45 more minutes and I would have had time to film the kids race but it was too late. At the awards, each of the top 5 male and female places received a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a statue of the liberty bell and the winners also got a wreath placed upon their heads.

Catherine spoke about how it was being back in Philadelphia and that hopefully she would run again and try for her seventh win! After the awards she stayed for a bit and signed more autographs, mostly for people who wanted her to sign their bib. As we walked back to the bus a few people stopped her to take a photo with her and just before getting onto the bus, a young girl who was probably around 12 years old approached and asked for a photo with her. She posed with the young girl while the parents took the picture and when they were finished, Catherine handed the girl the bouquet of flowers she had just received and told her that she too will win races one day. The girl was so touched and was visibly blushing! Overall, it was a fun weekend, I got some nice footage and I even got a bouquet of flowers as Irene presented me with hers when we got on the bus! It was her first half marathon and she was very pleased to have come in third! I am extremely appreciative of Lisa for allowing me to share her room and keep me from having to make my way into the city and find parking at such an early hour, to Matt Turnbull from Elite Racing who is the elite athlete coordinator and Dan Cruz the media coordinator for providing me with a press pass and access to all of the areas including the press truck; and to Zeke Zucker for his aid as well!