Visiting Lugulu, Carey's Home for Three Years

On Monday we rented a car to go visit Lugulu, where Carey taught secondary school for three years with the Peace Corps.  Lugulu is in Western Kenya, near the border with Uganda.  A rental car here is even more expensive than in the U.S., but to use public transport we would have to take about 7 different matatus and would probably spend most of the day waiting.

Instead, we had a tiny red Toyota with tinted windows and lots of decals: “Hot Blooded,” “Phat Farm," "When I grow up I want to be a Hummer," "Don't Touch! Red Hot!" and others.

Our car, "the alien spaceship," parked on the road between Carey's house and the school.

Our trip was smooth.  We left our house shortly after 7.  The quality of the roads varies.   The main road to Uganda is a two lane road and sees a lot of truck traffic, and they really tear it up.  I’d see a red patch in the road ahead, and it could either be a little dirt on the road or a foot deep pothole.  On some of the hills there had been attempts at repairs that had turned into washboard asphalt.  Still, Carey remarked that the road is much better than when she had last traveled it.  Then it was hard to tell it was paved, and cars wove around the road and the shoulders to avoid potholes.

This is the main road to Uganda.  Some of these asphalt washboards are big!

We turned off the main road onto smaller and smaller roads as we approached Lugulu.  We stopped for  a drink in Butula where Uhuru and Apollo found a skinny cat on whom to lavish their affections.  Butula was the town where Carey would stash her bicycle when traveling from home because that was the nearest town with public transportation.  About 5km from Butula, we crested a hill and arrived in Lugulu around noon.

Lugulu A.C. Secondary School is right across the street from Carey’s old house.  We parked our car, which we had begun to refer to as our “alien spaceship.”  There was almost no vehicle traffic through Lugulu and our “landing” in Lugulu would cause a stir among the primary school children.

We first walked around the secondary school, which was on holiday.  We saw the library that Carey had constructed, which was now converted to a classroom.  There were many new buildings at the school.  We saw about a half dozen monkeys playing near the boys dorms; Carey hadn’t seen any there before.

New science lab at Lugulu AC High School

There was almost no one around the school, so we went across the street to Carey’s old house.  A teacher at the school was living there, and he invited us in.  Carey said the house looked pretty much the same, but that the walls were dirtier.

Inside Carey's house with current residents

Lugulu is known its boulders.  There is an enormous boulder on the grounds of the primary school.  Carey used to walk out the back of the high school and sit on top.  There was a new fence, so we had to enter the front gate of the primary school to reach the rock.  Four white folks climbing the rock outside the school proved much more interesting than lessons, and the entire school poured out to see what we were up to.  We met some of the teachers and apologized for interrupting their lessons.  Carey gave a short talk to all the students.

Students leave class to see what the mzungus are up to.

All the people that Carey is in touch with (both students and teachers) have moved on.  One of her roommates is a judge in a larger city.  Another has moved to Nairobi.  The former headmaster died.  A good friend moved to the Maldives and died of meningitis.  We met one of Carey’s former students on our way through Nairobi. 

Lugulu is way off the beaten track, and there are few white visitors.  Even in Iten, which has more mzungus, children rush out to greet us yelling “How are you?” as we pass.  So we were quite a curiosity in Lugulu.  We left the primary school, climbed into our alien spaceship, and drove off to find lunch.

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St. Patricks Camp

Leading Girls in the Tempo Run

On Wednesday I visited the St. Patricks Camp.  Brother Colm puts on a four week camp around Easter for about 40 of the promising high school runners in Kenya.  An invitation to this camp is a real privilege.  Brother Colm has been putting on this camp for many years.  Most of Kenya’s international elite runners have attended.  Historically, about 1 in 5 participants goes on to be an international star.

For those that haven’t heard of Brother Colm, I should say a few words about him.  He is one of the most respected coaches in the world.  He coaches at St. Patricks High School which is a national school, meaning that youth from all over Kenya might apply to attend.  While there have been 4 high schoolers to run a sub-4 minute mile in the entire history of the United States, St. Patricks had 4 high schoolers running sub-4 minutes attending at one time!  Brother Colm has coached many high schoolers who have gone on to win at the Olympics, World Championships, Boston Marathon, etc.  He is now coaching 3 alumni who live in a house next to him: David Rudisha, Augustine Choge, and Isaac Songok.  Watch for these guys at this year’s world championships.  To summarize, Brother Colm is sort of a combination of Joe Newton and Joe Vigil on steroids.

The camp begins at 6AM with a ten minute jog followed by exercises, which can include core and/or drills.  The day’s main session is at 10AM. This is what I attended.  It was a busy day, as a film crew was making a documentary about Brother Colm and Kenyan running.

There are four assistant coaches working with Brother Colm.  His main assistant is Ian, a 25 year old Kenyan whom Brother Colm identified at St Patricks as a promising apprentice.  Brother Colm was busy being interviewed, so Ian ran much of the practice.  Here is what I observed:

9:50  I arrived.  The team is lounging in the grass stretching and talking.

