Catherine at the Safaricom Lewa Marathon 2010

Catherine and her husband, Anthony were in Isiolo this past weekend to attend the 2010 Safaricom Lewa Marathon. It is the only marathon held entirely within a game reserve and the race benefits the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy. Even though she did not run, Catherine and Anthony came out to support Safaricom and the Conservancy. You can read more about the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy here.

I know people run marathons for many different reasons but but I'm especially fond of this worthy cause. It is so important to protect the wildlife. I can only imagine how awesome it must be to be running alongside such amazing animals! I wonder if part of the motivation to keep going is to outrun the lions! :-)

Please don't forget to stop by and support our fundraising campaign at our Official Website or at our IndieGoGo site.  We need your help!

WinCatherine on Rick's Running...

Rick's Running picked up the trailer today! His site is pretty cool; you can follow his journey to the 2010 London Marathon and his quest to run 2:45 here Rick's Running

Catherine Ndereba heads to Lisbon & WinCatherine getting noticed!

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

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

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

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

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

Checking in with Catherine 2/27/2010

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

 Catherine in her "garden" at her home outside Nairobi

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

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

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

More info on the football tournament sponsored by Catherine Ndereba

Catherine Ndereba & husband Anthony Muhia Maina during a vist to Karatina, Central Province Kenya

 

I was curious about this event that Catherine is sponsoring so I asked her about it. She provides uniforms and balls for the players. But I wanted to know even more so I spoke with her husband, Anthony, about it because he is one of the organizers. This is not the first year they have been involved with this tournament. The first year was three years ago but there was no tournament last year due to a tragedy; the man who was the on site organizer and coordinator was struck by a car and killed. Therefore the tournament was not held. This year Anthony is heavily involved in the organizing. I wanted to know why he and Catherine were involved with football. This is what Anthony had to say:

 

"The soccer tourny is all about bringing the youth together and encourage them to be involved in active livelihood. In Kenya today we are faced with stiff challenges of unemployment and therefore the young guys get involved in risky behavior. One of the ways of keeping them active both mentally and physically is through sports and that's why the tourny. The tourny will be done in play offs and the semis will be done on 27th Dec and Finals on the 3rd Jan 2010 at Miiri primary school.(Not very far from my parents place)"

 

I was not surprised when I heard his answer; whether it is running, football (soccer), basketball or baseball, involving young people in sports is so instrumental in keeping them out of trouble. It is not unlike in the United States where involving children and young adults helps keep them from joining gangs and going down the wrong path. I recalled an incident in Kenya, (in the same area where this football tournament will be held), back in April just before my crew and I arrived in Kenya for filming with Catherine.  I'd heard that there was a clash near where Anthony grew up, and his parents still live, involving the Mungiki sect, known as Kenya's version of the Mafia. I was horrified and even worried whether or not it would be safe to travel there. You can read about the Mathira Massacre as it is known here: Mathira Massacre  It is exactly this type of group that Catherine and Anthony hope to help young men avoid by involving them in sports.When young people have enough to fill their time they are less likely to go out looking for things to do which often results in poor choices being made!

 

Speaking Out

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

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

Chiba International Ekiden 2009

Earlier today, Catherine ran in the 2009 Chiba International Ekiden. Until I started learning about Catherine, I had never even heard of an Ekiden much less seen one! But, thanks once again to modern technology, I was able to watch the entire race last night live, online via my computer. Ok, I'll rephrase that because it really was not last night, it was very, very early this morning (the race ended around 1:30 am EST which was 3:30pm in Chiba). Regardless, it still fascinates me that I can watch live Japanese TV from my computer. Of course, I did not understand any of the commentating but every once in awhile I could distinguish "Ndereba" in the midst of all the Japanese!

For those of you who don't know what an Ekiden is, and for those who are just curious how this one went, an Ekiden is like a relay race. The entire race distance is broken down into segments and there are teams; each team member runs one leg of the race.

