Chasingkimbia Videos

The night before the Falmouth Road Race they host an elite men's and women's mile at Falmouth High School. Under ideal conditions and a decent crowd, Jonathon Riley floated the last 250 meters to dip under the 4:00 barrier, winning in 3:57.07. Training partner and KIMbia athlete Chris Solinsky just missed, running 4:00.1, good for second. Anna Willard stormed home the last 75 meters to win the women's race in 4:37.55. Michelle Sikes finished 6th in 4:44.99.

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 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 Notes: - It's hard to find an athlete as calm and cool as Luke Kipkosgei. He's competed in some of the biggest track races ever so very little intimidates him. Having left the track behind a few years ago, his new challenge is the marathon. - He'll race the Rotterdam Marathon on April 15th with Thomas Kiplitan and Charles Kibiwott. Charles ran 2:06:52 there last year, which makes Luke confident that he can do the same. - Luke went to high school in Tambach, which is a little town that sits about 12 kilometers from Iten on the way to the valley. It's between Iten and the Fruit Stand. You'll be hearing more about Tambach in a few weeks - it's also the town where Richard Kiplagat went to school before going to Iona College in New York. We took a trip to his old stomping grounds, which will find its way into a future video. - In the beginning of the interview, Luke mentions that Brother Colm was his introduction to the sport. Luke attended Brother Colm's twice-yearly training camps, which have as alumni some of the best athletes of all-time. Athletes like Wilson Kipketer (world record holder, 800), Sally Barsosio (World Champion, 10K and XC), the Chirchir brothers, Augustine Choge, Isaac Songok, Stephen Cherono (world record holder, steeplechase), and many others. - Luke was a silver medalist at the 2002 World XC Championships (4K). - I love the part where he talks about joining the army or going to Europe. He chose Europe because he had never flown before. And then he proceeds to say how he couldn't sleep because he had a window seat and spent the whole flight looking down below at all the lights. Can you imagine graduating high school and your options are to either join the army or race in Europe? It's one of the reasons Kenyans have been so successful - there is such a drive to be successful in athletics because the other option is being poor. That's a generalization of course, but for many athletes, there is such motivation to run fast because the alternative is a life of poverty. - Luke currently lives in Eldoret with his wife and kids. We visited his house on a few occasions, which will also make it into a later video. Luke has a very nice house by Kenyan standards and many many acres of farm land. The Legendary Bob (now known as Kuga Bob) ending up spending many nights at Luke's house. He liked the comfort of having a big bedroom and a nice bathroom. Plus, Luke has satellite TV and a seemingly endless supply of Tusker for anyone over the age of 50. In other words, Bob was living large in Luke's house while the rest of us were roughing it at the Sitet Hotel. - We filmed this episode walking up the main street in Iten. It's hard to see, but everyone was staring at us. Of course, that's not unusual...people stared at us wherever we went in Iten. If you listen closely, you'll actually hear two different people try to get Luke's attention as we strolled by. I don't know if they were friends or fans. It could have been either since Luke is a very well-known athlete in these parts. - Luke is definitely in good shape right now. He's been leading many of the workouts, especially the hard distance runs. While I think Ben, Baba, and some of the others are taking a conservative approach to training this season, it doesn't take away from Luke's performances in some of the workouts. - I've had a lot of conversations with Luke and you can just tell he's hungry for the marathon. It's a challenge for sure and he's not taking it lightly, but he has this cool confidence about him. He sees what the others have done and that gives him confidence. It's the Kenyan mentality of, "Well, if he can run that fast, so can I." Like Brother Colm said, they don't overanalyze things. I think the true test will come several weeks from now when they start doing some of the hard long runs - the 30K, 35K, and 40K. Luke can certainly run a fast 15K and he's proven he can run a fast half marathon, but he's somewhat untested beyond that in a race situation. He did pace the Chicago marathon through 30K last year and did a great job - staying right on 2:06 pace. The question - the goal really - is whether he can continue on for another 12K. As Baba said, "The race doesn't start until 30K." - Music from this episode: Intro by Millis Pride and outro from the Podsafe Music Network - "See the Light" by Mangomad. 