Kenya’s Rift Valley is home to some of the fastest long-distance runners in the world. Kenyans from this region tend to dominate world marathon races and continue to set new world records. The winner of the 2010 Boston Marathon is a 21 year-old Kenyan named Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot. He’s a very quiet and unassuming guy who quickly rose to stardom this spring after setting a new record in Boston.
I got to meet Robert last Saturday during a special event hosted by the World Food Programme called “Walk the World”. This walk was held concurrently in hundreds of locations throughout the world last weekend to raise awareness and funds for WFP’s school feeding programs. Two school groups from Nairobi’s slums, who benefit from the feeding program, came to the event, along with officials from the Ministry of Education and WFP's corporate sponsors.
Speeches were made and trees were planted before we kicked off the 5km walk/run through Nairobi’s beautiful arboretum. The forest is an incredibly lush and diverse with a seemingly endless number of paths to explore. Besides a few lone joggers and passionate preachers, we seemed to be the only ones enjoying a weekend in the arboretum. I look forward to going back there again soon for a weekend picnic with friends.
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