10:00 Ian gathers the team to describe the workout.  Today is to be a “high run,” which means hard.  The plan is 25-30 minutes of tempo running on a very hilly course on dirt roads.  Ian cautions the athletes to take it easy on the initial downhills so as not to risk injury.  He assigns groups of between 4-10 athletes, and describes the route each will take.  The fastest boys and girls will run 8k, the slower groups about 6k.

10:05 All the groups begin their warmup.  This occurs on a grassy field about half the size of a soccer field.  The groups run together in single file slowly and they stick together.  There are about 7 different groups running in different directions around the edge of the field.  There is no talking; these athletes are focused.

Groups warming up in the field

10:15 Ian calls the first group over to the dirt road to begin the tempo run.  It is the slowest girl group.  Every minute or two he calls a group over and they begin.  The other groups continue easy jogging or drills in the field.

10:25 The final group, the fastest boys, have begun.  Ian, the other coaches and I pile in Brother Colm’s car to check on the runners.  Brother Colm will stay to work on the documentary.  We catch up to one group about 10 minutes out, and there are 5 girls together with one girl starting to fall behind.  She is clearly trying hard to maintain contact with the group.

We drive ahead and catch up to the fastest girls and boys groups.  They are right at the point where the boys are passing the girls.  They are about 6k into the run and are on a 2k uphill.  These groups have really broken up; they are running really fast!  We stop and watch them. The coaches comment on their form.  “This run separates the men and the boys,” comments one coach.  They point out athletes for me:  Janeth was 5^th at world cross country, Stacy ran the Commonwealth 1500m.  These athletes are already stars!  On this day Michelle Sykes, who represented the US at the 2007 World Championships runs with the girls- the slow group.

Boys Doing Drills after their Cooldown Jog

10:55 The last athletes finish the run.  Immediately after finishing the tempo run the athletes do 10 minutes of jogging.  They are in smaller groups now, between 3-5 athletes.  They follow this with 10 minutes of drills and core exercises.  They don’t waste any time.  They are not rushed, but there is no standing around.

11:15  All athletes are finished.

The athletes will do an easy run at 4PM, their third workout of the day.  The 6AM jog/exercises and the 4PM jog occur daily.  The 10AM session is different every day.  They followed the following schedule the rest of the week:

Wednesday: Tempo Run

Thursday: Easier run

Friday: Intervals on track

Saturday: “Diagonals” 30 minutes of strides/jogging

I’ll write more about St. Patricks later, as I plan to visit again.  I’ll finish with a funny story from the day.

The host of the Irish documentary is Eamonn Coughlan, a world champion middle distance runner from the ‘80s.  After the workout he was introduced to Michelle simply as “Eamonn.”  We all talked, as Eamonn attended college and lived in the U.S.  He talked about racing in the U.S., and then Michelle said: “Wait a minute.  What’s your last name?”  Eamonn answered, and she exclaimed: “I thought so; you’re famous!”

Later Michelle said, “We’re in Iten.  What should I expect?  Everyone’s a super runner.  It’s not just some guy named Eamonn.  It’s Eamonn Coughlan.”

A talk with Renato Canova

View from the Kerio View, Canova's Hangout

Geoffrey Mutai and Moses Mosop put on quite a show at the Boston Marathon, running the fastest 2 times for the marathon by over 50 seconds!  Although their runs won’t be counted as a world record because Boston is a point to point course (and therefore susceptible to tailwinds, as happened Monday) and has an elevation drop.  Runners will argue whether this was the best marathon ever run.  In any case, it was spectacular.

A few weeks ago I met Renato Canova, an Italian coach who is somewhat of a guru of the marathon.  He coaches Moses and said at one point this spring that Mutai was “the strongest runner in the world.”  With such a spectacular Boston fresh on many people’s minds, I figured it was a good time to write about the conversation.

Canova coaches a handful of super athletes: Moses Mosop, Florence Kiplagat, Saif Said Shaheen, Asbel Kiprop, Silvia Kibet, and Imane Marga.  I think all of these are world champions!  He has lived in Kenya for a long time and is a coaching legend.

Canova is a fixture at the Kerio View Hotel and Restaurant. The Kerio View is by far the fanciest place to eat in Iten.  It is perched right on the edge of the Rift Valley and has a two story dining room with all glass looking over the valley.  You have to pay 200 shillings (about $2.50) to get in, which pretty much makes the place out of reach for most Kenyans.  You get the 200 shillings credited to your meal, which costs about the same as a Denny’s meal (a small fortune in Kenya.)

We went to the Kerio view with the Finn family.  Adharanand Finn is writing a book called Running with the Kenyans.  Canova was sitting by the door, and when we walked in he began talking with us.  Canova is a talkative fellow!  He went on for about 30 minutes until our families called us over to the table.  Adharanand interviewed him later and asked one question.  Canova talked for 3 hours.

Canova said that Kenyans’ lifestyle growing up is so much tougher than Europeans.  They have responsibilities to their family and their villages.  He said that Kenyan runners often get to 90% of their potential on their own, while few European athletes reach 90% of their potential despite an army of coaches.  He said that the coach’s role is to prolong the athlete’s career by making sure they don’t overdo.

