chasingKIMBIA episode #10 - "Cribs"
chasingKIMBIA episode #10 - "Cribs"
Show Notes:
- This is an admittedly poor rip-off of the MTV show, Cribs. I created some Cribs episodes during a previous project that followed college athletes. You can watch some of those old videos here, here, and here.
- The "Crib" in Iten is slightly more show more...
modest than those you'd find on the MTV show, but I wanted to give everyone a sense of what the living conditions are like for the athletes. Thanks to Richard Kiplagat and Laban Kipkemboi for giving us the tour.
- There's really no better place to start than the backyard. The athletes spend more waking time in the backyard than any other place. Although we've had some rain, the weather this time of year is gorgeous. Sunny and 70 almost every day. So why sit inside?
- On a normal day the guys do their primary workout in the morning. As Richard says, by 10AM they're all resting in the backyard sipping chai and telling stories. I know I've said it before, but their ability to do absolutely nothing is staggering. Guys will just be in their own world, sipping tea or eating slices of bread, not thinking about anything in particular. Just watching the day go by.
- Next is the kitchen. It's tiny, especially when you consider that Mama Kibett has to cook for a dozen hungry athletes every day. Although Mama Kibett primarily cooks with charcoal (known as makaa), she does have two propane burners.
- A normal diet for these guys consists of:
7:00AM: Slices of bread and several cups of tea before the workout.
10:00AM: More bread and tea after the workout, as well as fresh fruit.
1:00PM: Lunch usually consists of potatoes, beans, and vegetables.
4:00PM: More tea.
7:00PM: Dinner is ugali with beef or chicken stew. The stew usually contains carrots, greens, and cilantro. Yes, cilantro. I haven't figured that one out yet, though...
- There is no washing machine at the camp and I've never seen a laundromat in Kenya. Everything is washed by hand. It's back-breaking work, but you wouldn't believe how clean things get. Your shoes actually turn red from the clay, so every few days the guys have their shoes cleaned. When Mama Ngeza is done with them, they literally look like they just came out of the box.
- On to the sitting room - there are two plastic tables with plastic chairs. There are also two twin beds where the athletes can nap or an athlete can sleep if there aren't enough beds elsewhere. The floors in the entire house are made out of concrete. In fact, most things are made out of concrete. It's one of the first things I noticed in Kenya, though - that the floors in most buildings and houses are made out of concrete. On the far side of the room is the treatment area where they get massage and other physical therapy. The guys have a very small television that gets 2 or 3 channels. Some of the guys have portable DVD players, so they'll watch movies on those. Oddly, WWF (or WWE, I guess) is one of the prime time shows here. There is something extremely odd and wrong, yet fascinating about a group of Kenyan distance runners watching American professional wrestling. But they seem to enjoy it...
- The painting the Laban talks about was painted by a woman who stayed at the house last year. I believe she's from New Hampshire or Maine, but I don't recall. Either way, it explains why it appears to be a mzungu, and not an African.
- The bedrooms are also tiny. Two athletes to a room; two small twin beds. The mattresses are made of very thin pieces of foam; not what we would consider a traditional mattress. You can see they use clotheslines to hang some of their clothing. And they take comfort in a small radio with a tape player. There aren't many CD's floating around the house...they're still listening to cassette tapes.
- Ben and Baba, who are both running Boston, share the back room in the house. They're sort of the veterans of the group, so maybe they got first pick.
- The drink that Ben is enjoying is Ribena, which actually comes from the UK. I never tried it, but they have it in all the stores here. I just couldn't resist the orange Fanta.
- On the wall is a map of the world, painted by a former UN worker who once stayed in the house. Richard says that Kenya is the size of Texas "if I'm not wrong."
- Next we head out to the front yard (or is it the back yard?) to the expansive and high tech workout facility. I think it's safe to say that, despite him saying it "plays a crucial role," Richard doesn't spend much time lifting weights. I don't know why, but this footage cracks me up. Hang on after the outro credit for the funniest clip of the whole shoot.
- In the closing, Richard says that he hopes you will be cheering for KIMbia runners in the U.S. He also talks about the Boulder/Iten Training Camp sign and the quote from Dieter, "Believe me nothing comes easy." I used that as the title of this video, which was the most popluar video from last season.
- Richard also mentions the sacrifice required to reach the top level of the sport. I think this video, and the project as a whole, show the sacrifices that these guys have made. I often wonder if Americans would be willing to leave home for an extended period of time to train the way these guys do. Would they share a room and live in a training-camp environment? The cultures are so different. For starters, if Ben Maiyo didn't run fast, he would most likely be a poor farmer. If Dathan Ritzenhein doesn't run fast, he has plenty of opportunities available to him. So at the heart of it, there seems to be this one main difference - that running in Kenya provides an path out of poverty. Genetics, diet, and environment all play a role in their success, but I wonder if the motivation to escape poverty isn't the strongest of all.
- Music in this episode from the Podsafe Music Network:
Summertime Jams by MC Statistics
Ice Ice Baby Ben Folds Remix by Former Fat Boys
Summertime by Brother Love
Gut Bucket by James Brown
Over My Head by Jeff Mallon
To learn more visit chasingKIMBIA.