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 Notes: - The colors in Iten are just spectacular. From the the orange sunrises to the bright colors of the school uniforms. Everywhere you turn there are vibrant colors - the landscape, the clothing, the food. I wanted to create a video that tried to capture that because it's so different than the color palette in the U.S. - The opening shot where we're walking up to the track is one of my most memorable Kamariny experiences. We walked to the track from our hotel to watch a workout with Brother Colm's group. When we arrived, we were mobbed by this group of schoolchildren. As you can see, they were pretty interested in the camera. - As Bob crests the hill, two of the children say, "Kuga," (coo-ga) which means "old man" in Swahili. Many of the kids in Iten call Bob Kuga. As you can hear, they also ask repeatedly, "How are you?" in their unmistakable staccato. Everywhere you go in Iten, you hear the children asking, "How are you? How are you?" Sometimes you'll hear it off in the distance - just a faint little voice - and you look over to see a young boy or girl waving from 300 meters away. I love it! It's one thing that never gets old. - After mingling with the kids on the track, we decided to have a race. Jamie and Ellis were up for the challenge, but got beat. The young boy who beat them was 13 and running barefoot. Ok, I'm sure Jamie and Ellis didn't give it 100%, but it was still impressive to watch the fluid stride of this young kid wearing his school uniform. I think we timed him in 68 about two minutes later (he wanted to do a solo effort against the clock). - Most of the footage of the guys running comes from the clay roads of Iten. The terrain is challenging for sure, but it can't hurt as bad when you're running with those views! - At about 3:00 into the video there is a shot of main street Iten. That's taken from the balcony of our hotel looking up into town. The next shot is of a woman making a mud hut. She told us that this was the 6th of 7 layers. So she has to rub that mud on there 7 different times! It's actually cow dung mixed with water and something else, which I forget. Despite the cow dung, the mud huts are really cool. They're also cheap - a high quality one only costs $200. I'm definitely going to build one at some point. - At 3:12 you get a look at my best friend in Iten. The little girl with the pigtails is so darn cute. She lives right next door to the camp so we see her everyday. There's actually a whole group of kids who live nearby who play outside in the yard all day long. Every time we walked by they would run out into the road to shake hands or slap high fives. "How are you? How are you?" Again, it never got old. - At 3:45 we pass a woman running - that's none other than Lornah Kiplagat. Godfrey yelled out the window, "C'mon Lornah. Keep up with the guys." Her response was, "Tomorrow." Ironically, the next day she did complete 23 400's around 70 seconds. The schedule called for 30, but heavy rains cut the workout short. This past weekend she won the World's Best 10K in Puerto Rico, beating Meseret Defar. KIMbia athlete Gilbert Okari won the mens race with John Yuda placing 5th. - At 4:11 is a man hand-pumping gas. That's something I've never seen. The power goes out every few days in Iten and when it does, the pumps don't work so they have to hand-pump the gas. - At the end Tom yells out the window to Laban, "I'm gonna buy you a map." Laban led the group the wrong way on one of the runs, but tried to pawn it off on Yuda. Who led who the wrong way is still up for debate. - How about that cow at the end? - Continuing with my new trend of using music from the Podsafe Music Network, I wanted to highlight the artists in this episode. The first song (after the Millis Pride intro) is from, ironically, Mangomad. The song is called "See the Light." - The second song is by Matthew Ebel. It's called "Every Color". I first heard this song on my favorite podcast over at crayonville. They use it as the introduction to their podcast. Great song. - This is definitely one of my personal favorites. I hope you enjoy it too. To learn more visit chasingKIMBIA.com. 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 Notes: - Our first of several trips to the valley - probably one of the best experiences of the trip thus far. "The Valley" refers to the Rift Valley. Iten sits at 8,000 feet and drops down to the valley floor at 3,000 feet. From Iten looking eastward, the valley spans about 50 miles. I'm ball-parking this figure, but it did take us about an hour to cross the valley and start our ascent up the other side. Either way, the view from Iten looking across the valley is one of the most spectacular views anywhere in the world. No picture or video clip will ever do it justice. - When we left Iten it was 70 degrees with no humidity. You could literally feel the air warm up and become more moist as we descended into the valley. - The drive is also spectacular. A single switchback road provides an adrenaline-filled ride with all sorts of strange and beautiful sightings. A waterfall, which must drop several hundred feet, spills over the edge of the escarpment from above. Around a bend Godfrey slams on the brakes, bringing us all to attention. The culprit? A group of cows just lying in the roadway. Godfrey beeps and they slowly disperse. Further