For example, Moses Mosop did a hilly 45km training run much faster than prescribed.  That’s fine, according to Canova.  “When the body feels like going fast, go fast,” he said.  But Canova adjusted his subsequent training to allow adequate recovery.  Mosop felt ready for his next hard workout, but Canova wanted to scale it back.  When Mosop attempted the workout, he found he wasn’t fully recovered.  Canova summarized: “All good training is hard training, but hard training is not necessarily good training.”

He compared Kenyans to Europeans.  “Europeans are like accountants.”  If they are supposed to run a certain number of miles, they will do it, even if it means running those miles at a low intensity.  Kenyans keep the intensity high and don’t necessarily add their miles (although they do run a lot- often 3 times per day.)

Finally, he pointed out how the different standard of living affects attitudes towards things like death.  Death is everywhere.  Most Kenyans have lost a sibling, cousin or parent.  He told the story of an athlete who called Canova to ask him to help get some prize money he was owed.  The athlete apologized for pestering him, but he needed the money for his daughter’s funeral.  She had fallen 4 meters from a bridge and hit her head on a rock.  This devastating event was handled very differently by the Kenyan athlete than a European athlete.  The Kenyan was back training after 3 days.  Death is so common that Kenyans can't let it stop their lives.

I think Canova’s observations about Europeans could also apply to Americans.

First Day of School

On their way in on the first morning!

Uhuru and Apollo just attended their first day of school.  They are attending an abbreviated schedule for this week.  This week and last week are a special session called “Tuition,” where parents pay extra for extra class time.  Most of the students at school during tuition are boarding.  During tuition classes begin at 7AM and run until 9PM!  Uhuru and Apollo are going to attend 4 hours of class each day this week.

They are attending Salaba Academy, which is about 2 miles from here.  The school was founded by Chris Cheboichoch with his prize money from the Boston and New York Marathons.  Our friend Godfrey also recommended it.  Salaba is a private school.

The head teacher, Mr. Chumba, took Apollo to Standard 4 and introduced him to the class.  He asked the children to be friends with him and to play with him, but “do not hurt him.”  Then we walked with Uhuru to Standard 6, where she had a similar introduction.  When Mr. Chumba asked where she should sit, the students with an empty desk next to them all pointed at the spot nearest them.  Mr. Chumba selected a spot for her next to a girl named Hilda.

Carey and I paid the school fees of 1600 Shillings, about $20, each.  This is the normal fee for 2 weeks of 7AM-9PM education.

Uhuru was quite nervous about going to school “on another continent,” as she put it.  Apollo was less worried, but I think I was more nervous for him.  The school years are a little different here, but Apollo should be in Standard 3, but Standard 3 is not offered during tuition.  Apollo slouched comically when introduced to the class.

We picked them up at 4PM, when class is dismissed for “games.”  The headmaster told us that there wouldn’t be games today, so we could take them home.  Uhuru asked, “Do I have to leave now?  Can I say goodbye?”  She said school was fun.  Apollo said school was “ok,” but he was excited because one of his soccer buddies, Brian Kiplagat, attends Salaba.

The classes involved a lot of copying.  Predictably, both Uhuru and Apollo felt pretty behind in Swahili.  Some of the children gave Uhuru a Swahili lesson during lunch.  The Kenyan children had a LOT of questions for Uhuru and Apollo.  Apollo commented that he spelled “airplane” correctly, but the teacher said it was wrong (they spell it the British way here).

I’ll write more about their school experiences later.

Watching the Big City Marathons

Warning: don’t read this if you are planning to watch a time delay of the London Marathon later today.

The crowd watching the Paris Marathon at the petrol station.

In 2007 a group of 10 runners from Ellensburg (including Carey and me) ran the Boston Marathon.  A handful of runners from Iten have run in the big city marathons this spring: Paris, Rotterdam, London, and Boston tomorrow.  The difference is that these Kenyan runners are in the lead pack and have been winning or finishing on the podium.  Watching big races here feels like we are at the epicenter of the action; perhaps even more so than being at the race itself.  After all, the runners spend most of their time here, and we are watching with their friends and training partners.

We watched the Paris marathon last week at the petrol station that is in front of our house.  About 100 viewers crammed into the room, many sitting on the shoulders of chairs, to watch.  Carey observed that I was probably the slowest man in the room.  When the race began a pack of Kenyans and Ethiopians rocketed out of the start.  The TV coverage then showed thousands of other (white/mzungu) participants, some holding banners, most smiling, many waving to the cameras.  These participants looked like they were out for a good time.  I thought of the contrast to the lead pack, where the Kenyans and Ethiopians were all business.  I wondered how the mzungus looked to the audience, most of whom are dedicating their lives to getting to the starting line of a major international race.

The crowd at the petrol station was very noisy; I don’t think I heard the TV announcer at all.  Many cheered for familiar faces.  Most of the Kenyan athletes live and train near here.  Our neighbor pointed out one man who runs with the training group that meets about 100m from our front door.  The crowd was obviously knowledgeable.  When Kenyan Benjamin Kiptoo surged into the lead late in the race, the crowd gave a huge cheer.  Another Kenyan overtook an Ethiopian for 2^nd and there was another raucous cheer.  When each Kenyan crossed the line, there was a round of applause.  Many of the men didn’t wait to see the women finish.  Priscah Jeptoo and Agnes Kiprop made it 1-2 for the women to match the 1-2 finish for the men.