---
chasingKIMBIA.com is a blogumentary documenting the lifestyle and training of some of the world's best marathon runners. Season One provided an unprecedented vantage point of the highs and lows of professional running as seven athletes prepared for the Chicago and New York City marathons. Season Two brings even more excitement and deeper coverage to the sport as we travel to the training camp in Iten, Kenya where the athletes are preparing for the Boston, London, and Rotterdam marathons. This is your backstage pass. Follow the journey at www.chasingkimbia.com.show less...
- There's really no better place to start than the backyard. The athletes spend more waking time in the backyard than any other place. Although we've had some rain, the weather this time of year is gorgeous. Sunny and 70 almost every day. So why sit inside?
- On a normal day the guys do their primary workout in the morning. As Richard says, by 10AM they're all resting in the backyard sipping chai and telling stories. I know I've said it before, but their ability to do absolutely nothing is staggering. Guys will just be in their own world, sipping tea or eating slices of bread, not thinking about anything in particular. Just watching the day go by.
- Next is the kitchen. It's tiny, especially when you consider that Mama Kibett has to cook for a dozen hungry athletes every day. Although Mama Kibett primarily cooks with charcoal (known as makaa), she does have two propane burners.
- A normal diet for these guys consists of:
7:00AM: Slices of bread and several cups of tea before the workout.
10:00AM: More bread and tea after the workout, as well as fresh fruit.
1:00PM: Lunch usually consists of potatoes, beans, and vegetables.
4:00PM: More tea.
7:00PM: Dinner is ugali with beef or chicken stew. The stew usually contains carrots, greens, and cilantro. Yes, cilantro. I haven't figured that one out yet, though...
- There is no washing machine at the camp and I've never seen a laundromat in Kenya. Everything is washed by hand. It's back-breaking work, but you wouldn't believe how clean things get. Your shoes actually turn red from the clay, so every few days the guys have their shoes cleaned. When Mama Ngeza is done with them, they literally look like they just came out of the box.
- On to the sitting room - there are two plastic tables with plastic chairs. There are also two twin beds where the athletes can nap or an athlete can sleep if there aren't enough beds elsewhere. The floors in the entire house are made out of concrete. In fact, most things are made out of concrete. It's one of the first things I noticed in Kenya, though - that the floors in most buildings and houses are made out of concrete. On the far side of the room is the treatment area where they get massage and other physical therapy. The guys have a very small television that gets 2 or 3 channels. Some of the guys have portable DVD players, so they'll watch movies on those. Oddly, WWF (or WWE, I guess) is one of the prime time shows here. There is something extremely odd and wrong, yet fascinating about a group of Kenyan distance runners watching American professional wrestling. But they seem to enjoy it...
- The painting the Laban talks about was painted by a woman who stayed at the house last year. I believe she's from New Hampshire or Maine, but I don't recall. Either way, it explains why it appears to be a mzungu, and not an African.
- The bedrooms are also tiny. Two athletes to a room; two small twin beds. The mattresses are made of very thin pieces of foam; not what we would consider a traditional mattress. You can see they use clotheslines to hang some of their clothing. And they take comfort in a small radio with a tape player. There aren't many CD's floating around the house...they're still listening to cassette tapes.
- Ben and Baba, who are both running Boston, share the back room in the house. They're sort of the veterans of the group, so maybe they got first pick.
- The drink that Ben is enjoying is Ribena, which actually comes from the UK. I never tried it, but they have it in all the stores here. I just couldn't resist the orange Fanta.
- On the wall is a map of the world, painted by a former UN worker who once stayed in the house. Richard says that Kenya is the size of Texas "if I'm not wrong."
- Next we head out to the front yard (or is it the back yard?) to the expansive and high tech workout facility. I think it's safe to say that, despite him saying it "plays a crucial role," Richard doesn't spend much time lifting weights. I don't know why, but this footage cracks me up. Hang on after the outro credit for the funniest clip of the whole shoot.
- In the closing, Richard says that he hopes you will be cheering for KIMbia runners in the U.S. He also talks about the Boulder/Iten Training Camp sign and the quote from Dieter, "Believe me nothing comes easy." I used that as the title of this video, which was the most popluar video from last season.
- Richard also mentions the sacrifice required to reach the top level of the sport. I think this video, and the project as a whole, show the sacrifices that these guys have made. I often wonder if Americans would be willing to leave home for an extended period of time to train the way these guys do. Would they share a room and live in a training-camp environment? The cultures are so different. For starters, if Ben Maiyo didn't run fast, he would most likely be a poor farmer. If Dathan Ritzenhein doesn't run fast, he has plenty of opportunities available to him. So at the heart of it, there seems to be this one main difference - that running in Kenya provides an path out of poverty. Genetics, diet, and environment all play a role in their success, but I wonder if the motivation to escape poverty isn't the strongest of all.
- Music in this episode from the Podsafe Music Network:
Summertime Jams by MC Statistics
Ice Ice Baby Ben Folds Remix by Former Fat Boys
Summertime by Brother Love
Gut Bucket by James Brown
Over My Head by Jeff Mallon
To learn more visit chasingKIMBIA.
---
chasingKIMBIA.com is a blogumentary documenting the lifestyle and training of some of the world's best marathon runners. Season One provided an unprecedented vantage point of the highs and lows of professional running as seven athletes prepared for the Chicago and New York City marathons. Season Two brings even more excitement and deeper coverage to the sport as we travel to the training camp in Iten, Kenya where the athletes are preparing for the Boston, London, and Rotterdam marathons. This is your backstage pass. Follow the journey at www.chasingkimbia.com.show less...