up the road we see a large group of children, each wearing the same school uniform, running down the road. They're headed to gym class. Termite hills, at least eight feet tall, grow up from the more barren landscape. After only 30 minutes of driving, I feel like we've completely left Iten behind. I experience new colors, new smells, new people, and new landscapes. - The first stop was to pick up makaa (ma-caw), a special charcoal that Mama Kibett will use for cooking at the camp. When burning, makaa has a very pungent smell. It's not like the charcoal we have in the States. Sometimes in the morning if the weather is cold or damp, the guys will light a pot of makaa and sit around it to stay warm before the workout. Of course, to us, 50 degree is warm. - The further into the valley the road descends, the fewer signs of human life you see. As Godfrey slowed the car along the road, I looked to my left. There, resting against a tree was one large white sack of makaa. "This is it," Godfrey proclaimed. I figured we just took the bag and left some money or something. But as soon as the car doors opened, three older men appeared from behind a large rock. After exchanging some swahili with Godfrey, during which the only word I caught was "tatu" (taw-too), the men disappeared for a brief moment, only to return with two more bags of makaa, making three (tatu) all together. - It took two men to lift and carry the bags to the back of the truck. The charcoal left a black dust everywhere. - After the last bag of makaa was loaded into the truck, Tom asked the men about Black Mambas, one of the 10 deadliest snakes in the world. Jamie was especially interested, having recently watched a show about said snakes. He knew all the details - "They're actually grey." "They're the fastest snake in the world." "They will attack unprovoked." - He knew way too much. - Sadly, the men recently lost a neighbor to a Black Mamba attack. (Watch this video to see just how fast a Black Mamba moves.) The neighbor was working in the garden and the snake was resting underneath some brush. One strike and 30 minutes was all it took. - Tom was also interested in crocodiles, after Godfrey led him on a failed Croc hunting mission the year prior. Tom was starting to doubt that crocodiles lived down here in the valley, but the gentlemen cleared up those doubts. They even invited us back down for a little expedition. We politely turned them down. - With our makaa in tow, we headed to the fruit stand. As we approached the fruit area, we saw another car pull off the side of the road. The women mobbed the car, pushing plastic bags of bananas, oranges, mangoes, and papayas through any open they could find. It was mayhem. - Thankfully Godfrey knows the women very well. He makes a trip to this fruit stand every few weeks to load up on fresh fruit for the athletes. - I say "stand" but it's really a series of stands, maybe 15 in all. Each woman has her own stand. She shows up in the morning with her fruit and competes with the other 14 women to sell fruit. I never figured out if the women picked the fruit themselves, but my guess is that they enlisted the help of their family to gather the fruit. Then they hauled it by hand, probably on their heads, to the stand. I can't imagine them making more than maybe $10 a day. Maybe less. - Godfrey is smart. He buys a little bit from every woman. That way they don't crowd the car AND he keeps them all happy. So, instead of the chaotic, in your face "buy my fruit" selling process, Godfrey takes his time walking down the row of kiosks. - He introduces us to many of the women by name. In the video, you see he calls one of them Mama Lady. I don't remember if I explained this yet, but a woman, once she has had a child, is referred to as Mama X. X is usually the name of her first born male. So Godfrey's mother, for example, is known as Mama Godfrey. Godfrey didn't know the woman's name, so Mama Lady was considered a polite way to introduce her. Men are known as Papa or Baba X. Again, Godfrey's father would be called Baba Godfrey. - We stayed at the fruit stand for well over an hour. One of the Mamas kept cutting us fresh papayas and mangoes. It was so tasty. The fruit definitely tastes slightly different here, especially the mangoes. The bananas are shorter, but much sweeter than the ones we get in the U.S. Of course, a day wouldn't be complete without me worrying about some killer bacteria. The Mama would wash the fruit with water out of a jug and also wash her knife with the water. I'm sure the water wasn't bottles and certainly not boiled. In fact, it probably came from the stream that flowed nearby. But the fruit was so damn tasty I didn't mind. - The ladies seemed to take a special liking to Bob. He is, after all, the elder of the group and elders are very highly respected. If only they had seen him jumping with the Masai. - When we returned to the camp, the guys were very happy to receive the fruit. Fruit is a staple of their diet, especially after a hard workout. Last year in Boulder, we always took a container of watermelon and bananas in the car. As soon as the workout ended, the guys would eat a hearty portion of fruit with plenty of water. Here, because the runs end so close to the camp, we don't take the fruit in the car, but once the guys are back to the house, someone cuts up a few papayas and mangoes. Fresh fruit and chai in the backyard - you can't even imagine how wonderful it is... - The music in this video is by the late and legendary South African pop star, Brenda Fassie. As usual, the intro music is from Millis Pride. To learn more, visit chasingKIMBIA.com. 