A Training Day in Kaptagat

It’s not every morning you get out of bed and go for a run, half-expecting to see a world champion or two. Plus, an Olympic silver medalist.

Justin Lagat took me out of Eldoret to Kaptagat township. Just past the town, there’s a dirt road that appears to missing a sign that reads “Watch Out – Olympians at Training.” The lack of a sing might just signal a sense that the people here expect to dominate in the distance events but, for a foreigner, it’s an eye-popping eye-opener when literally some of the best runners in the world rush by.

Rush is my word, not theirs. They were doing easy mileage at a relatively high rate of speed.

After Justin and I got our runs in, Justin doing the out lap, and me pulling the return, we went and visited friends of his. These were all young men still training to break into the running world as paid professionals. As with most individuals dedicated to a specific vision, they work, live, sleep to make that vision a reality.

They live a very Spartan existence, sleeping in small rooms, cooking for themselves on a kerosene stove. Still, they’re remarkably kind, offering the odd American a cup of tea despite the fact they likely don’t have a pair of shillings to rub together.

Twice a day, they go on training runs, except for the days where they add a third run into the mix. These young men certainly understand how to work hard.

Helping them along the way is Wilson Kiprop who sponsors this particular group of young men. It’s not the sort of thing that you see highlighted in his Wikipedia article, but he, along with quite a few other champion runners, work hard to bring opportunities to the next generation. It would be nice if these activities were as celebrated as their athletic achievements.

On to Eldoret

New Year’s Day is an eventful holiday in Kenya. The families travel back to their traditional homes to celebrate the day. In my case, I ended up joining a gentleman I met on the plane over. We touched base after we got settled, and Njuguna invited me to join him and his wife, Celia, on a trip into the Central Highlands. He promised me a potluck and a chance for me to learn a bit about the Kikuyu lands.

Roast goat, chapata, a Kenyan version of cole slaw, beans, potatoes, and more.

Njuguna was actually serious when he mentioned that it would be a potluck. At every house that we visited, the families offered us food. It is part of the cultural pattern throughout Kenya, where they treated guests as family, feeding them and offering tea.

Celia came to my rescue. She had taught her European students a phrase, ne meh she ba, (spelling phonetically here, folks. Could well have a different proper spelling.) The phrase means “I am now full.” I suspect that phrase, along with ‘thank you very much’—assante sana,—are going to be in my permanent repertoire. Po le, too. I’m sorry. It actually has a wide and varied meaning from I’m sorry I stepped on your foot to I’m sorry your car has a flat tire. The range of expression of this one word will appeal to my youngest daughter.

Kenyan gatherings, at least this one, are quiet relative to a comparable American party. I liked the difference as I’ve never been much for trying to shout over a group.

The next day, Saturday, marked my trip to Eldoret. Immediate impression – absolute relief at the breezes and the drop in humidity. Also, my allergies are fading which is great. Still a bit of a sniffle but that is fading fast.

Justin met me at the airport, and he drove us to his home, where I’ll be staying. He and his wife have been most welcoming, though I think they worry over me. They shouldn’t as I’m pretty adaptable. After settling in, Justin took me on a walk, pointing out the houses of Olympic gold medalists and other notaries. The views are expansive and I plan on getting out during dawn and dusk to capture some of the images. That will remain a work in progress for now but once I get them, I’ll put them up.

After the walk, we had dinner - traditional food that was very tasty, with Kenyan tea, and then sat talking. For Justin and I, it was a lot of about writing. Running periodically enters into the conversation, too. There are a couple of major races coming up, so I'll have a chance to watch outstanding runners as they go head to head.

Update: Sunday morning. Went for a four mile-ish run/walk with Justin. Still can process enough oxygen but that is something that time will take care of. The terrain reminds me a lot of home. Took a goodly number of pictures along the way.

Today, we’re headed out to Kapkeringon Village to visit Justin’s family.

Yes the gaps are big enough to fall through.

Justin Lagat, looking stylish.

A Visit to the Giraffe Center

The Giraffe Center has surprisingly little information about the animal it's protecting, but made for a pleasant visit anyway. I had expected to have some type of guided tour of the grounds which have a tourist visiting section to get people close to the animals and nature walk.

The petting zoo, since that effectively is what it is, had a pavilion where you could feed a giraffe pellets. The signage provided amply instructions on how to feed then (be holding the pellet between the fingers) and admonitions on what not to do (don't feed from the palm of your hand, don't lean into the giraffe as they like to head butt, do not tease the giraffe.) A key points, personnel was positioned to observe and, apparently, ignore the mishandling by the people.

The remainder of the grounds in the compound was given over to a gift shop. A quick perusal before I left confirmed that it met the basic standards of all gift shops, having a single minded display of items designed to separate cash from the rubes. It was a tad on the spendy side, shall we say.

What was missing was any sort of information booth, book, video, guide, or sign meant to impart the slightest bit of  knowledge regarding the giraffe. I thought the interior of the pavilion would have this kid of information, but it contained children's drawing from a contest. Some of those were quite well done and creative, but not what I was hoping for.

The walking trail on the other side had more appeal to me. The official trail was 1.6 kilometers around, though there are numerous side trials, especially when you get to the Gogo River.

The Gogo River is like the San Diego River or the Todd in Alice Springs, It's more a seasonal trickle of water than a body of swift flowing current.