Today was the London Marathon.  The petrol station was completely packed.   We had been invited to Silvia Kibet’s house to watch London.  Whereas the crowd at the petrol station was about 80% male, at Silvia’s house there were mostly women.  When Carey and I arrived, Silvia graciously offered us her own chair.  I tried to refuse, but she insisted.  Most sports fans wouldn’t give up their favorite chair to guests!

There were lots of familiar faces in the London race, as the winner and 3^rd place women are both from Iten.  Mary Kaitany demolished the field to run the fastest time of the year so far.  “She lives up by the police station.  Have you seen her?”  Silvia asked me.  Edna Kiplagat finished 3^rd; Edna lives about 200m from us and won New York last fall.  There were also cheers for local runner Lornah Kiplagat, world champion, former half-marathon world record holder and Silvia’s cousin.  Lornah finished a bit off the pace.  Lornah owns the High Altitude Training Center in Iten, where we stayed for our first 3 nights in Iten.  When we were leaving, Lornah grabbed one of our duffle bags and carried it to the truck.

On the men’s side Kenya went 1-2-3, with Emmanuel Muthai running the fastest time in the world this year.  The real excitement came in the battle for 2^nd, where Martin Lel caught Makau by surprise with a sudden burst about 50m from the finish.  The women were on their feet cheering and high fiving.

Silvia invited us back to watch Boston tomorrow.  There is a husband and wife from Iten in the race: Florence Kiplagat and Moses Mosop.  Like Silvia, they are coached by Renato Canova.  I talked to Renato a couple weeks ago.  He said “They both have a chance to win.  A husband and wife have never both won Boston.  That would be something.”

There is a strong field of Americans in the race.  I’ll be rooting for them, of course.  But I think I’d bet on the Kenyans.  However it turns out, it will be exciting to watch it here, at the epicenter.

Pesticides, Fertilizers, and Seeds

Inside the Iten Agro-Vet business is good.  Notice the computers on the counter, a rarity here.

While on runs through the countryside I have passed several people using backpack sprayers.  Today I visited the Iten Agro-Vet store and talked with the owner, Lillian Kiptanui, about her business and farming in Kenya.  There are several Agro-Vet stores in town.  They seem to carry a similar array of products related to farming and animals.  These products include pesticides, fertilizers, seeds, food supplements for cows and goats, and rat poison.

Several authors have stated that Kenyans benefit from an organic diet.  Although Kenyans do eat fresh unprocessed foods, they are not “organic” in sense of being free from fertilizers and pesticides.  We have a small sukuma wiki (Kale) plant outside our house that is covered with aphids.  A small farmer could lose his entire crop to aphids without some method of control.  When the crop is the farmer’s personal food supply, he will not hesitate to purchase a pesticide.

Pesticides are sold for a variety of insects, including aphids, leaf miners, boleworms, and spider mites.  A variety of chemicals are available, including dimethoate, cyermethrin, chorophyriphos, and beta-cyfluthrin.  2-4-D is available for weed control.

Agrovet stores offer a variety of fertilizers, containing various quantities of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.  Lillian said that almost all farmers use fertilizers.  I told her we had a problem in the United States with excess fertilizer polluting waterways and asked if they had that problem here.  She said that many people fertilize as a “tradition” rather than assessing if the soil needs supplementation.  Testing soils is expensive (5000 shillings, about $60) and must be done about 60km away in Kitale.  Therefore few farmers test their soil.  She wished the ministry of agriculture would assist farmers in testing their soil.  A further problem is that many farmers are poorly educated or illiterate.

Seeds for crops including tomatoes, onions, eggplant, collard greens, cabbage, cucumber, leeks, carrots, maize, and beans are available.  I was told that “almost all Kenyans” buy seeds rather than save their own seeds because of the dependability of the purchased seeds.

The major difference between agriculture in Kenya and the United States is the size of the farms.  Lillian told me that in Kenya, “every homestead has a farm.”  People grow most of their basic supplies and have very little money to spend on other foods.  I have seen fields of up to about 5 acres, but most are significantly smaller than that.  Many are the size of a tennis court or even smaller.

Another major difference is the amount of work done by muscle power.  There are tractors on many of the larger farms, but I have seen a lot of work done by hand on the small farms and even some larger plots.

So, farming in Kenya is quite different from the United States.   Most farms are family sized.  Food is fresh and eaten close to the source.  But the food is not “organic” in the western sense of the word.

Long Run

First of all, let me say that this place is ridiculous. I am trying to think if there is such a concentration of talent in any field of human endeavor, athletic or otherwise, like the concentration of runners in Iten.  The ancient Greeks for mathematics and philosophy?  Silicon Valley for computer innovation?  There are fewer than a dozen runners in the United States who can run under 2:10 for the marathon.  There number in this village is probably around 100-200!  There are thousands of runners in town, and all of them are aspiring to be professionals.  There are almost no recreational runners here.  So everyone is good.  The longer I stay here, the more I am just blown away by the place.