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 Notes: First, some housekeeping... - The chasingKIMBIA Video Blog was featured on Episode 40 of Podcast Salad. Our segment starts about 1/4 of the way through the episode. It's cool to be recognized by a non-running media outlet. Check it out. - The Week Two Photo Gallery can be viewed here. ...and now onto the show notes. - The introduction shows a video of the KIMbia Honour Roll, which lists all the athletes who have finished in the top 3 of a major marathon. If an athlete runs under 2:07, as Evans Rutto and Charles Kibiwott have done, he also gets his time posted on the board. The only anomaly on the board is Baba - for some reason the guy who paints the board added his win in "Las Vagas" and his 2nd place finish at the Rock & Roll Marathon. But now Baba has a legitimate showing on the board with his 2nd place finish in the 2006 ING NYC Marathon. - It was interesting to watch the guy paint the board. He came to the house one day with a co-worker and a plastic bag of tools. He must have spent 6 hours there. Godfrey told me, "This guy is a professional." He does a great job, but it was interesting to watch a "profressional" work without a ruler or a level. He used scotch tape to make his marks and his opposite arm to steady his painting hand. As you can see, there is a slight tilt to each line of text, but we like to think it adds some charm. Hopefully at the end of this year we'll have to buy a bigger board. - The opening scene, for those of you who weren't following chasingKIMBIA last year, is from mile 21 of the 2006 Chicago Marathon. Up until that point all the guys were running in the lead group. But between miles 20 and 21, the leaders made a move and the KIMbia guys couldn't respond. It was a pivotal moment in the race and you could see the disappointment on the guys' faces as they ran by - they knew there was no hope to win the race. - Ben Maiyo is extremely focused and professional in the way he approaches running. He realizes this is his job and he does it to provide a comfortable way of life for his wife and three kids. But he also does it for pride. He's finished 2nd twice - in Chicago 2005 and then Boston 2006. There's no doubt he wants to get his first win this year in Boston. - In Chicago 2005 he wasn't among the favorites. He had showed great potential, but would be squaring off against his teammates Evans Rutto and Timothy Cherigat, as well as several other talented athletes. But he surprised people with his 2nd place finish to Felix Limo. The following April in Boston, he was among the favorites. But in that race he "played crazy," as Dieter likes to say. The plan was to hang tight through halfway. But Ben had different plans - pushing the pace after 5K. From 5K to 30K he just kept pushing. He was ahead of course record pace the entire way, but faded over the last 12K. He impressed Dieter by not completely falling apart, as many runners do in Boston, and holding on to finish 2nd behind Robert Cheruiyot. Cheruiyot is back again this year and will probably enter the race as the favorite. - Ben is adamant that he won't make the same mistake (i.e., playing crazy) this year. - One segment that didn't make the final cut was Ben talking about the importance of having Baba as a training partner. The two of them train very well together and know when to push one another. Unlike Chicago last year, where the guys were constantly pushing in training, Ben and Baba will take a more conservative approach this year. - Ben speaks very good English, but is shy around outsiders. Initially, he comes off as being very quiet and reserved, but once he's comfortable in a situation, he's quite animated and outgoing. I guess that's true of most of the guys, but Ben really seemed to open up this time around. To learn more, visit chasingKIMBIA.com. --- 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 Notes: - This was the first workout of the training cycle for the main marathon group, sans Baba, who was still in his hometown of Meru. - Kamariny (pronounced "cam-a-rin") Track is truly a remarkable place. On Monday's we're usually the only group at the track. But if you go there on a Tuesday or Thursday, especially in the Spring, it's pure chaos. There can easily be 100+ athletes working out at the same time. - The track is dirt (despite Godfrey's insistence of it's "synthetic" nature). There are stands on both straight-aways, but they're in desperate need of repair. The track is exposed on one end to the Rift Valley, which makes it windy. But the other side is well protected by a hillside. It looks as if they just dug into the hill to make a