This race was marathon distance, was co-ed and there were 6 legs of the race; 1st was a 10k run by men, 2nd leg was women's 5k, 3rd leg another men's 10k, 4th leg a women's 5k, 5th leg men's 10k and then Catherine ran the anchor leg for Kenya which was a 7.195km leg. The Kenyan team came in third, Japan came in first with the Japanese Universities Team placing second. 

I haven't spoken to Catherine directly yet but I'm fairly certain that she ran within what her body would allow after running a full marathon just one week ago. The main thing is that Catherine LOVES to run Ekidens! She loves the team part of it and she has fun! She also loves running in Japan! 

 

If you'd like to read details about the race itself, here is a link to a good summary for those who are interested:  http://www.iaaf.org/news/kind=100/newsid=54956.html

 (these photos were all screen captures from my computer screen during the live telecast on Fuji TV, Japan)

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!

The Birthday Girl!

I can attest to the dedication of Catherine and the other Kenyan athletes; I decided to visit Catherine on her birthday and take some new photographs during the track workout this morning. At 6am near my house it was raining quite steadily so I checked with Lisa to see if she was still planning to take the athletes to the track for their speed work. She said it was not raining out near Norristown and called the athletes' house to be sure they were still on schedule to do the workout. Everyone discussed it and deferred to Catherine who said yes they still wanted to go. I wasn't sure if it would be worth the drive considering it was still raining very steadily but after checking again with Lisa at 7am I decided to make the trip since she said it still was not raining there. Besides, it is a good 50 minutes away so the weather can be very different, I was already up and ready to go AND it IS Catherine's birthday so I went.

When I arrived, the athletes were just finishing their warm up and it was quite chilly but at least it wasn't raining. The crew today was Catherine, Irene, Caroline and a new girl in the camp, Kellen as well as Linus who is not new to Lisa's camp but was not here last summer when we did our filming.

The Nike outfit Catherine was wearing today was awesome! Ok, I admit to being partial to pink but it was a very vibrant pink and I think you'll agree that it just looked gorgeous on her! I just had to take photos regardless of how bleak and dreary it was. Part way through their workout the rains came; it started as a light rain and then got fairly steady but they kept on training. They did their speed work and cool downs and the rain seemed not to even bother them. At one point Catherine said to me: "It is a good day out." I looked at her obviously puzzled. She stared back with a straight face and said "yes, it is a good day out" "FOR SLEEPING"! Aha! So I was not the only one who thought it was a great day to just not get out of bed. It was nice to know that Catherine at least thought it even though she would not dare let herself submit to the temptation!

Everyone was wet after the track workout so Lisa drove them back to the house so they could change into dry clothes. She also picked up Jane and then we all went out for breakfast to celebrate Catherine's birthday.
starting lower left and going clockwise: Caroline, Catherine, Lisa, Linus, Kellen & Jane

I teased her about forgetting to bring a candle to put into her omelet but we all sang happy birthday even without the candle! When we were finished breakfast, Catherine asked me which way I was headed and when I asked her why she mentioned that she would like to go to the dollar store.....uh oh.....how could I pass up the opportunity to escort her to Dollar Tree, especially on her birthday? Far be it from me to deprive her of that treat.....I mean, it's not like I don't LOVE the store myself.....(by the way, I don't believe there is such a thing as a dollar store; they are really twenty dollar stores because I can never get out of there spending less than that!) Jane wanted to go as well so we did a not-so-short trip there so they could stock up on whatever was needed and of course so I could make my deposit as well (although I will say I got out under $15 today so an added bonus!)

It was a nice diversion from the office for part of the day and great to see Catherine back in the U.S. as well as all the others, some of whom I hadn't seen since last year and some who I also saw back in Kenya!

Happy Birthday Catherine! Going strong at 37, you still don't look a day over 21! :-)

Catherine set to defend her NYC Half Marathon Title in great company!