Adharanand Finn, a British writer, assembled a group of runners to run the Lewa Marathon which is held in Kenya in June.  It is made up of five Kenyans: Chris, Japhat, Josphat, Shadrack, and Beatrice.  Saturday I went on a long run with this group.  It was a funny run: there were 5 white people  (Adharanand, Anders, Michelle, Jonathon, and me) and 4 Kenyans.  Beatrice showed up early and thought she’d missed us so she had already started her run.

Godfrey, who is coaching the Lewa group would follow in a vehicle to provide water, splits, and rides to those who dropped out early.  Adharanand’s family was in the vehicle as well.  Finding a vehicle is always a challenge.  Godfrey had arranged to borrow Isaac Songok’s truck.  Isaac has run 12:48 for 5k.  Godfrey himself is a retired world class runner, finishing 2^nd at Bloomsday twice and running 60 minutes for a half marathon.

We met at 6:30 by the post office.  Godfrey briefed us: “Start easy, no racing.  Pick up the pace later.”  We started off at 8 or 9 minutes per mile.  Godfrey had to get gas for the truck.  He caught up to us about a kilometer later with Anders.  Anders was impressed with our punctuality.  He arrived at 6:31 and we were already gone.  Fortunately Godfrey was there with the truck.

We passed 5k in 23 minutes.  We were heading gradually downhill on a dirt road that parallels the main tarmac road to Eldoret.  Soon we turned left into a rolling section.  A U shaped collection of lovely roads took us back to the Eldoret road at 10k.  20 minutes for the 2^nd 5k.  We headed off, on another dirt road, and although I had not noticed any increase in pace, I was breathing harder.  I would breathe easily on the gradual downs, but found myself breathing harder on every uphill.

Our third 5k was passed in 19 minutes.  Somewhere in this section the road turned up.  I was trying to stay with the group.  “Go Jeff!  Looking good,” Godfrey called.  It’s nice to hear encouragement from someone with such credibility.  In the group Chris was directing things, instructing different runners to set the pace.  I kept thinking that Chris was second at Boston twice and second at New York twice.  His stride looked so effortless.  Jonathon, who is an aspiring British 1500m runner looked over at me and said “it’s only 2 mzungus (white people) left.”

I hung on for about 3 more kilometers.  When I dropped off, I really faded.  I arrived at 20k having passed the third 5k in about 19 minutes, but I was easily a minute behind the group.  Surprisingly, Chris was there too.  “Just getting back into shape.  I ran 1:30 yesterday as well,” he said.

The truck had to pick up the others, so Chris and I jogged 2 more kilometers very slowly.  We were picked up and then I got to see the rest of the workout from the truck.  Jonathon had dropped off at almost 20k.  Josphat was slightly ahead, but had also dropped off the pace.  “Those guys are flying!” was all they could say.

We caught up to the final two: Japhat and Shadrack.  The last 8k of the run were mostly uphill, and those two looked magnificent.  They were easily running under 5 minute pace.  We handed them some water, and as they entered the town Godfrey hollered “looking great, last kilometer! Push! Push!”  Everyone in the truck was impressed as Shadrack and Japhat increased their pace even more.

Wow.  That’s how to do a long run.  They started at about 8 minute pace with a gradual increase to about 4:30 pace.  I’ve done a couple progression runs before, but it was something to participate in while I could and then witness.

Next week I’ll try to hang on to 25k.

Solid Waste

Solid Waste issues are very different in Kenya and the United States.  The production of solid waste is much lower in Kenya than in the United States.  This is in large part related to the standard of living.  If you have only a dollar a day to spend, you do not produce much waste.  A much larger percentage of peoples’ income goes towards food than in the United States.  But foods are mostly locally grown and purchased at stands.  Every purchase I make is bagged in a plastic bag.  Sometimes the vendor uses two bags.  Plastic bags make up a lot of the visible garbage.  Plastic packaging of laundry soap, margarine, and milk make up more of the garbage.  Glass bottles for soft drinks are reused (not recycled).  If you buy a Fanta (a popular soft drink here) you are expected to drink it on the premises and return the bottle.  But Kenyans do not consume heavily processed foods, like frozen pizzas, tv dinners and the like.  So the amount of packaging used per person is low.

Larger items are often scavenged for parts.  There are a lot of bicycles on the road that would probably be in landfills in the U.S.  There are a fair number of shoe soles.  But there are many vendors who will re-sole shoes so the upper has been saved.  Because labor costs are cheap relative to material costs, it makes sense for Kenyans to separate usable materials from construction debris which in the United States might be trucked to the landfill.

When we moved to our house we asked what to do with garbage.  “Throw it over the wall” was the instruction.  Over the wall of our yard is one of many local garbage spots.  This garbage is burned.  Sometimes a tractor pulling a wagon picks up the garbage, but I have seen them unloading and burning the garbage from the wagon.  Novelist Nicholas Drayson wrote that “The smell of Nairobi is the smell of small bonfires.”  Although the smell is not pervasive here, the method of solid waste disposal is the same.  Burning plastic produces toxic air pollutants, but as I said, the amount burned is not too high.  There may be toxins in the ashes from things like batteries.

