A Day at the Sports Centre
The silhouette of Mount Longonot can be seen from the window, but it is actually still quite dark.
The alarm at 06.00 is not so bad since we were already in bed just after 21.00 last night. In the washroom we meet Kosgei and Samoei who appear to be as sleepy as us. Life at the sports centre slowly awakens and by 06.30 a group of around 20 runners, mostly Kenyans, is waiting for the start of the morning run. In the meantime the horizon in the south-east is painted a spectacular red and in a few minutes the sun will emerge from behind Mount Kijabe. We begin our run at an easy jog, enjoying the fresh, cool air and the view of the African savannah at our feet.
After an easy first 15 minutes, the group divides according to ability level and each guest is accompanied attentively by at least two Kenyan athletes. They indicate each possible obstacle on the trail with a quick hand signal, run shoulder-to-shoulder with us and give us a few tips how we can improve our running style. Essentially, though, nobody really speaks very much, each runner concentrating on the trail surface, their own running style, their breathing and naturally also enjoying the fascinating view to Lake Naivasha and Mount Longonot.
While one group is already back at the centre after 30 minutes easy running, this morning’s route leads us along steep cliffs on small paths and dirt roads almost as far as the small village of Longonot. The return route through Kiambogo village and past Geoffrey Gikuni’s house is quite a challenge due to the climb involved. We are now also beginning to feel the lack of oxygen at the altitude of more than 2,200m but try though to maintain our running style. We manage this quite well thanks largely to the attentive escort of the five Kenyan athletes whose running style we automatically try to copy without thinking. Although our kilometre speed is not particularly fast – we are running at six minute per kilometre pace at the end of the run – we remain a large group and we are continually coaxed and inspired by above all Kiarie and Maiyo. After 70 minutes and somewhat tired, but indescribably happy, we arrive back at the sports centre. The sun is now beaming down from a glorious blue sky and in the course of the last hour it has become at least 10° warmer. Before a shower and a well-deserved breakfast though we have 15 minutes of group stretching and warm-down exercises in front of the centre are on the programme.
The hot shower is really good although of course we know how precious water is in this Region and so we try not to be too wasteful when showering.
Much activity is already underway in the breakfast room and from the kitchen comes the exquisite aroma of fresh chapattis. My girlfriend uses the opportunity to gain an insight into the art of making chapattis. I can imagine what we will see on the breakfast table at home in the future. The morning training is discussed over breakfast. Gikuni was again the fastest of the elite group and managed to ‘win’ the training just ahead of Kiptum. Kiarie tells about the progress we have made and says he is very impressed with our training performance today. That gives us motivation for the next session!
Yesterday, we had agreed with Paul a take a trip to Mount Longonot National Park. He reminded us of the planned departure of 11.00 before we retired to our Masai House to rest a while. The unique ambience in this room with a direct view of the crater of Mount Longonot had delighted us right from the very first glimpse. We don’t miss the luxury of a hotel for a second, quite the opposite in fact. Everything is clean, well-kept und really authentic. The bed is large, the mattress comfortable and as regards the original Masai furnishings, we would just love to take them home to Europe with us.
There is a knock on our door just before 11.00.We had simply nodded off and Paul was reminding us of the imminent departure. Together with two other guests at the camp (from Germany) and five Kenyan athletes, we leave the centre with the run2gether club bus and drive on eye-openingly awful dirt roads in places (one pothole after another) to Longonot. We arrive just a short while later at the National Park Centre (not even 30 minutes away from the Sports Centre). We had agreed with Paul to climb the summit of the volcano today. The route on small footpaths climbs steeply upwards and during the ascent Paul tells us all about the flora and fauna of the national park and he can even identify all the innumerable species of birds by name.
The view slowly opens out and we can see back to the sports centre on the opposite slopes and Lake Naivasha looks almost near enough to touch. The path gradually becomes steeper and more difficult but the first view into the crater more than rewards us for our effort. Just over 45 minutes later we finally reach the summit of Mount Longonot and we have a fantastic 360° panorama view all around us. Paul suddenly points to a herd of buffalo at the west foot of the mountain; an impressive scene in the African wilderness. On the descent Paul reminds us of the many snakes on this mountain and asks to keep a wary eye out for them. The danger of actually being bitten by a snake is very small, but one should be careful all the same and not leave the path. After boosting our energy on the summit with a picnic of chapattis and sweet potatoes, we enjoy a cup of tea at the National Park Centre before we retrace the bus journey back to the Sports Centre.
A number of runners are already waiting excitingly for the report of our trek and the time before the evening meal flies past. A large portion of ugali with tasty sukuma wiki (a bit like mangel or spinach), mmm, delicious. We have been looking forward to this after our long but rewarding day.
In the evening, over a cup of tea, head coach Mathu tells us about his experience at the Olympic Games in Peking and the World Athletics Championships in Berlin. He was the head of the Kenyan team at both of these major events and listening to his stories and tips is a more than worthy end to the day.
Tired but very happy, we retire to bed shortly after 21.00 and we can enjoy about nine hours of well-deserved sleep before the next morning’s run awaits us.