It was announced today that Catherine will be defending her NYC Half Marathon title this year and running with a great field. Deena Kastor and Lornah Kiplagat will both be among the women competing. I interviewed Lornah last year during the NYC Marathon where she was a spectator and again in Kenya a few short months ago. Deena has agreed to participate in the film and I look forward to interviewing her as soon as I raise the budget :) This is the fourth year for the NYC Half Marathon race and Catherine won the first and third years and came in a very close second the second year! All three women are coming off of injuries earlier in the year; Catherine with her toe injury from the London Marathon, Lornah with a knee injury back in March and Deena suffered an inflamation of the same foot she broke during the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The three would have competed in the NYRR New York Mini 10K back in June if it weren't for the injuries. Catherine was the only one able to run and she did well for still nursing a sore toe; she was 4th.

Catherine arrived yesterday from London and it will be good to see her! I haven't seen her since leaving Kenya May 31st. Summer is definitely in full swing back in Norristown, PA with the athletes house slowly filling up as everyone is training for the road races scheduled all over. This is the time of year that Lisa, as manager, is the busiest and she can usually be found driving to or from the airport, to or from the chiropractor will a van full of athletes, to or from the track or various other destinations with Catherine and the other athletes!

Catherine at the athletes training home in Norristown, PA

The Return to Roots

Friday May 15^th, 2009

I woke up thinking it was morning only to find my watch said 1:03am! I woke up every two hours and finally got up 10 minutes before my alarm was scheduled to ring at 4:30am. I got up (and made sure I had socks on before walking on the floor) and got ready for a shoot that needed to take place at sunrise. We got to our van and there was no driver to be found; I had to call and let him know we were all waiting for him; (he said his alarm didn’t go off but I wasn’t happy because we couldn’t afford to miss the sunrise!) We left Nyeri and drove back to the little shopping center near Kahira Ini and when we arrived there was already a whole group of students from the school waiting watch us film and this was 5:45am!

We filmed a segment with 2 young girls and then dropped them off at Ngorano Secondary school. (The primary school was closed because they were scheduled to have a track meet with the surrounding primary schools and it was being held at the secondary school field). It was no short distance from where we were shooting to where this track meet was being held, yet all of the other kids had to walk and arrive by the start of the meet! It really is amazing how far these children walk on a daily basis but then it's no surprise when they learn to run well to get to places more quickly! We ran (in our car!) back Karatina to have breakfast and then returned to Ngorano to film there for the day. We were initially supposed to film at Kahira Ini in the morning but they found out they had the track meet and had to postpone. We rearranged our shooting schedule to accommodate that event so went to Ngorano Secondary School instead. The athletic director there had arranged for some of Catherine’s classmates to be there as well as a former teacher and a former cook. It was really cool to talk to them and learn more about Catherine. I interviewed all of them and waited for Catherine and Anthony to arrive. When they did, it was obvious that Catherine was surprised to see former classmates! She seemed to enjoy reminiscing with them and we learned some fun tidbits :-)

We ended up staying there much later than I had anticipated and they prepared lunch for everyone as well. Kenyans are extremely hospitable and it is considered an insult if you are invited to tea or a meal and can not accept. The former classmates helped to serve and we all had lunch together including some of the current teachers.

After lunch we set off with the athletic director in search of Mr. Wambugu, the former headmaster of Ngorano who had great influence on Catherine's life but whom she had not seen since graduating. She wanted to surprise him with a visit. The athletic director said he knew where to find Mr. Wambugu, that it was not far outside of Nyeri but after 2 hours we still had not arrived at the place where he supposedly was. It seemed as if we drove for ages without seeing anything and then we finally reached a tiny town! keeping spirits up on the long drive!

at least it was pretty!

After a half hour of inquiries, we learned that Mr. Wambugu had moved and no one knew where he was. It was disappointing not to be able to capture Catherine reuniting with one of her mentors and it also took the remainder of the day and it was too late to do anything else, but at least the scenery was beautiful and we got some great footage at the secondary school today! I'm looking forward to filming at Kahira Ini tomorrow, Saturday.