Chickens and other animals root through the ashes for edible bits.  We’ve been trying to feed our food waste to a herd of goats which is nearby, but this doesn’t seem to be commonly done, except by chance.  There is a fair amount of litter all over town.  The goats sift through for banana peels and other edible bits.  Despite the sign on the garbage can, there doesn’t seem to be a consciousness about litter here.  I haven’t seen any sign of a centralized land fill or disposal area, although there must be something like this in the larger cities.  Overall, Kenya’s production of solid waste and its method of dealing with solid waste are quite different from the United States.

Uhuru's Visions of Kenya

Here are Uhuru's pictures from our walk and her captions.


There are animals EVERYWHERE:  chickens pecking in yards, goats and sheep grazing by the side of roads, and cattle being herded by five-year-old boys with sticks. And since it is lambing season, there are lambs everywhere! Here a lamb suckles milk from its mother.



Cattle are everywhere here, as I said before. They are rambling across roads, being herded by boys, standing in pastures, grazing next to paths or even in people’s tiny yards, and tied up by ropes on their legs. This one was in a pasture next to the dirt road we were walking on.

 

There are many types of trees that are very different from the ones we see back home. Pale-colored ones with spear-shaped, glossy leaves that we think might be eucalyptus, scraggly, flat-topped ones seen from a distance, some type of conifer (cedar?), and many more. We aren’t sure what this one is called.

Many people walk the dusty dirt road we walked on. Motorcycles zoom by every few minutes, children lug heavy burdens, people walk bikes, and every now and then a beat-up car rumbles by. Whenever we see children they scream “How are you” over and over. Here is a group of people walking along the road.



                 Men plow fields with cattle. You don’t see that in Ellensburg!                 



There are LOTS of mosquitoes here. We are being eaten alive! Every night we have to sleep under a bed net, a canopy of mosquito netting, to avoid being bitten. And then you can still hear them whining outside the net, which keeps me from sleeping! Luckily, we don’t think mosquitoes in this part of Kenya (Iten, near the Kerio Valley) has malaria-carrying mosquitoes. And if it does, it doesn’t have very many.    

Apollo's Views of the Countryside

Today Apollo, Uhuru and I went for a long walk through the countryside.  I told them to be on the lookout for things to photograph for a blog entry.  Here are Apollo's pictures and the captions he wrote:

“This is me playing soccer.  I play with two boys named Brian.  I liked it.  They came to my front door while I was writing this.  After I finish writing I am going to play soccer with them.”

“I like this building because I was really close and I just liked it.  It looked really old and you don’t see it in the United States.”

“This is a rooster I looked and I said ‘Hey Ru give me the camera.’  I thought it looked good.  I hear roosters everywhere.”

I like this kitten because it is so cute.  It lives at the hotel we stayed in when we first got here.  We like to visit to play ping pong and see the kitten and go swimming.

Benjamin Rotich

We have become friends with a young Kenyan runner named Benjamin whose struggles show the difficulties faced by Kenyans in general and Kenyan athletes in particular.  We met Benjamin because he was pacing Sophie Duarte, the French Olympian steeplechaser.  Sophie was staying at the same hotel as us.  Benjamin offered to help us find a house, walking around several rental properties with us.  He is friendly and generous with his time.

Benjamin’s father died three years ago from pneumonia at age 50.  His mother is not financially secure.  Benjamin would like to race in Europe and the United States to earn money for his family.  Getting to race abroad is what all Kenyan runners are aiming for.  It’s a bit like the lottery; earning a few thousand dollars prize money is hitting the jackpot in a country where many people live on a dollar a day.  The competition is fierce, but Kenyans have a great belief in themselves.  Carey met a woman with three children who is trying to make it as a professional.  Carey ran with her and reported that she was “not fast,” so probably won’t make it to race abroad yet she was training hard.

Benjamin is a talented runner, and would be likely to earn money abroad.  One day after pacing Sophie during a workout he ran a 1500m time trial on Chepkoleil track (at altitude) and ran 3:36, close to the Olympic A standard.  He has run 29 minutes for 10k and 1:06 for half marathon.  These are prize money winning times, and Benjamin is a young athlete.

In order to get a passport, Benjamin needed a birth certificate.  One hadn’t been issued when he was born.  He did have immunization records.  There can be a very long wait for a birth certificate.  As Benjamin described it, he submitted the paperwork, but if he didn’t have money for a bribe so he was told it could take a month to get the paperwork done.  When he came back, they looked around and said “we can’t find your paperwork, why don’t you submit it again?”  The next time he had the bribe, and so walked away with a birth certificate.

Birth certificate in hand, it was time to apply for a passport.  The standard cost is 4000 shillings, about $50.  Like the birth certificate, the wait is inversely related to the “extra cost.”  Benjamin paid an extra 1000 shillings to get the passport in one week.  He came over for dinner last night, passport in hand.  He was very happy to have cleared this hurdle.

Benjamin’s friendship with Sophie was a huge help with the next hurdle:  getting an invitation to a meet.  There are several agents who arrange meets for athletes, but there are far more runners than the agents can handle.  I have been asked many times if I know any agents.  Benjamin doesn’t have an agent, but he has an invitation to a meet.   Sophie knows many meet directors and can vouch for his talent.

