School Meets

Girls 3000m at the primary school meet

In the past two days we saw two school meets: a primary school meet and a secondary school meet.  As the Ellensburg Track teams have districts, regionals, and state, I thought it would be interesting to share my impressions of meets on the other side of the world.

The primary school meet was held at Uhuru and Apollo’s school, Salaba Academy.  About 3 other primary schools attended.  The event began at 11:00.  Classes were held until about 10:30.  Primary school means standard 1-8, which is the same as grades 1-8.  However, especially at public schools, there are many students who are “old” for their grade.  It can be hard for families to raise school fees, and sometimes children stay at home to work.  One of Apollo’s friends, Alan, is 13 and is in 5^th grade.  Some of the primary school students from other schools looked to be almost 18!

The teachers had painted lane lines around a grassy field.  The field wasn’t quite large enough for a 400m track, so it was perhaps 350m.  The field, which is also used for soccer, has a distinctly uphill side.  The surface is fairly uneven.  The 100m was held on the uphill portion of the track.

The girls 3000m began with a mad dash for the first lap.  Soon, students began dropping out.  About half the field dropped out!  As in all the races, only one or two students wore shoes, and all the students wore their school uniforms.  The girl who won took of a sweater with about a lap to go.  I didn’t catch her time (and of course I’m not sure about the distance), but she looked like she would make the Ellensburg varsity cross country team.

Boys run the uphill side of the track during the 800m at the primary school meet.

In the boys 3000m a young man with shoes, running shorts, and a hi-tech shirt sprinted to the front.  He was absolutely flying.  Although he slowed during the race, he still lapped nearly the entire field.  He looked to be much older than the other boys, and some of the teachers said he was training already.  He also won the 800m later.  It was good that Apollo didn’t run; it would be like an 8 year old entering a high school race!

The hurdling kung fu high jump technique.  When you have to land on your feet.

The equipment for the field events was different than in the U.S.  The javelin was a sharpened stick.  I saw one of the officials get hit with it.  Fortunately he was not hurt.  The shot put was a large brick.  The discus was a flat slab of concrete.  The high jump was amazing to watch.  The landing was dirt which was harder that the long jump sand.  Students had to land feet first.  Still, they would run full bore and leap, lifting their feet up in a kung-fu-esque maneuver and clear the stick.  They were jumping over 5 feet with this technique!

Tambach Track

The secondary school meet was much better equipped.  This event was the Rift Valley Junior Championships.  It was held at Tambach Teacher’s College, about 10km from Iten and at a lower (but still over a mile high) altitude.  The Tambach track, although still dirt, is a 400m track and the surface is in significantly better shape than Kamariny in Iten.  It's a little strange to explain that there are two all weather tracks in Ellensburg, the same number as in the entire country of Kenya.  Brother Colm used to bring his elite athletes (including 800m world record holder David Rudisha) there to train, but rumor has it that the track is not open to the public for training.  There were actual javelins and a pole vault with mats (still a lot less mat than you’d see in the U.S.).

The wide range of athletes struck me.  There were athletes wearing their school uniform, which for girls meant a skirt.  Several athletes were barefoot.  There were also athletes with Kenya national team jerseys and the newest spikes.  These athletes had represented Kenya internationally, at world junior championships or African championships.  None of the athletes had school athletic uniforms; they wore whatever they had.  Numbers were handwritten on pieces of paper and stapled to their jersey.

Girls 110m Hurdles.  Only one athlete has shoes.

 The girls’ 3000m steeplechase was crazy to watch.  The first time over the water jump almost all the girls hurdled the rail and landed in the deepest part of the water.  They struggled out of the water, many falling and crawling out.  By the third lap they had all figured it out and were sailing over the water jump.  A friend pointed out that they might not have had access to a water jump to practice.  The winner ran 10:31; 3000m steeplechase times are roughly comparable to 2-mile times.

In the boys’ steeplechase one boy, barefooted and wearing the long shorts and button down shirt of his school uniform, was off the back the first lap.  As he approached the chaos of the water jump, he turned around and jogged off the track.  There was laughter and shouts from the crowd.  In the U.S. this kind of laughter would be seen as mocking and cruel.  I’ve learned that the Kenyans view this as laughing with you, not at you. 

Lead boys clear the water jump.

 The top boys, meanwhile, were flying.  Three boys formed a lead group, with one boy chasing a few seconds behind.  The winner broke away with 600m to go and ran 8:41, which remember, is roughly comparable to a 2-mile time.  He was of course, wearing a Kenya jersey.  I didn’t catch his name, but perhaps by the 2016 Olympics we’ll all know it.

Boys 800m.  Note stapled on paper numbers.

The boys 800m was won in 1:49; the girls in 2:13.  The relays tags were a little shaky, but still the 4x400m was run in 3:13 by the boys and 3:58 by the girls.  The second place girls team, all wearing skirts, ran 4:03.  Overall the secondary school meet was a very high level meet, but still there was a huge discrepancy between the future national team stars and those bringing up the rear.

Good luck to the Ellensburg Team in your upcoming school meets!