Joseph Mutinda came to DS for training and at the last minute decided that he would enter the 10K race. And race he did. He won the 10K. He said that he was going to go for a run before the race started. So he takes off… The National Anthem plays. No Joseph. The priest gives a benediction and the photographer and a couple others ask: ‘Where’s Joseph?’ No idea. The start horn blows — time to move. I kept thinking it’s a bummer for him to miss the race but also kept thinking — he’s not gonna miss the race. I got to mile 1.5 and couldn’t resist — I saw a friend on the sidelines and I shouted to her: ‘Have you seen Joseph?’ She said he’s running… I crossed the finish line completely knackered. I was doubled over recovering, when I looked up to find Joseph crossing the line shortly thereafter to win the 10K. I ran the 5K. There were several guys in the race that were ‘Austin’s Finest’ but Joseph came in 30 seconds before them. The Keyans are superb athletes and human beings. It was a pleasure to hang around with Joseph for a week. He put up with crazy barking dogs, crazy weather and crazy people. Just like Kenya. Excepting the crazy people.
Laters, Eddie