another sports day

Lucky me - I timed my adventures abroad to line up with national sports days in both of my host countries.

Sports day, or "National Olympic Day" in Kenya is, as you might guess, a bit different than sports day in China. Key observations in that regard: Kenya has much less nationalistic fanfare leading up to the event (check the parade photos from my "pink plastic skirts and AK-47s" entry in November), much higher athletic ability, and a much lower percentage of entrants wearing shoes.

It was a cool experience, seated with the kids from the orphanage we visited back in March. Like in China, my favorite part was the run. Here is where the second key difference becomes especially evident: unlike in Shenzhen, where my victory over a few hundred teachers prompted a speech about the need for Chinese people to work on their physical fitness, there is no way I could have kept pace with the Kenyan runners.

View into the bleachers. Where's Waldo?

Okay, that might be a stretch; I could have quite easily kept up with the female group (although maybe not wearing a skirts and no shoes under the hot afternoon sun...) but the guys race was really amazing. When the whistle blew, all the runners took off at about a 5-6 minute pace. The lone mzungu participant, Matt (who is by far in the best shape of our group), immediately fell to the back. Unthinkingly, I made a comment about waiting for the runners to burn out - there was no way they could keep such an intense pace for 6.2 miles.

I guess there is a reason why Olympic runners are Kenyan, which is something I should have considered before I made my quick judgment. Many of the runners did drop out (including Matt, after a couple miles, although he did put in a good showing for One Acre Fund) but the leaders kept the same pace throughout the first several miles. With 6 laps remaining, the leader suddenly broke out ahead, basically keeping a sprint. Closing up a race with 1.5 miles left is hardly a concept that works in my brain, but that's what he did; he kept the near-sprint for the last 6 laps. About 34 minutes for the first place runner (no official timer but I used my cell phone to estimate), with the next several coming in close behind. None of the fastest runners were wearing shoes. When I commented on this to Moses, the boy sitting next to me, he looked at me strangely and said, "Of course the fastest do not wear shoes. Shoes are heavy."

Video footage (yes, that is me screaming... embarrassing?):

Other breaking news: My roommate-to-be, Simi, who is on a travel grant around the world, is coming to Bungoma... tomorrow. Just in time for my radio show to air tomorrow night. She'll likely be here until Friday. More updates on that to come!