On the other side of the river, past the 'Do Not Enter' signs there is a ton of single track maintained by the giraffes as they meander. I could've gotten joyfully lost for hours over there, but violating the laws of a host nation seems foolish. I played nice and explore several miles of trail before heading back to the main park. I think I was the only tourist that headed down into that part of the exhibit.

Ever done those "Find the Cat" photos? How many giraffes can you find in the picture below?

Feel free to share the "Count the Giraffes" on Facebook and Twitter-

The next two picture are from the nature walk. My computer is being balky in resizing them and it's almost three in the morning here, so I'm leaving the big. By the way, there are scary things that shriek in the night in Kenya, at least here. Discourages one from night running.

The Gogo River

A long walk to the Karen Blixen Museum

I gather, from the looks that I got, that white people don't go for miles long walks in Nairobi. Also, the fact that I saw not another single white person while running and walking nearly sixteen miles suggests that it's an activity low on the list for tourists.

That's a shame, because I enjoyed both the scenery during my walk and by the people that I met along the way. (The run left me gasping and with a sore foot. I stayed focused and completed.)

Nairobi, by the way, is a place where you only rarely need to check the weather as it stays very consistently in a narrow, warm band. The sun is also abundant, leading a certain knucklehead to get burned. Sunscreen and a hat are on the list to acquire today.

I ended up taking the scenic route to Karen, named for Karen Blixen. For those who don't know, she was the author of Out of Africa, a terrific book later made into a movie starring Robert Redford and Meryl Streep. The movie won a total of seven academy awards.

The town, reputed to be named after Karen Blixen, is affluent, especially in relation to some of the other neighborhoods that I passed. Since I left from the mall, the route was considerably longer than if I had left from the hotel. Walking along Langata Road, the sidewalk gives way pretty quickly to an unpaved shoulder more like a single track trail than a city walking route. The early part of my trek led me through a business district and near a nursery. I found it entertaining to watch a worker from the nursery shoo cows away from the young plants and onto the road, much to the consternation of the drivers. They eventually meandered to the other side of the road and began mowing the grasses there.

The road is also populated by a number of schools, many of them religious, and all sequestered behind tall walls topped with razor wire and, as often as not, electrified wires.

This points to one of the dichotomies of Nairobi. The people are wonderfully welcoming. I've had several long conversations with complete strangers. As a Mr. Kipkiror said, "We are a very hospitable people." And they are. Hellos from weird Americans walking to nowhere are greeted with smiles and hello's back, or just a smile and 'Yes!'.

Yet the fences are real, as are the guards. Most of the upscale communities are gated and have guards, as does my hotel. The Galleria has an armed presence and they perform a security check on all vehicles entering the premises. Pedestrians likewise get screened.

The two types of security serve two different purposes. The malls and schools fear more violence that left 50 westerners dead at the Westgate shopping mall several years ago, and 147 dead students at a university in northwestern Kenya in April of this year. Both maintain high levels of visible security to dissuade possible repetitions of those atrocities.

The fences point to a separate problem. Kenya, while performing well relative to its neighbors, remains a country with considerable poverty. Property crime is relatively high, enough so that companies advertise the electric fences as a means of controlling the grounds for the house.

This became more evident as I got closer to Karen. Hedges disguised the walls and the wires but they were there, along with the heavy metal gates at the driveways. The properties morphed to estates as I made the turn down Karen Road.

The Karen Blixen Museum occupies the old homestead and grounds, while the Karen Country Club sits where the coffee used to be grown. Apparently, coffee is ill-suited to the area as the humidity is too high, a fact I didn’t know. Blixen was from Denmark rather than England and earned the ire of the ruling colonial class by treating the Massai and Kikiyu as people. She provided a degree of education and health care for her workers that was remarkable for the period.

Much of this was explained to me by an articulate young man named Ephraim. The fee for the Museum includes a personal tour which starts with a chat in the front lawn, in the shade of the trees. The tour of the house itself does not take long and photography is not permitted – having visited Monticello, I expected this. Most of the furniture is original to the home though, disappointingly, the books were donated by Universal Studios during the movie.

In a surprise, I noted two 40 foot towering cactus in the back lawn. Ephraim had already left to serve another sightseer so I didn’t have a chance to ask if they were original to the home or not. Still, they are the tallest cactus I recall having seen.

The return trip went much faster as I took the short route. On the way, I saw the signage for the Giraffe Center. Looking it up on a map, it’s within walking distance, too. I think I’ll take a cab, though, as I want to use the Nikon for pictures there.

I need to get a baggie, too. I had a very cool young lady that I used to coach ask if I would collect a sample of dirt from Kenya. She apparently has samples from all over the world. It sounded like a neat idea, so I’ll get some at the Giraffe Park. Later, I’ll get some from Iten. She’s a runner – she’ll get a kick out of that.

If you tweet, you can follow me at @paulduffau – I’ll be tweeting from various spots along the way during my trip. Also, the audiobook version of Finishing Kick is out – and already out-selling both print and ebook, which I expected.

Take care and run gently.

Pictures from Kenya

I'll have more as I go. Here are a few from yesterday. Today's missed opportunity was of a pair of vervet monkeys that came onto the grounds. By the time I fetched the camera, they had disappeared. Moral of the story - take the camera everywhere, including the patio during breakfast.

I went for a short run. It turns out that I'm not just slow at sea level - at altitude, I'm really slow. Also, the pain in my foot that I thought was healed, isn't. I'll try a different pair of shoes and see if that makes any difference. Still, I covered three miles. I did catch sight of a tall, lanky fellow headed the opposite way, laying down sub-six minute miles like it was nothing. Beautiful to watch. I waved, but he was already gone.