level surface. On workout days, men and kids alike line up on the hillside to watch the athletes. Some of the men were probably great athletes in their time and some of the children will certainly join the next generation of great Kenyan athletes. - One of the first things I noticed about the track is that a path is worn into the dirt from years and years of running. But what's strange is that the path sits a good 5 meters from the rail. I once asked Brother Colm how far the athletes actually ran in one lap and he said, "Oh, I'm the only one whose measured it." Then his eyes got wide and his face went still, the way it does right before he delivers a joke. "I'll tell you this, it's not 400 meters." Ironically, at the end of our workout we watched as two of his athletes, Isaac Songok and Augustine Choge, clicked off several 53-54 second 400's...or were they 408's? - In Iten there are so many athletes trying to make it. Driving around town in the early morning you see so many runners. Most in small groups; as Ellis pointed out yesterday, you rarely see a Kenyan training alone. - I used two artists for today's video. The intro music is from Millis Pride. The other song is called "Sound Scientist" by Bill from the podsafe music network. To learn more, visit chasingKIMBIA.com. --- 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 Notes: - Our first day in Iten included a workout by Richard Kiplagat and Laban Kipkemboi. Laban went 30K and Richard 20K. It was supposed to be Speed 1, which is the slowest speed for a non-recovery distance run, but Richard got a little excited because we were there. The first 5K was too fast (17:50), but then they settled in to the right pace. Laban ran 1:45 overall. - Laban is training for the Dong-A Marathon in Seoul on March 18th. Laban's best marathon finish was a 3rd at the 2002 New York City Marathon. - Richard, who was a 10-time All-American at Iona College, is coming off a successful first season as a professional athlete, which included a win at the CVS 5K in Providence and a 2nd at the BAA Half Marathon, a race won by Laban two years earlier. Richard also paced the lead pack perfectly through the first 15K at last year's Chicago Marathon. - The huts you see throughout the video dot the landscape on the outskirts of Iten. They are authentic mud huts (very interesting inside) that can house an entire family. In the early morning you'll see smoke rising from the thatched roofs. The first time I saw this I thought the hut was on fire. It wasn't. The women cook inside the huts using charcoal, which lets off a lot of smoke. - Intro and outro music by Millis Pride. The song during the main part of the video is "Work" by a Ugandan artist Jose Chameleon. He's a favorite among the KIMbia camp. To learn more, visit chasingKIMBIA.com. --- 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 Notes: - A new introduction with music by Millis Pride. - The first scene after the intro was shot from the car as we were leaving Kamariny Track; the children are everywhere. - During filming, the kids came running over the hill yelling "Mzungu! Mzungu!". Godfrey and Ellis were great with the kids, getting them to sing and play games. - Godfrey Kiprotich was a great runner in his day. - For years, Eldoret was considered the mecca of Kenyan distance running. I think those days are over...Iten is the new hotspot. - Making appearances in this episode are Come to Kenya with KIMbia contest winner Matt Ellis, Jamie LaChance, and Bob Gusmini. Bob is the one who showed off his 2-inch vertical in Episode #1. - Rift Valley Fever is spreading across Kenya, causing panic everywhere. The meat industry (cows, goats, and sheep) is taking a financial hit. Chickens, however, are booming. - In the scene where Tom talks with the kids in front of him, the little boy in the red top points to the sky and says something. The first two syllables are swahili, which I can't understand, but the last three syllables are "parachute" - there was a person paragliding over the edge of the escarpment. The locals call it a parachute. My paragliding experience will find it's way into a later episode. To learn more, visit chasingKIMBIA.com. --- 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.

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.

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.

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. (Season Two begins February 12th)

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. ("Nothing Comes Easy" is from Season One)

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. ("Road Work at Magnolia" is from Season One)

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. ("Don't Hold Back" is from Season One)

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. ("New York, New York" is from Season One)

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. ("You Ready?" is from Season One)

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. ("Let's Get It Started" is from Season One)

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. (This video chronicles the 2006 Chicago Marathon and is part of Season One.)