The Sites of Nairobi

Today we took the day to film establishing shots of Nairobi. First we went to Kibera which is the second largest slum in Africa. It was unbelievable! All you could see were rooftops side by side everywhere you looked! The roofs were different colors and they just seemed to go on forever. There was a constant flow of foot traffic up and down the road in and out of it near where we were filming. The women carried huge loads on top of their heads or in a basket/bag that has a strap and is secured around the forehead. It was quite amazing how they balanced their loads. They also carry their babies on their backs held on by scarves or blankets wrapped around them. We were quite intrigued by the place and knew we needed to film inside in order to illustrate exactly what the viewer would see. We decided to secure security and go in tomorrow.

shooting outside Kibera

After Kibera, we went to a lookout point to view the entire city from a raised area and it was very pretty. We also did some exterior shots of Nyoyo Stadium (where the Prison Championships will be held next month) and learned that it has been renamed Coke a Cola Stadium and has been repainted red. I must say that it has lost a lot of its charm because of this.

NYC Marathon

After being away for a few days I'm back to work and thought I would take some time to update the blog since it has been awhile. While working on behind the scenes business items there is not usually much to report that would be both interesting to read about or write about!

On Thursday, October 30th I left for the Big Apple to prepare to capture some footage during the weekend of the ING New York City Marathon. Catherine's husband, Anthony, was to arrive on Friday morning in order to be there to support Catherine. He is now in school 5 nights a week working towards a masters degree, working full time and made the 19+ hour trek here. I wanted to get there the day before and hit the video store for some supplies before filming his arrival. His support of his wife is so great that he arrived on Friday morning and had to leave on Monday afternoon so he wouldn't miss too much school but could also be in New York for the marathon. To me that shows a total commitment and I wanted to capture that on film!

Anthony arrived on Friday around 2pm with his ever present smile beaming across his face! Despite his jet lag he was upbeat and genuinely glad to be there to support his wife! Their reunion was sweet and you could tell how happy Catherine was to have him there with her!

We had lunch in the hospitality suite along with Lisa, Mostafa and Hosea Roetich (who was also scheduled to run on Sunday)and I was amazed by all of the amazing athletes that would come in and out of the area. The field of elite runners signed on for this prestigious race was the strongest in the race's history and there were many others present who were not even running. I am always inspired by being in Catherine's presence and add to that some of the other biggest names in distance running. Almost all of these amazing athletes were very approachable; Lornah Kiplagat, (World Half Marathon record holder among many other titles) graciously allowed me to interview her and was very friendly, Tegla Laroupe (one of Catherine's role models), Deena Kastor (2004 Olympic Bronze medalist), freshly recovered from her unfortunate 2008 Olympic injury and just bubbly and adorable but not yet able to do a marathon; Contantina Dita (reigning Olympic gold medalist) who was so friendly and warm! I did not recognizer her when we first ran into her in the lobby; she was about to go out for a morning run the day of the marathon (she was not running because she had run the Chicago Marathon 2 weeks prior). Her hair was back and I told her that I did not recognize her without her hair down!

Mostafa, Constantina Dita, Lisa
Later when I saw her with her makeup on and her beautiful curly hair she was easily recognizable! Rita Jeptoo, another Kenyan distance runner, Martin Lel (winner of the NYC Marathon the previous two years who had to pull out this year two weeks ago due to a foot injury) was there as well as Paula Radcliffe. There were always warm greetings between Catherine and all of these athletes (except for Paula Radcliffe who kept to herself).

After lunch, Catherine went for a massage and I took Anthony for a Starbucks coffee that I had promised him before his arrival! He was completely jet-lagged but put was very valiant in his efforts to stay awake as long as possible! After the coffee I let him go back to the room and get some much needed rest! :) Lisa, Catherine and I went to get manicures and pedicures (I asked Anthony if he wanted to join us but he said he doesn't do "manicures" he would do a "womancure"!) Anyway, we had our nails done and then met Mostafa at a local Italian restaurant for dinner. Anthony slept through dinner and said he would catch up in the morning!

I was very fortunate that my younger sister, Michele, lives in NY and allowed me to stay at her Manhattan apartment right in Union Square. It was my first year ever missing Halloween at home so I was very disappointed not to see all of the little kids all dressed up. However, I will say that when I got off of the subway at the stop near Michele's apartment, what I saw more than made up for what I missed at home! I had just missed a big parade but there were hundreds of people dressed up going to local clubs and just hanging around. It was fun filming all of this and having some of the people coming up right in front of the camera and act all crazy!

