In Kenya, running is more than a sport. Running is a way to reach a better life. The fastest Kenyan changed their lives through their international results. But before getting there, the road is often long and unglamorous.
Alistair Davidson is one of the people enabling Kenyan athletes to change their lives. He is the founder of three running teams, Braveheart Runners, Nzimaheart Runners and Akiliheart Runners, aiming to develop young athletes' talent and get them to the next level. Alistair became an important figure in Iten, where he spent part of his time while being based in Switzerland. In the short span of a few years, he was able to attract sponsors and provide support to many runners before launching their careers. In this interview, Alistair reflected on his relationship with Kenya and his latest venture, Nzimaheart Runners, a team offering support to women and single mothers.
First of all, how did your relationship with Kenya start?
I came with an Italian Kenyan group called Hearts of Kenyan Running. I really enjoyed it. This gave me the idea to celebrate my 60th birthday here the next year, as a running party. I invited 20 people to come and run with me, but unfortunately COVID hit. So, I couldn't have my running party and I had to abandon the idea. But I came back later in the year and I met all of these runners.
I realized the problem with the runners is that if they don't have races, they have no income. So they were living a bad moment and were really desperate for help. Some of them weren't eating. They didn't have gear. So I thought “let's try to think of a concept where we could give them a roof over their head and some food”. So we started a project where we gave the athletes enough money to survive, provide gear and let them train with whichever coach they were with. We gave them sports watches and made them sign up to Strava so that we could actually see how they were training. And that's how we started to build our little family with Braveheart.
How was the initial response from the Kenyans?
At the beginning the locals were a little bit wary. They didn’t give over their trust immediately. They were happy to receive support and the gear from Scott. But we only created friendships later, after the athletes saw that every month they were receiving the money. Then we started to take them to races. In spring we usually go to Lausanne and Geneva and Ravenna in November. We also include some trail running races, like Zermatt. All of this made it possible to create a family feeling. Some of the runners went on to become mid level international marathon runners. Some received scholarships to attend college in the US. Others have given up running, but this is part of the game.
You started three different projects in Kenya in the span of a few years after COVID: Braveheart Runners, Nzimaheart Runners and Akiliheart Runners. How do these three teams complement each other?
We tried to make a team for each of our sponsors. Braveheart was sponsored by Scott till last year and now it is in an in-between phase. We haven’t decided what to do with it yet. Then Akiliheart is sponsored by Compressport. Nzimaheart is supported by charitable foundations. All the three teams have the word “heart” in their name and one Swahili word. “Akili” means “mind”, while “Nzima” means “whole”. So, you can understand what each name means.
Initially we thought that having three different teams would make it easier to tell each story, but now we found ourselves with Braveheart having the biggest following base, but Nzimaheart is the main project right now.
What is the future of Braveheart Runners now that it is not supported by a sponsor anymore?
A project lasts for the time it lasts. And we were never trying to build these athletes into being world class athletes. We were trying to develop talent and change their lives. This was all that we wanted. We built fantastic connections with the athletes we supported. So it's okay. Now we've moved on to Nzimaheart.
Nzimaheart is focused on women and started as a team for single mothers. How did it come to life?
We started this project with another group called Tirop Angels. In 2021, Agnes Tirop was a top Kenyan runner and she came back from the Olympics and was murdered by her husband. Five ladies created a foundation to support women and eliminate gender based violence. I started to collaborate with them, but after a while I realized there were too many influences in Tirop Angels. So, we interrupted the collaboration one year later.
Three of the founding ladies from Tirop Angels came with us to start Nzimaheart: Mary Keitany, Kolly Wanders and Carolyne Jepkosgei. Then, Peter Aburi is the other founding partner. One of them is Mary Keitany who won the London Marathon and was the world record holder. They run the daily operation of Nzima, while I provide the overall direction and build connections with the race directors in Europe. I usually go to Kenya 5-6 times a year.
How do you support Nzimaheart runners on a daily basis?
It is different compared to the other projects. We built a training camp where 21 runners live there, all between 18 and 27 years old, of which 11 are single mothers. Mothers can bring their kids to the camp and we provide a baby sitting facility where they can stay. We bring them to school.
The problem in Kenya is that if you give somebody even a small amount of money you don't know if they're going to use it for the right purpose. They have pressures to pay for school fees for their children or to give it to somebody in their family they're struggling to survive. So we decided the ladies should come into the camp. We give them enough money so that they can pay for the school fees for their kids and get their hair done. This is why we provide housing and food. We have a cook and a refectory where runners can also cook their own meals.
The message we want to convey is that we want to improve their lives through athletics. So they shouldn’t expect us to be just a charity providing food. Everyone trains 6 days a week with 2-3 fitness sessions and approximately 140 kilometers per week.
What are the main challenges you encountered in starting this project?
Trust is the main thing. Sometimes the ladies were looking to see if anybody was getting an advantage or a better treatment or if there were better conditions to be had. Or if it could be a bit lazy and not show up for training.
So we've had to make sure that we have trust and that we stand by our values.
We're very firm on the fact that if they're not running they can't stay in the camp. They've got to reach a certain level in running before they join. Then, they can spend the first year improving and come back for a second, but we need to see improvements.
What is the biggest achievement of the team so far?
At the Kilimanjaro half marathon our athletes finished in the top 6 places. At the Kigali International Marathon we finished 2nd, 7th, 11th and 12th. At the Ravenna Marathon three athletes were able to achieve the elite standard according to World Athletics. Winnie Tenai had a strong period in Switzerland where she won Corrida Bulloise and finished on the podium in two more races. She won a cow at one of the races and we were lucky enough to trade it for a cash prize. Another girl left the team after receiving a scholarship in the USA. Big brands have been showing interest in the team too. We received gear from ASICS recently. We feel that the team is actually getting very strong.
It is not easy to manage a female team since many times they don’t get along and it is hard to instill the right values. it seems we have been able to do that.
Most of the athletes part of the team probably never left Kenya before. How were their first international experiences?
There's the initial thrill of going to Nairobi to apply for your visa and going for the physical interview. Then, food is a big thing. They are used to ugali, a corn meal made from maize, and they think they can’t survive if they don’t eat it. On race day, they have the thrill of seeing other runners competing for fun and not for commercial reasons. This is something that doesn’t happen in Kenya. Among them, they are the stars and fans take pictures with them. So, it’s very exciting.
How would you rate the first year of Nzimaheart from 1 to 10?
That's brilliant actually. This is the project of my lifetime. The fact that we've gone for a concept, and the three funding coaches understood how to talk to the ladies and make them train is amazing. Seeing the interest from brands and having them visit the camp has been rewarding.
At the end of every year, the athletes go back home to spend Christmas with their families but we have no certainty they will come back or if they will join another team. They don’t tell you their decision in advance. This year, everyone came back. We felt that was a sign of trust of what we're actually giving them. This was a highlight for me.
What are the main objectives for the team this year?
This year we will race in Kigali, Tanzania, Switzerland and Italy again. We will make our team bigger at these races and I hope we can score strong results and many wins. What is most important is that the athletes will continue to progress and this will come naturally if they keep working hard. Our main objective is to develop their talent and we give them the opportunity to change their lives.
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