What it Takes to be "Great"

I first met Gilbert Kiptoo in 2008. It was at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon (STWM) awards where he had just ran a cool 2hrs 12 min race. The CES team were right at the finish line waving the Kenyan flag, encouraging Kenya's finest runners as they crossed the finish line. Six Kenyans in the top ten…awesome. Despite the huge crowd of 15,000 at Nathan Phillips Square that day, we somehow connected. The green, white, red and black colours of Kenya on his top gave him away. From a distance I greeted him with a "Karibu, jambo sana…habari". The rest is history and since then we have been friends. 

Gilbert is now a celeb in Thunder Bay and the adopted son of John and Sandy Guthrie. He has run many times in Canada at the Victoria, Calgary, Toronto and Ottawa marathons. Gilbert Kiptoo is a global ambassador for Kenya athletics. He also serves as CES Sports Ambassador. During the past three years he has been key to mentoring our students and assisting at the Canada Day (July 1) Run at MMUST in Kakamega. 

His finest contribution however, was to help coordinate 26 elite marathon runners in the CES Kenya Peace Run last February 10, 2013. The 140 km run was established to spread the message that peace and unity could be a reality for the upcoming 2013 election. It was a superb success. I believe it was the first of its kind in Kenya, perhaps globally. The run ended with a Peace Rally at Masinde Muliro Gardens, Kakamega. 

Today Gilbert and his adopted daughter Stella arrive in Kakamega to take me to their home. We abandon our first choice to take a matatu. No seatbelts. Gilbert finds a cab driver and within three hours we are there. Sally welcomes me and immediately asks about her friends in Thunder Bay. 

Sally

In their major living space hangs an assortment of medals won in various cities around the world. Inspirational posters and pictures of Gilbert's parents are on the wall closest to my bedroom. To no avail I protest the fact I will sleep in a space larger than two other rooms housing a dozen. Although not needed, I was still glad for the anti malaria mosquito net. In the highlands of Kenya the air is cool at nights and the days are pleasant. It is not yet the rainy season and mosquitoes are scarce. 

Located half way between Eldoret and Kitale, Gilbert's “shamba” is in the Rift Valley area. His 20 acre farm is a place of peace. Maize is the main crop with napia grass for dairy cattle grown on the side. A new house is being built for his 58 year old mother. Cousins, uncles and extended family all live on the compound. Gilbert is the patriarch, father to all including eight adopted orphans he supports. Gilbert looks after each as his own. At Christmas they all got new clothes; no child would feel left out. 

Two teens, Shadrach (Standard 7) and Stella (Form 1) are part of the family. Gilbert is training them to be runners. Already they are winners at the County level and Stella will soon compete at the nationals in her age category. Stella's mother is dying of Aids. She begged Gilbert to care for her daughter. There was not a moment's hesitation. Six children under the age of nine are also part of the family. Total orphans, they enjoy life with Gilbert and Sally. 

Shadrach

Stella

Gilbert and 2 yr old son Timothy

In the evening we walked 200 metres to an uncle's place. Someone called “Karibu”, welcome and I soon was sitting with eight others in a dimly lit one room hut covered by a tin roof. Only two spoke English. Twenty minutes later I rose to leave. I knew Gilbert was back at his place and I thought it best to join him. Shadrach whispered in my ear, “Don't you think you should have some tea?” Always one for a cup of tea I sat down. I had nearly offended this family. In Kenya once you enter a place, you must drink tea with lots of brown sugar and milk added. It's only then one can be released.

Deanna - 4 months with Gilbert's younger sister

At sunset the entire family group of about forty gathered to sing a swahili welcome song. They had fun listening to me singing harmonic syllables in baritone with a sliding bass at the end. I was the first to be offered a sweetbread cake. I gave half to a young one standing beside me and he then shared with ten others, a morsel each. I got a neat compliment when Shadrach told me, “you sure like children.” That night at Gilbert's twenty gathered for dinner. The TV had Barcelona and Madrid playing football. Plates were piled high with rice, ugali, beans and japati. No way I could finish. My apology was lame, “I am expected to lose ten pounds before returning home to Canada.” No problem, my food was given to another hungry mouth. Then an amazing thing happened. All 10 children of school age cracked the books and they began studying. And this on a Saturday night! Totally worn out, I retired. The rest carried on with their preps. 

Daily training is essential. At 6am I heard Gilbert and his young runners leave the compound. They would be joined by two others. After 10km Shadrach and Stella were done. The three remaining athletes ran another 22 km before returning home just before 8am. Gilbert is training for the Jerusalem marathon in March and in April he may be visiting Capetown for the Twin Oceans Run. After that he travels to Canada for a series of competitions. Gilbert's family depend on his earnings. Gilbert has to be mentally tough to compete with younger runners whose main goal is to beat him at the finish line. Of all 44 tribes in Kenya, the Kalengins excel the most at running. During the past three decades, 80% of the world's marathon winners have come from the Eldoret area. Research shows that a combination of genetics and an ideal environment to train accounts for them being the best long distance runners in the world. 

While they were out, a few of the young ones joined me for a walkabout. The sun was just rising and the air was sweet. Chickens , roosters and a duck were creating a ruckus. Cows were sauntering out to pasture. Soon I was surrounded by a few more kids and eventually we were around thirty. There were tugs at my fingers and I had three or four hanging on to each hand. Of course they wanted to touch “muzungu”, feel my skin and give me a little pinch. They must have thought that milk had been poured over me. We all got singing the Kenyan folk song, ``Jambo, jambo sana – habari gani, Mzuri sana`` (Hey there, what`s up…how are you...I am doing fine). Some as young as six or seven were carrying kids half their age. The older ones found some nuts and fruits along the way to eat. One kid picked a lime, pealed and sucked on it for a while. Nearly all had a taste and it was discarded, landing on a pile of cow dung. It was just as quickly retrieved by another kid. No big deal. 

We got back around 8am to meet the runners. Philip Kiptoo Zuia and Patrice Kiptoo Ayabei (no direct relation to Gilbert) were downing a special drink Sally had made for them, designed to refresh and replenish energies lost. Soon with tea and mandazi we were talking about the CES Peace Run they were part of just before the 2013 Kenya elections. They were so grateful for the funds they received. One sponsored a child in school and the other helped his family for necessary foods. I asked Philip what he was going to do for the rest of the day. “Find my cow and milk it”, he said with a huge grin. These phenomenal athletes are primarily farmers, people of the land. The little they have is because of their career as marathon runners. 

Too soon we said goodbye, leaving for Eldoret. There we met with CES Grad Doris Miroya and ran into Hon MP Wesley Korir, also a runner. We shared the story of CES in Kenya. He had married a Canadian girl from the Kitchener Waterloo area and they started the Kenyan Kids Foundation. We had much in common as we chatted.

I shared with Gilbert how much I admired him and what a great man he is. Humble and yet so talented, he always gives the glory to God. He is the leader of his family. A loving father, he delights in all his children. Timothy (2years) and Deanna (4 months) are the youngest. Deanna is so sweet. Named after Lynn Zolinski's daughter, she cooes and is alert at all times. What a joy to hold this little one. 

What does it take to be great? Tops in your field...maybe. Gilbert has been there many times. But few definitions can match the ideal of loving God and taking good care of others. Taking in eight orphans takes love and sacrifice. Moulding the lives of young teens is challenging. A faithful husband and good friend, he leads by example. As we parted, I thought to myself, “I wish there were more like Gilbert Kiptoo in this world.”