Next Benjamin has to get clearance from Athletics Kenya (AK).  AK can be very strict.  For example, for the world cross country championships, neither the male nor female defending world champions made the team.  Last year’s male champion dropped out of the trials race with stomach troubles.  AK has a couple “wild card” spots, but used them for other athletes.  If AK doesn’t give Benjamin clearance to race he won’t be able to get a visa.

Benjamin should to be able to walk into the French embassy with his passport, invitation, and clearance from AK and get a visa.  Finally, the meet manager has to arrange for airline tickets.  It is all very complicated.  When I ran Boston in 2006 I remember the woman’s winner, Rita Jeptoo, almost didn’t make the race due to visa and airline issues.  She finally flew in the night before the race and blew away the field.

The final hurdle, of course, is to race.  But after all the red tape, racing could be the easy part.  Benjamin continues to train hard (he ran three times today, which is very typical.)  His quality workout was 10x400 in 61 seconds with 100m recovery jogs.  He plans to do a hill workout tomorrow as his quality workout and will probably train three times again.

So, if Benjamin manages to make it to Europe and bring back prize money, he will have achieved the dream that every one of the hundreds of runners here are aiming for.  It would make all the difference for him and his family.

Speedwork at Kamariny Track

View over the Rift Valley from the edge of the Elgeyo escarpment.

I have avoided going to the track so far, because, as my Russian friend Vasili put it, “you will be like a disabled person” next to all the speedy runners.  But my neighbor Ebby had a track workout planned, and I agreed to pace her.   Tuesday is the day most Kenyans dedicate to speedwork.  Because the track would be very busy, we met at 6:30.  Over the course of the day, hundreds of runners would use the track.

It’s about a 2 mile jog to the track.  As is typical of a Kenyan warmup, we went very easily.  We saw dozens of runners also heading for the track- it’s easy to tell because they are carrying their spikes.  We also saw children on their way to Kamariny Primary School, right across from the track.  A few jogged with us for a while.

Kamariny track is a legendary location in the running world.  It is a simple dirt track with no lane lines.  The track was dedicated by the Queen of England in 1959, long before the Kenyan running phenomenon.  There is a small groove in the inside land worn by countless footsteps.  The track is right on the edge of the escarpment, with spectacular views to the east across the rift valley.  Olympic champions, world champions, world record holders and Boston marathon winners have all trained here.  Word is the track is a little long, about 410-420 meters.  That, coupled with the 7000 ft elevation, make it a running anvil.  Runners forged here often go on to excel anywhere.

There is a recent trend for some runners to run at the Chepkoleil track in Eldoret.  It’s about 1000ft lower and has a better surface, so it’s possible to train a little faster.  But for many runners, the 400 shilling (about $5) round trip matatu fare rules this out.

After some drills and strides, we began our workout: 10 x 800m with 2 minute recoveries.  Runners either place a rock or draw a line in the dirt with a shoe to mark their starting places for workouts.  We selected a location and began.  My job was to lead each interval to help Ebby hold her pace.  After the first lap of the first interval, she told me to speed up.  We finished the first one in 2:45.  The next four were all 2:40, but I was getting tired.  I didn’t object when Ebby suggested a 5 minute recovery before the second half of the workout.

There were about 80 runners in several other groups (this is the quiet time of day here- I talked to someone who was at the track at 10AM and estimated there were 400 runners working out).  A group of 30 men were running 600s and would come flying by us, making me look like a “disabled person,” I imagined.  Another large group of men were running 800s as well.  There was one man who was way off the back of this group.  “He doesn’t look too fast,” I thought. Then we had an interval where our laps aligned and I realized he was still a little faster than me.  Finally, there was a group of women who had a male pacemaker.  They were joined by another mzungu, Adharanand Finn.  Adharanand is a British journalist who is writing a book: Running with the Kenyans.  The book is being published by Random House, which also published Born to Run.  Adharanand writes a column on running for the Guardian which is good reading.  Adharanand and I ran for 2 hours on Sunday.  I hit the wall and ended up way behind him.

The five minute recovery made the 6^th interval ok.  We passed a few women on their 600.  But my legs started to get very heavy on the 7^th.  After the 7^th interval, as I panted with my hands on my knees, I wondered if I could make it through the workout.  Two minutes was over before I knew it, and my legs felt leaden, and I only managed 2:43.  I told Ebby I was falling off the pace, and could run the second lap of the last two intervals with her.  She told me to keep going, to take the first lap a little easier so I could push the second lap.  I was supposed to be the one helping her through the workout!  We took off on the 9^th interval, and even holding back on the first lap I was getting tired.  Ebby shot by me on the last 200 and finished in 2:41. I struggled in in 2:45.  I knew I could manage one more, so I followed the starting a little slower strategy.  Again, Ebby shot by with 200m to go.  She finished in 2:41, and I finished in 2:46.

We caught our breaths, and began the slow jog back home.  She told me that she had feared this workout and had woken up in the night nervous about it.  She said the pace was good.  OK, her exact words were “moderate.”  She said we must run 30 minutes easy at 4PM.  The Kenyans believe the easy run after speedwork is very important.