On Saturday I went to Tavern on the Green to do a location check and be sure that I had what I needed for the race on Sunday and to stop into the media center to get my location release signed. After scouting the site and doing some b-roll shooting, both inside and out, I met at the Hotel where Catherine and everone else was staying and Catherine's best friend Helen arrived. She is the woman who is blind and has received medals at the para-Olymics. It was very cute to watch her and Catherine together like little schoolgirls!

Catherine and Helen (disregard date on photo, camera not set properly)
We hung out in Catherine's room and I was able to film her and Hosea getting their bottles ready to submit for the race on Sunday. When Lisa, Catherine, Hosea and Mostafa went to the technical meeting, Anthony, Helen and I took at walk to Times Square where I had to run an errand. We had a nice time and then all had dinner back at the hotel sponsored by NYRR (New York Road Runners, the organization responsible for the race). After dinner, Helen came with me and stayed at my sister's apartment. We tried to make it an early night because we knew we had to be up very early for the race on Sunday.

We woke up at 4am on Sunday and were at the hotel by 5:30. Helen wanted to see Catherine before the buses left for the starting line so she and Catherine could pray together first. Praying is a huge part of both of their lives and is something that would never be left out. The athletes all had to be outside of the Hilton for the buses to leave at 6:30am sharp! We walked Catherine and Hosea to their bus; the elite runners were in a separate bus but all of the buses left together on time. Lisa, Anthony, Mostafa, Helen and I all went back to the hotel and had breakfast until it was time to take our walk to Tavern on the Green to watch the race. It was EXTREMELY cold at 38 degrees with and a slight wind which made it feel even colder! We got to Tavern and I did some more pre- race filming.

When the race started, Catherine was in her usual position at the back of the pack. Paula Radcliffe started off very strong and never looked back. Catherine placed 5th in the race and she was very happy with the way she ran given the weather; she does not like the cold very much and prefers the heat and humidity. We stayed in the Park Room to watch the race. The room was really nice and there were two flat screen televisions with seating available to watch the race. There was also a lovely brunch served. I filmed Anthony while he watched the race; I wanted to capture his nervousness before Catherine races and just the general mood of him, Lisa and Mostafa during a big race. When Catherine finished the race, the three of them went to the finish line to meet her. She had to go to drug testing and then they waited for Hosea who came in 9th for the men. When drug testing was over, everyone came back to the Park room for lunch. Catherine did not even look like she had run as you will see from this photo taken less than 30 minutes after the marathon!


After lunch we all walked back to the hotel. The streets were mayhem with thousands and thousands of people all trying to get somewhere! It took much longer to get back to the hotel than it did to get there in the morning! Once back at the hotel everyone rested until dinner. There was a beautiful invitation-only affair held at a place called The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers.


Rita Jeptoo, Helen Cherono, Catherine, Lisa Buster
It was a beautiful setting overlooking the Hudson River and the affair was lovely.

Catherine and Anthony at dinner (disregard date on photo; date on camera not set properly)

There was a short presentation hosted by Mary Wittenberg (President and CEO of New York Road Runners) where highlights of the race were shown and the top ten places in the men's, women's and wheelchair divisions were honored. We were bused back to the hotel where I said my goodbye's to Anthony and Catherine and Helen and I returned to the apartment exhausted from the long day. I know how tired I was and I didn't even run a marathon! I give so much credit to the thousands of people who finished those 26.2 miles!

The weekend was long and exhausting but I got some really nice footage. Aside from that, I was amazed at how much work goes into the planning and execution of this large, prestigious event and how many elite athletes were present! It was a great experience and one that neither I (or my feet) are likely to forget! I took the train back home and returned to reality and a lot of work to catch up on. I am looking forward to getting the trailer put together and getting out to raise the money so I can return to Kenya and complete filming! (any suggestions on where to find money in this lovely economy are greatly welcome!)