Hunter and the Boston Marathon – Go Hunter Go

One of our teachers, Hunter Kelly has qualified for the Boston Marathon which is being run tomorrow (Monday 17^th) so she had to leave Kamengo on Friday 14th. Before coming to Kamengo Hunter was generously sponsored by Nuun who provide electrolyte drinks for athletes. The electrolyte powders have been well received by all of us here as we consume huge amounts of water in the heat and Hunter especially has to ensure that she maintains her physical fitness in spite of the heat, for the upcoming Marathon. ON the right we see Hunter with young Herman, himself an awesome young runner even in plastic sandals. Below he is running with Hunter and Kate Spellan a Canadian nurse who is a real friend of Kamengo and returns each year.

Hunter has had no end of young ones who want to accompany her on her runs to and from St. Anne’s Primary School. On Thursday, the teachers finished their work with grades 4 and 6 at 1pm – this is when the infant classes (kindergarten) finish for the day so on her run back to the centre she had a group of very keen little runners encouraging her on.

After a run Hunter and Kate and Herman try to stretch but are often over-run by kids wanting to copy them.

Hunter heads off for a run each morning from the guesthouse, nothing like the training she had been doing leading up to this time but still she is able to continue with her preparation. Given that she is running in muggy heat (even at 7.30am) and at altitude (1500m) compared with Ottawa Hunter is confident that these relatively short runs should keep her on track for Monday. On her last morning she opted for some limbering up exercises on the grass outside the guesthouse at the top of the hill. Perfect morning for stretching.

The day before Hunter had to leave she and I visited Harriett and her collective of women who weave baskets and mats for us to bring back to Canada for fundraising activities for school fees. Hunter managed to finish off her own small hot plate mat under the careful tuition of Brenda.

Unfortunately, Hunter had to go through a 16-hour flight from Addis Ababa to Toronto on Friday when she left so hopefully she managed some sleep.  Before leaving she managed a refreshing swim for an hour in an Entebbe Hotel pool which was super necessary after a hot and sticky drive.

We have had an email to let us know she arrived safely in Boston so now we are sending all the best wishes from afar for a great day on Monday in The Boston!  Go Hunter Go!.

GO HUNTER GO