Overall it was a beautiful experience running at Kamariny track.  It isn’t like going to the Ellensburg High School track and running alone; there is fantastic energy here.  It is inspiring seeing so many people running so fast.  It is humbling, but inspiring.

Stars Present and Future

Yesterday Uhuru and Apollo were invited to play with our landlord’s daughter Kosi.  Our house is owned by Erastes and his wife Silvia Kibet.  Silvia is a well-established professional runner, finishing 4^th at the Olympic 5000m and running world class times.  She is coached by Italian Renato Canova, who only takes on a few athletes at a time because he believes in giving a lot of personal attention to each one.  When we got to the house Silvia and her daughter Kosi were in the yard sharing watermelon.

Silvia invited us inside.  Silvia lives in a large house by Kenyan standards.  In fact, her house might be considered mid-sized in the United States.  The kids colored while Silvia, her brother in law Stuart, and I talked.  I’ll admit to being a little star struck- I’ve only met a couple world class runners and I’ve never sat in the living room talking to one.  But Silvia was so kind and modest that she made us feel welcome.  I asked her about her racing and training plans.   We also talked about family and growing up in Kenya and the United States.  The kids went outside to play with the chickens.  After about 45 minutes, Silvia announced that she was ready to go training.  Kosi came home to play with us while Silvia went on her afternoon run.  She invited the kids to come back to the house to play and Carey and me to come to watch the spring marathons on their TV.  Although she had never met Carey, she asked me to relay her greetings.  Silvia was remarkably kind and welcoming.

Ebby is an aspiring middle distance runner.  She has run one season setting a mark of 2:06 for 800m on a dirt track at altitude.  She wants to race in Europe; she needs to run 2:03 here which they say translates into 2:00 on a European track at sea level.  Ebby eats with the runners across the hall from our house.  Today invited us to see her place.  Ebby’s place is typical of this neighborhood; about 4-6 residences each occupy a section of a long building.  There might be two buildings together to make a compound which is often gated.  Ebby’s place has two rooms and a kitchen.  One room is completely empty and is ready for another athlete to move in.  Ebby’s room contains a mattress, her suitcase, a row of 6 pairs of running shoes, and a small bedside box containing her notebooks.

Ebby invited us to sit and she talked about her life and goals.  She offered to paint Uhuru’s toenails (she declined).  She offered to help us learn Swahili.  Several children were playing soccer outside; Apollo got up the nerve to join in.  Ebby invited us to come back tomorrow.

I continue to be amazed at the hospitality and kindness of the Kenyans.  While Silvia is a running superstar, she remains friendly and welcoming.  Despite differences in competitive levels and wealth, the same kind spirit showed in both Silvia and Ebby.

Shopping

Because there is one car for every 260 Kenyans, stores are located for walkers.  There are many, many small shops.  About 100 feet from our front door is a row of shops, each no more than 12 feet wide.  There are several types of shops.

There are the general merchandise shops.  You stand in an entryway that is about 3 feet x 4 feet, and look in through a wire screen at the shopkeeper and his selection.  These stores have flour, maize, sugar, salt, soap, toilet paper, candy, bread, and a few other basics.  Next door to our closest general merchandise shop is another, seemingly identical.  Of course you can also buy cell phone minutes, starting at about 12 cents worth of air time.

Fruit stands are usually a rickety 4 feet x4 feet stand not attached to other shops.  The selection varies.  As I walk past the stands I look to see what each has.  They usually have a couple items, including mangoes, papayas, bananas, pineapples, or oranges.  They might have a few vegetables as well.

Vegetable stands are constructed like fruit stands.  Also, like fruit stands, their selection varies.  If I want tomatoes, onions, carrots and potatoes I will usually have to go to three different stands.  Also popular (with Kenyans in general and Carey and me, but not so much Uhuru and Apollo) is sukuma wiki, a kale like vegetable.

The word “hotel” signifies a restaurant.  There is a hotel in our chain of shops.  We haven’t eaten there, but I have bought chapatis to go for about 12 cents each.

About 300 feet up the road is a similar selection of shops; the array of shops seems to repeat very frequently.  In the kilometer between our house and the center of town we pass a couple dozen general merchandise shops, about 25 fruit stands and 25 vegetable stands.   The proximity of the shops is convenient- we can walk out to pick up some eggs or bread if we are running out.

At the center of town are three supermarkets which carry more variety of bread, biscuits, beauty aids, jam, juice.  There is a large vegetable market where about 75 independent sellers display their wares.  Another section of the market contains a wide variety of clothes.  On Saturdays it is especially crowded.  Vendors bring in enormous bundles of clothes.  While looking for a skirt for Uhuru, Carey found a Value Village price tag.  I guess bundles of clothes from thrift stores find their way to Africa.

Finally,about 30 minutes away in the big town of Eldoret, is Nakumatt.  Nakumatt is a fully equipped western style store like Fred Meyer.  You can find Italian pesto, American peanut butter, scrabble, car seats, clothes etc.  The prices are pretty much the same as an American Fred Meyer as well.  We loaded up on spices and got some cheese and butter there last week.