The Hotel Troy-Nairobi. A bit spartan but the staff - Cecile, Chris, Joseph - are very pleasant and helpful.

As I mentioned, I came across a troop of baboons on the way to lunch. When I'm out walking, I'm carrying my work camera. It's nearly indestructible and takes pretty competent pictures.

I figured this male baboon did not want me intruding so I yielded right of way.

I was right - he expected cars to give way, too. I didn't get a picture but a young female with a baby on her back just missed getting hit as she jaywalked at high speed across this highway.

This sign cracked me up. Is the Ultimate Security limited? Not so ultimate, then. (I know, it's the corporate organization of the company - it just funny.)

Welcome to Nairobi

After thirty hours on planes and in airports, waiting patiently in the passport lines, and discovering that my bag might well have been the first onto the plane – and, thus, the last off – I met Chris outside the airport for my ride to the quiet hotel I booked, sight-unseen, online. I did run into a slight delay at customs. The camera equipment had them questioning my tourist-y bona fides, as did the weight of the books in my suitcase. I explained I was a writer. That didn’t help. It took a little convincing before he understood I'm not a professional photographer who should be paying some sort of tariff fee. I think my cluelessness finally garnered a touch of sympathy as the agent eventually wearied, smiled, and waved me on my way.

Chris works for the Hotel Troy-Nairobi, which offers a shuttle service for a nominal fee. I contacted them before I left and Chris, a tall-ish gentlemen stood with a sign with my name to greet me at the street. Ten minutes later and with the bags loaded, we departed into the dark for the hotel.  (Side note: Chris oomph’d at the big bag - For those who are fans of It’s a Wonderful Life, think of the scene where Jimmy Stewart is talking about the suitcase he needs, one big enough for all the stickers for all the places he’s going that can double as a life raft if the tramp steamer he’s riding goes down. That’s about the size of my bag. For much the same reasons.)

On the drive, I noted that Chris maintained a pretty steady 100 kph (about 60 mph) despite the flashes of what I took to be radar cameras. I asked, and Chris confirmed. Yep, they were speed traps but the government put the system in without penalty for the first year to get the drivers used to the notion. Strikes me that the government might be training them to ignore the cameras at the same time the drivers ignore the 50 kmp speed limit, but we’ll see, I guess. The Kenyans also drive a bit like the Koreans I remember. Painted lines are strictly advisory in nature.

Check-in was a breeze. It took a little trial-and-error to find the correct room, not that the hotel has many. The original room they set aside had an issue with hot water at the shower. The showers use an on-demand system that’s kind of neat when they work. The one in the first room didn’t, so we did a shift two doors down. I FB’d family that I was alive and crashed.

With my body clock a touch confused, I woke at about 5AM, Nairobi time. Interesting little fact. The folks here don’t get moving that early. I ended up taking a walk while I waited for the breakfast to open at seven.

The Hotel Troy-Nairobi sits on the outskirts of Nairobi with Nairobi National Park across the street. I meandered my way to the northwest and managed to see a monkey in the trees of the park. No bueno on getting a picture – the critter was moving pretty quick. I wasn’t.

Also moving quickly were the legions of men walking to work, some singly, some in clumps of two and three. The ones headed in the opposite direction mostly smiled when I said hello, though a few looked confused and one downright bemused. I gathered that I was not exhibiting typical behavior for a tourist.

Hotel Troy does not believe in allowing guests to be hungry. Breakfast was a Spanish omelet, a sausage of the type the British call bangers, potatoes with bell peppers and red onion, two rolled crepes, and beans. Plus watermelon, juice that I think was passion fruit – the taste was familiar but not from recent memory – and cups of tea.

Then, I went for another walk. This time, I aimed for a destination. The Galleria is a shopping center that would fit in most mid-size American towns. They had exactly what I needed. A phone, since Verizon doesn’t work in Kenya, and an adapter for my computer. The Kenyans clearly have not grasped how to be rapacious in their phone contracts. The phone was cheap, the minutes pre-paid, and no sell-your-soul-to-the-devil service contract. The people in Safaricom were also unfailingly polite, though they could speak up a little.

Little fact that most Americans don’t know. Kenya positively kicks our butt not just in running but in the use of mobile money. The program, M-Pesa, allows you to load money onto your phone and use it at merchants in the place of cash. Kenya is one of the leaders in the world at adopting this technology. Safer than carrying cash and more secure than a credit card, M-Pesa is a fundamentally different way of managing economic transactions.

A cynic might point out that the mobile money system would work in our country if not for the lobbying of the banks and credit card companies.

Nonetheless, M-Pesa is a godsend for travelers.

The Galleria had a bunch of other shops, too. I found a camera shop where I can get some new filters if I need them. A pharmacy and doctor’s office, both of which I hope to avoid. A book store. (natch!) A brewery that looks right intriguing. A Kentucky Fried Chicken place complete with a huge picture of Colonel Sanders.

In a major score, I found a bicycle shop that rents bikes for day use. I figure I’ll rent one in the next day or two and go on an impromptu bike tour of Nairobi’s environs. I brought a backpack so I can hump water and food to make a day trip of it. The lack of a map might be a bit of a hindrance, plus I need to remember that the Kenyans drive on the opposite side of the road. Still, I hadn’t thought of exploring on a bike.

