2010 Training Begins

I finally spoke with Catherine; I hadn't spoken to her since the New Year because I knew how busy she was with the holidays. She reported that she enjoyed Christmas and was even able to spend time with Anthony after fulfilling her official Olympic Committee duties of receiving the Queen's Relay Baton at the airport in Nairobi. The trip to Mombasa to pass the Baton on to the President was only a day trip so she was back that evening. Even though she wasn't able to spend Christmas with her whole family as she usually does, she said she was able to see some family for New Years Eve and had a nice New Year!

I asked her about the football tournament she sponsored in Nyeri and she was very happy that the tournament was going well and that she would be appearing at the finals to watch and present the winner with a trophy!

I then asked how her running was going and how she is feeling and she is feeling great and reports that she just received her training program from her coach, Mostafa Nechchadi and that now it is time to get back to "serious" training! She always runs, but when she is not in training for a specific marathon she trains much easier and runs to stay fit and keep her body healthy. Now that we are approaching spring (and I know many of us can't wait for the cold to let up!), she will begin following her designated program to get ready for a spring marathon. Hopefully I'll be able to post just where she may be running soon!

So things are good back in Kenya with Catherine. Her daughter is back at boarding school and she is very happy to have her adorable (and I mean ADORABLE) neice, Ruth, back at her house while her sister, Anastasia, trains for her post as a prison guard. It is very sad for the children of women who take jobs with the prisons, police or military because they have to go off to college and train for six to nine months and then they have to be posted at a location where they continue their job training. During this time they rarely see their family and if they have young children it can be very difficult.

Ruth & Anastasia get some rare time togther at the Prison
Championships last May

Since Ruth's preschool is near Catherine's home, it is better for the child to stay with her while Anastasia is working several hours away. Like Catherine, Anastasia is a runner and being employed by the prisons will give her the opportunity to earn a living as well as run just as it does for her sister and other athletes in Kenya. Many people take for granted the time they are able to spend with their children but there are some places where the sacrifice is great for being able to have a career. You will see evidence of this with Catherine and her daughter Jane in the film when it is finished.

When I spoke to Catherine she was in great spirits and was sounding like a proud Aunt; she had just taken Ruth to her very first day of what she called "baby school"  and she was describing how she took a photo of Ruth from her cell phone and had made it her new screen saver/background! I asked her to send me a copy but she didn't know how and hopefully Anthony will help her do it so I can see! (Ruth is now 2 1/2 yrs old)

Catherine & Ruth 5/2009

Stay tuned for a post on where Catherine's next marathon will be.......

Queen's Relay Baton passes through Kenya

The Queen's Relay Baton was received in Kenya on Christmas Day in Nairobi and was then flown to Mombasa where President Kibaki officially received it. On hand to present the Baton was Catherine Ndereba as well as 10,000m Commonwealth Games champion Lucy Kabuu and National Olympic Committee of Kenya (Nock) Chairman Kipchoge Keino. You can read about it here: Queen's Relay Baton handed over

 Photo courtesy The Standard

Christmas with Catherine Ndereba 2009

Christmastime is a very important time for Catherine as she looks forward to spending time with her family. With such a large family and each member having many different responsibilities, it is very difficult to arrange for all 9 siblings along with their families to find time to be in one place as I learned while in Kenya trying to film them all together. And that is just referring to Catherine’s side of the family. Add to that Anthony’s side as well as the families of husbands and wives and you can see how difficult it is. Now factor in the roads and the travel time and it becomes even more of a challenge. Even so, it is a time when Catherine tries as hard as she can to bring as much of the family together as possible.

This year, however, will be entirely different. Catherine will not be spending Christmas with her parents or her siblings. She will not even be able to spend it with her daughter, Jane who will spend the holiday with Anthony’s parents. Catherine will spend Christmas day fulfilling a responsibility that comes with her appointment to NOC-K; National Olympic Committee of Kenya. The timing could not be worse but Catherine is a woman of integrity and she will honor her duty to the committee because that is the way she is. Even on the most holy of days, she will do what is required of her. You’re probably wondering what could be so important as to make her miss spending Christmas with her family. Well, as it turns out, it is quite important. Whether or not it is important enough to take anyone away from their family on Christmas is not my call.

On Christmas day, Catherine, along with other members of NOC-K, will be at the airport in Nairobi to receive the Queen’s Baton to continue the Queen’s Baton Relay 2010 leading up to the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Upon researching this journey, I’ve learned that it is very similar to the relay of the Olympic Torch. The Queen’s Baton Relay starts at BuckinghamPalace in London and is presented by the Queen to the carriers of the first leg of the relay. The baton carries a message from the Queen to the host country of the Commonwealth Games.  This year The Relay began on October 29, 2009 and The Baton will pass through all 71 countries that participate in the Games before arriving at the site of the 2010 Games on June 25 in Delhi, India. The members of NOC-K receive the baton on Christmas day, and on Boxing Day take it to Mombassa where they will present it to the President of Kenya. The baton will arrive from Camaroon and from Kenya will head to Tanzania. The route The Baton takes is pretty amazing and you can actually follow it at this website: Queen's Baton Relay  In addition to being able to view the route it takes, there is a small camera mounted in the end of The Baton and you can view actual video of the journey!

So it seems like this is a mixed blessing; it is very unfortunate that The Baton arrives in Kenya on a day that is so important to Catherine and many others, but it is also an honor to have been selected as a member of the Kenyan Olympic Committee and is also an honor to be part of the team that will carry this baton to its next destination. Catherine hopes to be able to spend some time with her family and parents before the New Year and before her daughter, Jane has to go back to school and Anthony resumes his evening school. I, too, hope she is able to get that time; she deserves it.

 

A rare occasion 5/29/2009 when 5 of the Ndereba siblings were together

pictured here (L-R):

Cyrus Ndereba, Anastasia Ndereba, Carolyn Ndereba, Esther Ndereba

 

4 of the 5 Ndereba sisters at the Prison's Championships 5/29/2009 Nairobi

pictured L-R: friend and athlete Jane Murage joins

Esther Ndereba, Caroline Ndereba, Catherine Ndereba, Anastasia Ndereba holding daughter Ruth