Congratulations Jacob!

If you can recall, we posted earlier this month about the young Maasai, Jacob, from a small village in Rombo who was chosen to participate in the 2013 New York Marathon. 

Jacob on top of the Empire State Building in New York

You can read the previous post about Jacobs story here: Maasai Runs 2013 New York Marathon 

Jacob has been back in Kenya for a few weeks now, and we have received some wonderful photos and stories from those based in the US. 

Jacob departed on his first ever flight on October 31 from Nairobi, for his long flight to New York. Managing to transfer planes in Doha, with the apparent help of the police force, Jacob arrived safely in New York at 3:00 p.m. on November 1. 

Jacob with fellow MWCT marathon runners receiving their bib numbers at the Expo

Enjoying an American spaghetti meal!

He arrived in New York two days before the marathon, warmly welcomed by many MWCT partners and employees. The days before the marathon were spent with Mark Somen and Kira Seibert at the INDG New York Marathon Expo, and attending a pre race event at Modo Yoga. 

Jacob with the MWCT team at Modo Yoga

On the Staten Island ferry early morning prior to the marathon

And then it was marathon day! Jacob had been running an amazing time of 2 hours and 20 minutes when practicing here in the Chyulu Hills, but unfortunately because it was not an official race time, Jacob was not qualified to start earlier than the other thousands of recreational runners. Jacob started with the "herd" of runners at 10:30 a.m.. 

He was running at an amazing pace, averaging six-minute miles until the 10 kilometre mark, in which he unfortunately sustained a slight knee injury that caused his pace to slow down slightly. His finishing time for the total marathon distance of 42 kilometres was 2 hours and 58 minutes. An unbelievable time! Although Jacob said he was not very happy with his time, it was truly remarkable to run in under 3 hours for having travelled multiple hours, along with experiencing a different culture, eating different food, running with different shoes, and running on pavement!

Taste testing some gatorade flavors!

Fortunately Jacob has recovered well from his slight injury, and had the warmest support from many people in New York that were there to run alongside him, or to just cheer him along. 

A big thank-you must be extended to ALL those in New York, the AECOME team, and the rest of those in the US and Kenya whom helped make Jacob's experience a successful and memorable one. All of us here at MWCT and Campi ya Kanzi were very excited to welcome him home! Please enjoy the video that we have provided below showing Jacob being welcomed home by Samson Parashina!

Relaxing the day after the marathon

You can find the video here: Welcome Home Jacob