Okay, that’s the update. I’m running eleven hours ahead, so it’s lunch time for me. Time for another walk, this time east-bound. I heard there’s a restaurant not too far away, one that doesn’t feature American icons.

First run will be tomorrow morning, before the heat – and traffic – comes in.

Can you tell Christmans is near?

New Blogging Adventure

Sorry about the infrequent blogging, everyone. With Christmas fast approaching, along with my trip, the days stay filled and I haven't carved out time for writing much of anything.

Seemed like the perfect time to commit to more writing, so I am very pleased to announce that I will be doing book reviews (on an irregular basis) over at BookHorde.org. By now, you've gathered I read quite a lot. Most of that I do not review on this blog, though I am reconsidering that thought.

Book Horde is a newer book review site, committed to bringing attention to emerging writers. As readers, we live in the greatest age of story-telling that has ever existed as authors, including yours truly, begin to see the power of self-publishing. Therein lies a problem, though - separating good work from bad. Book Horde, like many of its fellow review-blogs, pans for the literary gold for you. (Well, maybe not literary - they reviewed Trail of Second Chances (and liked it a lot!), but you get the drift.)

I'll be putting up reviews on sci-fi, fantasy, and thrillers. Since I'm involved in some writing groups, the range could conceivably grow to include genres I don't normally read. We'll see - it's an interesting adventure.

Old Blogging Adventure

I've talked to quite a few people recently that lamented the fact that I didn't blog over at InlandXC this past season. The principal reason wasn't a lack of interest, but of time. The original intent of said blog was to cover races in the inland northwest. That's too big a territory for one guy with a full-time job, coaching responsibilities, writing addictions, and family obligations.

I need help. (No, not mental help. I'm happy, I'm harmless.)

I am looking for people interested in contributing on a regular basis, in season, to the site. Ideal candidates are high school students who would like a byline and a snazzy looking reference for college applications. Proficiency with English is a plus. I think I have someone in Pullman who might be interested. Could use a couple of someones in the Spokane area, and the Tri-Cities area.

Notes About Kenya

Prep work is done with the exception of packing and buying Traveller’s Checks. (Just realized that my internet browser spellcheck is set for English English, not American English. Colour me embarrassed.)

Justin Lagat got hold of me to let me know that the NIKE Discovery Cross Country race will be in Eldroet while I'm there. That will be exciting to watch. He's also trying to arrange some interviews for me, which will help me cover the spectrum for my book.

Or books. I might try and do a non-fiction book out of this whole experience, too. In any event, I will be posting to the blog as frequently as internet connections permit. Expect plenty of photos as well.

In checking the various embassy warnings about Kenya, it appears that the area up on the Somali border and the area along the coast are relatively hazardous for westerners due to the risk of kidnapping. Fortunately, I'm not headed to either of those locations. Still, there's plenty of good advice available. I check in with the American State Department, as well as the Canadian Embassy and the Australian Embassy.

Kenya also has quite a few English-language newspaper online. The two that I have been reading are The Daily News and the Digital Standard. Both have pages devoted to the areas that I'll be traveling.

Having Justin there to point out when I might be doing something dumb will be a big help. I'm pretty good at dumb-but-survivable mistakes, but that's within my current experiences.

From here to Christmas, I'll probably put up a couple more posts, but I'm not going to try to hold to the normal two-a-week schedule. Family time is important.

Take care, run gently. Or get caught up on shopping. Or hanging lights. Or spiking the egg nog.

38 Days and a Wake-up

It's been a long time since I've been in countdown mode for a major trip. I started actively planning for the trip six months ago when I bought the plane tickets. I had loads of time to get everything set. Good thing, because my Kenyan adventure is rushing at me and suddenly time is at a huge premium.

I still don't know all the places that I will be going for the research for the books. Some of that I'm going to have to play by ear once I get there. Some of that is because I haven't gotten responses from some of the men and women I hope to meet while I'm in Iten. Those will get worked in as they fit. I'll also be relying a lot on Justin Lagat to help figure out where I need to be to get the background for the stories.

I've started handing out letters to the Realtors I work with to let them know when I'll be gone and when they can expected me back. The response has been two-fold: first, an upwelling of best wishes; and second, a question of who they will to use while I'm gone. It's nice that they're going to miss me on a professional level. One fear that still niggles at night is that I'll come home and find I killed my company.

The family is in a different count-down mode. They have a dual count-down. When does he leave? And how soon until he gets back?

The recent news from Europe hasn't helped soothe their anxieties and the average perception of Africa is colored by the political events in the Middle East and the Ebola plague in West Africa. It probably doesn't help that I joke about getting pictures of the charging lion that eats me.

Telling the kids and my wife that Kenya is safer than Chicago doesn't really work either. People always fear the unknown more than the daily dangers that exist around them. The risks differ here. A random car accident or bear sighting is relatable from past experience. Kenya offers a laundry list of unknowns, from the people to the environment to the animals.

Still, that's not their biggest issue. The kids are long on faith that I can take care of myself in a pinch.

The biggest issue for the girls is that, for the first time in their lives, Dad isn't going to be right there, just a phone call away at most, an hour drive at worst if they need to see me. (Though I probably will be just a call away - phone calls from Kenya to the States are pretty inexpensive.) All three of the girls are used to getting a call from me at least a couple of times a week. There are times where I think they find it annoying, but if I go too long between calls, I get questions asking why I haven't been checking in. Since the girls live nearby, we (Donna and I) see them and their families often.

