We now have 7-day, 10-day and 14-day itineraries for our Kenya 2020 travel. Please contact us for more details. We’re excited to get you traveling and running in Kenya.
Personalized group travel to Kenya
Sorry for the long delay since our last blog post. 2017 has been a full year of tremendous growth for our business. Check out our main website and the home-base of all that we do. We hope that you've been having a lovely year and we can't wait to see you in Kenya. Our 2017 trip to Kenya is the same excellent trip that our past participants have loved, the only difference is that you will be bringing your own small group to us! This means that we can tailor the trip to the time of year that works for you and your particular interests. Check out a sample of our past itinerary to get some ideas of what we do. We typically have taken our groups in June/July, though there are other great times to travel and we can talk with you about these options.
Contact us and let us know when you'd like to travel and what size group you have. Looking forward to traveling with you!
Eagerly Awaiting the Olympics
As I anxiously await the beginning of the Olympics and the opening ceremony this evening, I’ve been reflecting on the wonderful opportunities that our company, Endurance, and our travelers who accompany us on our “Run Like a Kenyan…In Kenya” trip have had to hang out with, meet and train with the professional and aspiring Kenyan runners! It’s such an honor to be able to run into people like Asbel Kiprop. This year we were lucky to run into him at a roadside Kiosk, where he was having a post-training snack. We are wishing him and everyone else the best of luck!
Memorable 2016 Trip
We are back from another memorable and successful trip to Kenya. Our participants had a great time and completed the Lewa half-marathon with big smiles. We also traveled through several parts of the country, visiting and exploring Nairobi, Lewa, Iten - the running capital of Kenya, Nyahururu (another high altitude area), Kakamega and it's rainforest.
We are so glad to have had this opportunity to show this beautiful, diverse country to more folks.
You can check out more photos on Facebook.
We will have updated information on future trips up soon!
How to Run with Wildlife
I was more than half finished with the marathon, and alone on the dirt road. Dusty puffs with each footfall were the only evidence I had been there. The grass, tall and dry, rustled around me as the sun radiated onto my face. “If an animal comes,” I thought, “I will lie down and let it eat me.” I knew that I couldn’t run any faster than I had already been running, and its predatory instincts would tell it that I was easy prey.
Luckily, on that day, and for 15 years prior, at the annual Safaricom Marathon on the Lewa Game Reserve in Kenya, no predators came close to eating people. Instead, the runners saw giraffes and zebra, crossed paths with ostriches, and watched hapless water buffalo being chased away by the game warden’s helicopter.
For those of us who live in Northern California, running with wildlife is not out of the ordinary. There are the ducks and geese at Lake Merritt, the squirrels and salamanders in Redwood Park, and the tarantulas on Mt. Diablo. And yet there is something special about running in Lewa, where you join one of the world’s best-rated marathons and help benefit wildlife conservation efforts and local community support projects.
At Lewa, as with any of our local parks and attractions, park officials monitor and maintain the safety of the runners. At Lewa, they use helicopters and course monitors to ensure that runners get to enjoy the wildlife and focus on their sport.
Here are my tips to enjoy the wildlife:
1. Don’t be afraid to carry your iPhone – this is the one race where you can slow down to enjoy an unexpected sight.
2. Despite what you may feel when you are at your lowest energy point, you are not food for these nearby creatures. Remember that, but allow your dramatic thoughts to spur you to the finish line!
3. Don’t forget that this may be your only chance to beat a Kenyan at running, so keep moving!
4. Eat a good Kenyan meal the night before. Traditional ugali with beans and greens, along with grilled goat meat, is served the night before. Ugali, a Kenyan staple, is a great carbohydrate that fuels many Kenyan running champions.
5. Drink plenty of water – it can get hot as the morning stretches toward noon.
Dr. Cory Nyamora is an endurance sports coach with certifications from USAT and USATF, a licensed clinical psychologist, and the founder of Endurance – A Sports & Psychology Center, Inc. He provides endurance coaching for beginner and experienced athletes, as well as psychotherapy services to children, adults, and families. If you are interested in coaching or traveling to Kenya contact him at runinkenya@gmail.com
Find out more at runinkenya.com and endurancecenter.org
Kenyan Running Culture Training
Dr. Nyamora is available to provide a limited number of workshops and training to groups and organizations interested in Kenyan running culture. He can present in New York, Washington DC, Rhode Island and Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas and the surrounding areas. Check out the menu of presentations available for the following groups:
Contact us with details about your group and the training your interested in.
