“He will die,” everyone said. Or, worse still, she will become sterile (...) That's how it was in 1966, when Kathrine Switzer started training for the marathon
Marcos Pereda, 'Princes and slaves' (Editorial Ariel)
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–It couldn't be in Kenya, being a professional athlete is something very hard. Being a woman there means being a mother and being a wife. You must carry responsibilities that men do not have. That situation generated a lot of stress for me. And under stress, the athlete does not perform –Hellen Obiri (33) tells me.
Now, his life is no longer that.
Neither yours, nor your family's.
Now, Hellen Obiri no longer lives in Kenya, neither she nor her husband, Tom Nyaundi, nor does their daughter, Tania.
The family lives in Boulder (Colorado) and has the support of the On Athletics Club (OAC), the athletic project set up by the firm On (associated with the upcoming Barcelona Marathon) and led by Dathan Ritzenhein, former American distance runner, finalist in World Cups and Games in the 10,000 and the marathon.
(Javier García Romo, Yared Nuguse, Ollie Hoare and Carmela Cardama train at the OAC, be careful with this last name for the fund in our country).
–But do you think things are changing for Kenyan athletes?
-I think so. Now you see many women running. They have gotten used to seeing us on television. In Kisii, my region, they already understand that women can run as much as men.
–Do you think you inspire them?
–There are women who want to be like me. And campuses are already being organized for them.
–And who inspired you?
–It was the year 2000, the Sydney Games, when I saw Vivian Cheruiyot competing on television. And I asked myself: “Can I be like her?” And look where I am now.
Now he is at the top of athletics.
Today, Hellen Obiri is an athlete with world titles in outdoor, indoor and cross country track. For a few weeks now, she has also been the winner of two major marathons: in the spring, in her debut at the distance, she won in Boston. And at the beginning of November, in New York.
(...)
We talk by video call. Night has fallen in Barcelona and it is noon in Colorado. An hour earlier, Hellen Obiri had run five miles. They are equivalent to eight kilometers, but she has already gotten used to counting in miles.
In March, Hellen Obiri had decided to leave Kenya to move to Boulder. At first she went alone.
“I had eight very bad weeks,” he says.
-Because?
–I missed my family. I didn't train well. We called each other, but it wasn't the same. A baby needs the mother's love, to feel that the mother is close. She can ask me for advice. I can also help her on the phone, but I really don't know if she is okay.
-And now?
–The family came two months later. It's another life. We have a flat. The OAC has helped me with Tania's schooling. They take her to school by car, they take me to training...
–And your husband, what is he doing today?
–He accompanies me on long jogs. She goes by bike. He brings me water. Sometimes, during easy runs (easy runs, ten kilometers at a comfortable pace), she runs with me.
–Was your husband an athlete?
(Laughs loudly).
–Nooo. But she has been with me since 2011, since I started my career. And together we talk about tactics, rhythms, everything...
–And why did you leave Kenya?
–In Boulder we work as a team. And they give me first-hand material. If they sent me some sneakers to Kenya, it would take three months. Here I have the same altitude as in Kenya. And I have Ritzenhein.
–What does Ritzenhein give you?
–In Kenya, my coach saw what I did and built on that. Sometimes it was just my husband. Ritzenhein and the entire group of coaches at OAC have run many marathons and, therefore, I share the mystique with them. They tell me what I'm going to find, they help me combine methods and tactics.
–But are you happy on long jogs?
–I come from the track. As a child he ran the 200 (25s), the 400 (58s)... Then, the 1,500 (3m57s05) and the 5,000 (14m18s37). He never did these mileages. At first, he did little mileage. It took me three months to reach 200 kilometers per week. Now, a long run is a pleasure. The rhythm is bearable. And three days pass between one long run and another.
(Obiri aspires to Olympic gold in the Paris 24 marathon; he has two silvers in the 5,000m).