 Now, I'm going far, far away. To a place that they cannot relate to - it's too removed from their life experiences. (Mine, too, if I'm honest.) So, they worry.

I have no words that can remove the worry. I wish I had.

All I can do is promise to be careful. On the last day of that second count-down, the when is he coming home one, I'll be on the plane, headed their way.

KenSAP

Research seems to lead me in funny directions. In the midst of tackling something totally different, I came across KenSAP, a project put together by Olympian and Professor at Kenyatta University, Mike Boit, and John Manners, formerly a journalist with Time magazine.

The organization, the Kenya Scholar-Athlete Program, started by finding a half-dozen students in the Rift Valley with promising academic credentials. Mike Boit identified them and John Manners gave them the preparation to deal with the SAT and the application process. Of that first six, five went on to attend top-notch American universities, including three to Harvard, the men realized they had found a means of making large and positive life-altering changes for their charges.

Since 2004 when they first started, they have put 117 students into the American university system. Unlike American athletes who often are given a soft glide into college (and sometimes, it extends in college, as recent revelations of massive fraud at UNC demonstrates), the Kenyan students must score in the top one percent on the tests that the country uses for students to successfully exit high school. Unsurprisingly, their success rate in the United States soars above that of the general populations of the various school. In fact, 114 of 117 students so far have earned a sheepskin, or are making timely progress to doing so.

As Caitlyn Hurley documents in her Boston Globe feature from 2013, the students were not primarily selected for running ability, though the region was. Boit and Manners headed to Western Kenya, home of the Kalenjin tribe. It is from here that Boit, and Rono, and so many of the great runners came. The presumption, born out as true, that the people of the area would be better than average directed them to search for the applicants there.

The early success of KenSAP caught the eye of Canadian Charles Field-Marsham. Field-Marsham has extensive business interests in Kenya, dating from a decade-long residence there with his Kenyan wife. His business instincts proved solid as he started what became Kenya's large stock brokerage, Kestrel Capital. He imported Komatsu equipment, helping to revolutionize the industrial sector, and then saw potential in mining. Purchasing a failed site from the government and implementing new processes, the mine is now a world-leader in the production of fluorspar. In short, Field-Marsham qualifies for the title of financial genius.

Less well known are his extensive philanthropic activities. In 2005, he began to provide assistance to the students, helping with the numerous fees involved. With the disparity of wealth between the US and Kenya, what seems annoyingly high in fees here can appear an insurmountable mountain from Eldoret. Field-Marsham extends the effort to funding two residential training sessions with the prospective scholars and a measure of support for them in the United States.

The Kenyans have a word, harambee, which means pull together. In a uniquely Kenyan way, the High Altitude Training Center and Lornah Kiplagat offered the use of the HATC for the a secure and safe environment for the program. It has since become the Kenyan home for KenSAP.

Lest I give the wrong impression, the Kenya Scholar-Athlete Program does not promote athletes. They do administer a 1500m test race as part of the qualifications. Of those tested, approximately 20 percent show the kind of promise that attract additional attention from a US university. Essentially, this is the opposite of the US system which admits less academically qualified athletes who have high athletic ability.

I'm hoping that I'll have a chance to meet and talk to both John Manners and Mike Boit when I get to Kenya to learn more about their program. I'll keep you posted.

Honest, the money is for a friend in Kenya!

I think the folks at MoneyGram, nice as they are, have too much experience with Nigerian bankers looking to give me $6,100,000 US as a favor. Certainly, when I tried to send money to Kenya, they were very nice when they said they didn't want the business.

The money was earmarked for Justin Lagat. He and I have become FB buddie over the last several months and has provided all sorts of help to me in getting ready for my trip. One dilemma that I hadn't fully resolved was transportation. The original plan was to make extensive use of matatus and taxis, depending on the length of the trip.

The drawback to that plan is the lack of flexibility. Justin contacted me about acting as my guide for about 30 days (it's 35 now) and providing the transportation. I had already made arrangements to stay at Justin's house in Kapkeringon Village for two weeks to get a feel for the region before I moved on to Iten. I took a couple of days to think it over and decided that I really like the idea of having Justin to assist me. For my family, it was a relief as they've been worrying. Actually, they still are, but a bit less understanding that I'll have someone close by to help.

So, Justin and I negotiated a fee that made sense for both of us and I went online to MoneyGram to send the funds. Set up the account at MoneyGram, hit the send button, and went about my day.

Thirty minutes later, MoneyGram declined the transaction. So I called. Apparently they are quite conscious of security issues and worried that I might be falling for a phishing scam. Fair enough. They told me that I could show up in person at one of their facilities.

No problem, as I quickly located three in Lewiston.

Turns out that you can't use a credit card, either - found that out when I arrived and filled out the paperwork. Tried a debit card and forgot that they have limits, so the poor young lady at the counter had to refund everything. It's amazing how comfortably I am using plastic in the place of paper money and how little I pay attention to the limitations.

I eventually went to the bank and withdrew the cash. The teller had the some look on her face that I imagined my mom had when I told her about my trip. A touch of humor with slightly stunned amazement conveys it nicely.

With cash in hand, I finally sent the funds to Justin. He confirmed that he had received them, so we are all set. This is one of those "I'm really glad it did it before I left" experiences since I planned on MoneyGram as my back up if I got low on cash. Now that I know what the process is, I can write up a cheat sheet for my sweetie.