Two new openings to travel to Kenya this June
We recently have had two unexpected openings for folks who want to travel with our dynamic team to Kenya. In order to make these last minute openings work for potential travelers we are offering the options of going with us for 7-days, 10-days or our standard 14-day trips. This is an amazing opportunity to see Kenya. Check out some short videos on our trips and what our past travelers have said. The deadline to sign up to fill these spaces is 2/29/16. Contact us for more information.
2016 Fundraiser for Tusk Trust is up
We're so excited to have our first fundraiser's page up. Check it out on Crowdrise. Our other team members will be adding their pages soon so please keep coming back. Any contribution is tax-deductible and goes directly to Tusk Trust whose mission is to support wildlife conservation and community development. More soon!
Excited to travel with our 2016 group
Happy New Year! We are thrilled to have met with our 2016 Kenya travelers today in Berkeley (and on Skype) to begin to prepare and plan our trip. We have another wonderful group this year and have a little more space if anyone else wants to join us. Definitely let us know as soon as possible. Flights to Kenya are wonderfully priced right now and we are looking forward to visiting Nairobi, Iten, Kakamega, Lewa and other parts of this beautiful country. See you soon!
Extend your trip to other parts of Africa
We're so excited to have a great group going to Kenya with us in 2016. We're thrilled to show some of our returning visitors and new travelers Kenya from our perspective!
Since we have a few folks who are interested in seeing other parts of Africa we are exploring adding some trips to places like Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, visiting Botswana, South Africa, Namibia and possibly Tanzania and Ghana. Please contact us if you'd like to meet us at any of these locations or come to Kenya with us first and then travel on with a great group!
Looking forward to hearing from you and enjoy our website.
Next Information Session for our June 2016 Trip
We have another opportunity for interested people who want to travel to and run in Kenya in 2016 to join us for more information in Berkeley and on Skype on Saturday October 24, 2015 from 2 -3 p.m. PST. RSVP now to save your space. We are also offering small group information sessions so if you have a group of 10 or more people who are interested in learning more, let us know and we'll come to you. In the meantime explore our websites and watch the videos about our trip. After watching the videos use this link to view our 2015 Kenya visit in pictures.
Next Information Session for our June 2016 Trip
We have another opportunity for interested people who want to travel to and run in Kenya in 2016 to join us for more information in Berkeley and on Skype on Sunday September 27th, 2015 from 2 -3 p.m. PST. RSVP now to save your space. We are also offering small group information sessions so if you have a group of 10 or more people who are interested in learning more, let us know and we'll come to you. In the meantime explore our websites and watch the videos about our trip. After watching the videos use this link to view our 2015 Kenya visit in pictures.
Next Information Session on Sunday August 30th, 2015
We had a wonderful information session yesterday and we're excited about our new participants who will run and travel with us in Kenya in 2016. We have another opportunity for interested people to join us for more information in Berkeley and on Skype on Sunday August 30th, 2015 from 2 -3 p.m. PST. RSVP now to save your space. We are also offering small group information sessions so if you have a group of 10 or more people who are interested in learning more, let us know and we'll come to you. In the meantime explore our websites and watch the videos about our trip. After watching the videos use this link to view our 2015 Kenya visit in pictures.
Reflections on our 2015 Trip
As we return from our very successful 2015 Run Like a Kenyan…In Kenya trip, I’ve been reflecting on the impact of traveling with such a wonderful group of people and showing them a country that is so dear to me.
The time spent interacting with our travelers and other Kenyans and experiencing the similarities and differences between and across cultures is utterly fascinating and life changing. The ability to be so present and open to the day to day activities, both planned and unpredictable, is something that seems to come so much easier when we are away from our “everyday lives” and immersed in an experience that is so rich and different from our typical day-to-day lives.
