The Sirikwa, Introductions and Prepartions – 6/21

The backseat threesome all passed out just as we got off the highway and entered Eldoret, so my initial reaction to the town was a groggy one. The traffic was pretty terrible and the drivers were not much better than psychopathic Nairobi ones, so we remained tense until Dan finally pulled into the Sirikwa Hotel. The hotel is a little freaky, because it was built by former President Daniel arap Moi in a strange quasi-European style t some point (towards the middle?) of his 25 year reign. The place is fairly deserted, which adds to the weirdness.

We were met by the hyperkinetic and capri-clad Prof. Yannis Pitsiladis in the lobby and made our introductions. He is an expert on running physiology and deeply involved with East African runners from Ethiopia and Kenya. Plus he is a fairly crazy guy and should be a fun person with whom to collaborate. His team is anxious to head up to a primary school that is located a few hours out of Eldoret and will serve as our base of operations for some as of yet undecided amount of time. Dan is hesitant, especially because some of our equipment has not yet arrived. The Harvard folks are tired so after another round of Tuskers and malaria pills we all crash hard. We’ll have to work this out in the next couple of days to avoid awkwardness.
T
he next day we met up with two more collaborators: Edwin - an orthopedic surgeon and the new head of the Dept. of Physiology at Moi University, and Meschack - a (currently-injured) professional 10K runner who is a friend of Yannis’ and helped make possible all of our research efforts by serving as a liaison to the schools and potential subjects of interest. Our plans are still up in the air, but it is looking like we will head up to the A.I.C. (Africa Inland Church) Chebisaas school on Sunday afternoon. The lack of equipment and up-in-the-airness of our research/living arrangements are worrisome but time is relatively short so it’s probably a good idea if we get started ASAP.

We spent the rest of this day getting to know one another and prepping for the upcoming trip up to the boondocks. The first stop is Nakumatt – a big, pretty seedy Walmart-type supermarket – to get some extension cords and snacks. I decide to hang out in the car with Meshack to get to know him a bit better and to practice my Swahili. He is a pretty awesome dude. He ran professionally in Sweden and in the US (NY, CA etc), so his English is stellar and he is a very worldly guy. After struggling with hamstring and back injuries for the past couple of years, the running money and sponsorships have dried up so he has developed a small publishing business near Eldoret to make ends meet. Additionally, he writes and produces a (pro-bono) public interest program for the local TV news station about the lives of local runners. As such, he knows a ton of people and a ton of people (runners and other locals) know him, making him a perfect guide/consultant.

After about an hour the crew emerged from Nakumatt, exasperated - the supply run took a while due to some credit card snafus, including the accidental addition of a few extra zeroes to our bill ($100 for a packet of biscuits?). But we found everything we needed and headed back to the hotel to recharge.

Another day of driving tomorrow before the real adventure begins.