With Justin as my guide, I'll have a tremendous amount of flexibility to travel and explore. From a book research standpoint, I have a knowledgeable man to direct my questions and who will know where to go to look for the answers. From a running standpoint, I can get away from the masses as Justin shows me some of the lesser known running routes.

If you are interested in visiting Kenya, give Justin a thought. You can find him online at Kenyan Athlete or Facebook.

And yes, I'll be posting from Kenya. Less than 100 days to wheel's up!

Vaccinating for Kenya

My grandkids and I share a similarity of late: we’ve all been getting shots. In their case, the vaccinations are the usual battery of childhood immunizations while I get to play with the more exotic ones as a reward to traveling to Kenya.

I need HOW many shots!?

Photo Courtesy of George Hodan

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations form an impressively long list of diseases to guard against in Kenya. None are strictly mandatory for travel to the nation (the exception is yellow fever if you are coming from an area where it is prevalent, which the United States is not), but most are recommended.

The CDC presumes that you’ve had all the normal childhood immunizations. If you haven’t, add them to the list. I’m not going to take time to go over them except for the ones that I needed boosters for.

The List:

Yellow Fever – a viral disease, yellow fever kills about 30,000 people per year, mostly in Africa. It’s spread by mosquitos, and once the disease starts, there are no effective treatment options except to let it run its course. The disease runs through a primary course of symptoms that read like flu: headaches, fever, chill, muscle weakness, nausea, and vomiting. The second phase, affecting about 15 percent of cases involves liver damage, bleeding from the eyes and mouth, as well as vomiting blood. Some 20 percent of these cases result in death. I opted to get the vaccine. Not required, but it seems prudent.

Hepatitis A  – Hep A and B are strongly recommended. I love the comment I came across on one site – “If you are an adventurous eater . . . “ Seriously, I am not traveling all the way to Eldoret to eat at McDonald’s. Most of the time, I will be eating locally. Hep A covers the food and water issues. I’ll take my chances with the food. Andrea Kaitany with Simbolei Academy has already sent information on where to get drinking water along with a ton of other great advice and Justin Lagat will be helping to keep me out of trouble, too.

Hepatitis B - The CDC recommends Hep B if you might have sex with a new partner, get a tattoo or piercing, or have any medical procedures. Nope on the new partner (still in love with the one I got), and I don’t believe in self-mutilation, so that covers the first two. The third one, medical procedures, isn’t planned, nor is any activity that involves contact with someone else’s blood. OF course, getting mauled by a lion isn’t on the agenda, either. I got the Hep B as insurance, just in case things go bad.

Typhoid – Another viral disease, typhoid kills about 160,000 people per year worldwide. For folks in the United States, don’t get too complacent. Four hundred cases per year are reported here, with the CDC estimating that there are about 6,000 cases annually. With proper treatment, the survival rates are very high. I would rather not test the proposition, so I followed the recommendations.

Diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis – I flung these together because the same TDAP vaccine covers them all. For adults who travel to Kenya, the CDC recommends getting this if you haven’t had a booster since childhood. Count me in that group.

Polio – Thanks to Jonas Salk, the idea of an outbreak of polio in the United States seems farfetched. Still, such an outbreak did occur in Kenya in 2013, likely a result of a fatwa in Nigeria which declared the polio vaccine an evil American plot to sterilize the true believers of Allah. If weren’t for the negative impact on herd immunity, I’d let the chuckleheads live (or not) with their decision. I got the booster.

Meningitis – The Kenyans in the North live smack-dab in the middle of the meningitis belt of sub-Saharan Africa. The CDC recommends getting this if you’re planning on being in the country during the dry season, December to June. Better safe than sorry.

Rabies – One of the few vaccines that opted out on, rabies is prevalent in most undeveloped countries. I’m figuring that if I get bit by a rabid rhino, I’m going to need other attention and will get the post-exposure vaccine. Interestingly enough, if you have the pre-exposure vaccine, you still need the post-exposure shots if infected.

Malaria – If, as Ben Franklin famously didn’t say, beer is proof that God loves us, I want to know what’s up with mosquitos. It’s not just malaria. They also carry yellow fever, encephalitis, dengue fever, and Rift Valley fever. Probably more, but that’s a goodly list to worry about. There are several medications available to guard against malaria, taken orally. Because it is located above 2500 meters, Nairobi isn’t considered a risk area. At 2400m, Iten is. I’ll be taking the meds because I don’t know all the places that I’ll be going. It is quite possible that I will be in malaria-prone zones.  Two options exist (different areas need different medications), Malarone and Doxycycline. I’m opting for the Malarone. Doxycycline can lead to increased sensitivity to sunlight and sunburns.

Optional Medications

Much of Kenya and the Great Rift Valley is above 7,000 feet. Iten is at 7,900’ (2400m as previously mentioned.) If you are prone to altitude sickness, consider getting a prescription for it. Fortunately for me, I’ve camped, run, and stayed with friends above that altitude without issues (except I run even slower.)

One of the items that the doctor recommended for me was medicine for traveler’s diarrhea. I declined these. If it becomes a problem, I’ll take care of it there. Your comfort level might be different and it’s something to consider, especially if you only have a short visit planned.

The Cost of Travel Vaccines

The good news is that the shots, for the most part, don’t hurt. Not so the cost of getting the shots.