Kenya is a tremendous place – I may be biased because I’m from there - but my experience of living between and across two cultures and being able to guide people on such a trip gives me a perspective that I truly cherish. Our visitors had an amazing experience and we’ll be posting more about it in their own words. You can see some of their thoughts here.
Our guests/travelers really appreciated the culture of kindness, patience, community help, without the stress and pressure that we face often in the US. In Nairobi, we encountered busy strangers who went out of their way to walk us to a destination if we were turned around. We had some temporary car trouble and immediately found help from strangers. Where else do these things happen so easily? These are just some examples of the deep and profound reminders that there is much more of a sense of community care, less isolation, a better ability to handle stress and inconvenience even in the major cities. Not to idealize and minimize any stress that Kenyans face but there are quite some cultural strengths that are worth bringing back to the US.
Since it’s so hard to summarize the trip in this quick post, please check out our photos - we ran, walked, took public transportation, ate wonderful food, saw many wonderful sites, met many amazing and talented people – athletes, artists, activists, and enjoyed the innovation and creativity that we were around daily! Thank you to those who traveled with us and trusted us to show you our version of what we love about Kenya. We are truly so honored to have spent so much time with you!
Please join us for our next trips in October 2015 and June 2016. You can RSVP for our August 2nd Information Session.
Cory
Back from a successful 2015 Trip
We are back from our 2015 trip and are still reeling in the excitement and energy of such a wonderful experience. Our travelers had a fantastic time! They experienced the vibrant culture in Nairobi, ran the Safaricom Lewa Marathon, visited Iten - the home of the running champions, where they talked with world-class runners and record holders. They also visited the last existing rainforest in Kakamega, Kenya, enjoyed safaris and visited the beautiful Kenyan coastal town of Mombasa. So much happened on the trip and I'll be sharing some highlights on Twitter and Facebook. Some of our photos are already up on Facebook.
Please keep an eye out for the opening of our registration for an October 2015 trip to tour Kenya and run the Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon, as well as our June 2016 trip. If you'd like to join our mailing list email us here. We offer special sign up deals to those on our mailing list.
Registration is now open for our October 2015 and June 2016 Trips!
Due to the wonderful momentum of our recent trip, we have opened up registration for an October 2015 trip back to Kenya! This will be another unique opportunity to experience the wonderful variety of Kenyan culture, and landscape, meet and connect with Kenyans and run the Nairobi Marathon or half-marathon. The turn around/planning time is short for October so if you are a definite yes, please contact us as soon as possible and we can set things up for you now!
Additionally, our June 2016 trip registration is also open. We will have our first information session for both these trips on Sunday August 2nd, from 2-3 p.m. at our office in Berkeley (and on Skype if you aren't local). Please RSVP now if you’d like to attend the orientation and we'll send you the details.
To see photos from our recent trip check out our Facebook page.
Please help us spread the word!
Final preparation for Kenya complete!
Our Kenya 2015 participants had their last preparation meeting on 5/16/15 in Berkeley. We are all excited about our upcoming trip to run and tour in Kenya. Anyone who wants to help our runners with their fundraising by making a tax-deductible donation for Lewa Game Reserve can visit our Crowdrise Page.
Dr. Nyamora will be speaking at the Diablo View Rotary Club in Walnut Creek
Dr. Nyamora will be presenting on our Run Like a Kenyan...In Kenya trip and the work that Endurance - A Sports and Psychology Center does to the Diablo View Rotary Club in Walnut Creek, CA. on May 5th, 2015 from 5.30 pm - 6.30 pm.
He is looking forward to meeting everyone there and spreading the word about our work! See you soon.
Museum of the African Diaspora
Join us at the Museum of the African Diaspora to hear two wonderful Kenyan authors - Yvonne Owour and Billy Kahora editor of Kwani, speak on Wednesday May 13th in San Francisco. Check out the MOAD website for more information and to buy tickets. Let us know if you are going to attend so we can meet you there.
Next Meeting for Kenya adventurers is April 25th
Our next preparation meeting for our 2015 Kenya travelers is Saturday April 25th from 2-3 p.m. We'll be talking about Kenyan running culture and preparing you for the trip!
See you then.