Most healthcare plans in the United States do not cover the cost of travel vaccines, considering them to be an elective process. The best review of costs that I found was here. Remember that the figures for malaria meds need to be adjusted for your actual time in-country. In my case, they’re going to run to about $350. This is one that I want to see if the in-country costs might be lower.

I strongly advise shopping around for your providers. I ended up getting my yellow fever vaccine at the local health district while getting the rest at the Safeway Travel Pharmacy in Pullman.

If you’re budgeting for the trip, plan on $1,000 for the base course of vaccinations and another $200 per month of travel for the malaria medications. It sounds expensive, and to a degree is, but if you’re planning a trip you’ll remember forever, the shots are worth it. Let’s remember the trip for all the right reasons.

Why Go To Kenya?

A couple of people have asked me that lately. Most, the non-runners, think I'm slightly cracked for considering such a trip, especially since I don't plan to be on safari. My mother-in-law summed up those feelings with a question: "Isn't it dangerous?" To which I replied, "It's safer than Chicago." Being a smart-aleck comes somewhat naturally to me. When I get to combine it with truth, it becomes even more fun.

I have plenty of reasons for going. Just traveling to a new place, to meet and, hopefully, understand people that live very different lives from me is a sufficient reward in itself. Ditto for the fact that I'm going to get to watch some of the greatest runners in the world. For a step or two, I might even get to run with them.

Neither move me enough though to risk losing my business. Self-employed people who disappear for two months tend to migrate to unemployed. We'll see. That's a journey I will be trying to avoid. (Which brings up the subject of acting in the face of fear - I'll tackle that some other time.)

What will get me off the proverbial couch and on to the road to Iten is a story. The core idea of it I had three years ago when I first started writing novels. What must the Kenyans go through when they come here, to the United States, to run and attend university?

I began to go do the list, Reno, Kimowba, Keoch, and Lagat at WSU, Mike Bot, and a dozen others. Almost exclusively male. The question changed when I recognized that, and became what does it take for a woman to leave Kenya to come to United States to run and go to school.

That I might be able to answer from the couch, but I couldn't do it well, with real understanding, without making the trip. There will be too many subtleties that I'll miss, too many assumptions that are flat-out wrong. From a first-world perspective, many people point to the obvious and condemn the third-world culture for a lack of enlightenment.

Stealing a phrase from a nephew-in-law, there are no voluntary vegetarians among the starving. So it is for most of us, that our underlying prejudices will inform our judgment, to the detriment of the truth.

The time that I have in Kenya won't strip me completely of my biases, but it will give me a base to learn that I have them and to work around them. Then I'll be able to write the story that I want to tell.

---

The following I wrote as part of an exercise. It will give you an idea of where I'm headed.

From his battered white Toyota, Rob could see her bare feet caked with the dry umber dust of the road to Kapkeringon Village. Grace had none of the baby-giraffe look of the others headed the school from shacks in the fields. Instead, she unfolded one fluid stride at a time, feet lifting puffs of red haze in the post-dawn light.

She flew as the fastest of the sparks flowing past the newly green tea fields. She wore the school uniform of Kapkeringon East, a poinsettia-red skirt, a button up shirt with small blue and white checks, and a vee-necked sweater the color of rubies. Her books, both of them, she carried tied together with string on her back.

Grace saw him long before she reached his car. She eased across the road to the far side. Her eyes, when she got close enough for him to see, were deep wells, and her gaze was more curious than cautious until they met his. Then, they turned down in respect to his age and his skin. Still, he had seen the flicker of a question before she averted her eyes. Who was the muzungu—white man?

He waited until she was well within earshot, so that he wouldn’t be shouting over the buzz of insects pollinating the crop.

“Habari za asubuhi.” Good morning, what is the news.

She slowed without seeming to at the morning greeting.

“Nzuri sana, assante,” Grace replied, the accent lifting on the next-to-last syllable. The news is good, thank you. Like her eyes, the words hung diffidently. A light sheen of sweat lent a polished glow to her skin. It was almost a deep mahogany rather than the darker black of most of the children and was stretched over a body so spare as to show every muscle. Her head, like that of all the students, was shorn to her scalp. 

She risked another glance when she was opposite him. In that a fleeting moment, he saw her take stock of him. A flash of white teeth showed, and a crease smoothed on her forehead, and he recognized a bit of her uncle in the expression, the look Joseph had when he figured something out.

Grace surged, three long strides that opened space between them and carried her on to school.

Kenyan Travel Update

Kapkeringon

I'll be staying for two week in Kapkeringon Village which is where Justin Lagat has a house. It's about an hour from Eldoret and should be great for building up my notes for a book. Plus, I will get to go for runs with Justin. (Yes, I've already told him I'm slow - it will give us time to chat.) As a younger man, Justin worked with the tea farmers in the Nandi Hills area.

Justin still trains, but I think he might have made a bigger name for himself as a writer for RunBlogRun. During the Kenyan Championships, Justin posted a steady stream of info and pictures so that the rest of the world could get results almost real time. If you're interested in what's happening in Kenya with runners, Justin's your guy. You can follow him on twitter.

Simbolei Academy

After I leave Kapkeringon, I'll trek over to Iten. I've already booked the cottage at Simbolei Academy, just outside of the town. My understanding is that it's about a 1.5 mile walk into town and about 15 miles to Eldoret. Andrea Kaitany has been wonderfully helpful in getting me up to speed on what I can expect. An added benefit to me is that my rent for the cottage will help build the Academy.

A shameless plug: They're doing good work there at Simbolei Academy and small donations go a long, long way to delivering an education to girls who otherwise would stop after primary school. Unlike the US, a secondary education is not paid for out of public funds but by the families. This makes educating all the children out of reach for many of the families in the Rift Valley, where the commerce so prevalent in Nairobi has yet to appear. Consider sending a couple of dollars their way, please. Here is the link to their donation page.

Visas

Make a note for yourself - if you want the East African visa, don't send the application in five months before travel. I did, and the kind gentleman at the embassy is returning it to me. The Kenyan visa is good for six months. The East African is only valid for three. Oops.

I opted for the East African visa as it permits entry into not just Kenya, but also Rwanda and Uganda. While I don't currently have a plan to visit either, I like the flexibility of picking up and going on a whim, especially after reading Running the Rift.

My family will attest to my low impulse control when it comes to adventures. My wife gave up trying to rein me in. Instead, we reached an agreement that I can do all the truly stupid things I like provided I don't do anything tragically stupid.

I'll resubmit the application in November. The embassy official already gave me a heads-up that everything looks fine, so I should be good to go.

You Can't Get to Kenya From Here

The old joke that you can't get there from here applies. At least, if by here, you mean Asotin, Washington, and you're trying to get to Africa.

One advantage of living in an out of the way corner of Washington State is that we complain about sitting through a full cycle at stop lights. We make allowances for farm equipment, wildlife, and our neighbors who are exchanging pleasantries in the middle of the street from the truck windows. 

We also look at the pictures of traffic in places like Seattle and San Diego and question the sanity of living the bumper-to-bumper road rage lifestyle. When family complains about three-hour commutes, we remind them they could move. Not here, mind you. We like it the way it is, and outsiders claim they love the place when they move in, and then try to change it. 

So, most of the time, it's grand. The exceptions occur when you want to leave. In my case, trying to get to Kenya. The moon mission required somewhat more planning but the route was at least pretty well defined. The end point - landing in Nairobi - is, too. It's the getting out bit. 

First, we have one regional airport, across the river in Lewiston. Very convenient in that it's eight minutes away. With only two gates, there's no nonsense of losing three hours of your life standing in line while TSA dithers about giving hard-eyed looks to potential geriatric terrorists and pulling all three of my daughters for 'enhanced' screening. 

Stunningly inconvenient when trying to match up with connecting flights. It would have been much easier if Alaska Airlines hadn't canceled the morning flight. That's a fifty percent decrease in the morning flights. Not for Alaska; for the whole airport. 

Now Alaska wasn't the only option, but they would have gotten me to Seattle. From there, by plane, you can get anywhere. The trick with Seatac is getting to the airport, and I can leave my house and fly there faster than someone from Bellingham can drive there, at rush hour. 

Delta also has a morning flight, but they head to Salt Lake City. Fourteen stops later, you can get to Nairobi. Oh, and it costs more. And takes longer. You do get the added bonus of a twelve-hour layover in Heathrow, though. Not exactly how I plan to visit London when I finally do. 

The average flight time, counting layovers seem to be about 37 hours, with some of the quicker ones getting there in 24 hours and the longer ones promising to have me at the airport in Nairobi in time for the return flight six weeks later. 

The next option was to play around with airports. I checked Spokane. Nice airport, easy access. Surprisingly, not any faster, nor any cheaper. You can bypass Seattle and go due east, but the Delta conundrum of cost and time strikes.  

I looked at Seattle, figuring I could arrange the first leg separately. And I could, not that it made a lick of difference. 

I looked at booking each leg separately and through multiple east coast airports, London, Amsterdam, every option I could think of. The online sites balked, and returned a 'no-can-do, amigo' response.

On a lark, I tried Pullman. The Pullman flights are continuations on the route from Seattle to Lewiston and back, so I didn't have high hopes. It pays to be persistent. Pullman had a morning flight, funny enough, and the cost was relatively low with a reasonable transit time. Put it into the mental file as the benchmark to beat.

Deciding that I had arrived at my level of maximum competence as a travel agent, I contacted a professional to see if she could (hopefully) do better. I sat in a comfy chair while she cycled through the same options I had. It got to the point where she'd go, "Let me try something" and I'd predict her next search pattern. I think it messed with her mind a bit. She start to type, look at me, I'd tell her the next search sequence I tried, and she'd say, "Oh." Type the rest of the query, and tell me what I already knew.

She didn't find anything that I hadn't, both in scheduling and pricing. She did confirm that the Pullman flight was the best option. Not the ideal option, but the best available. I fly from Pullman to Seattle, to Amsterdam, to Nairobi. A one hour flight, a ten-hour flight, and an eight-hour flight. I did spend a little extra to get the seats with more leg room on the way to Amsterdam. I would have done the same with the flight to Nairobi, but the option didn't exist. Along with the extra leg room, I get free premium entertainment and booze. Might need both, but need to be sober when I hit ground as the layover in the Netherlands is a scant one hour and forty minutes. 

I also get one free bag on two of three flights, so I bought a new suitcase. I deliberately chose an overly large one. With a little scrunching, I think I could fit all six grandkids in it. Perfect for the return trip when I load up on souvenirs. 

Now, on to worrying about the next thing, plus I have to send out the paperwork for a visa. By Kenyan regulation, you can't apply for a visa without confirmed travel and it must be within the next six months. Done, and done, and time to head out to run.

Have a great day!