Legendary marathoner Catherine Ndereba believes tapping into more scientific approaches yields excellence for athletes seeking to breaking records in the current running era.
Speaking during the Prisons Cross Country competitions held at the Prisons Staff Training College in Ruiru last weekend, the Olympian reckoned the current generation of athletes have it easy with the advancements in sports science, a luxury her twenty-year career did not enjoy as much.
“One thing I have noticed is that running has turned to be scientific, and everybody who has been able to tap that they are excelling,” Ndereba told Citizen Digital.
Even shoe companies, she argued, have embraced the science and have over the years rolled out lighter shoes for athletes, enabling them to move faster and record peak performance.
“You find the shoe companies are working day and night to make sure they make the shoes the athletes are using during the marathons as light as they can, but during our time, there was nothing like that.”
Over the years, sports science has boosted athletes’ performances in various disciplines, from recovery to training and even game simulations.
In-depth data analysis, simulated races, and a host of other sports science inventions have made unbeatable records achievable.
Double that with determination, sheer hard work, discipline and a will to be great, and then one becomes a serious threat to obliterating every record possible and the former world record holder (2:18:47) knows that.
As a four-time winner of both the Boston and Chicago marathons, Ndereba remains an iconic figure on the global stage for her immense contribution, even dubbed by the Chicago Tribune in 2008 as ‘The Greatest Women’s Marathoner of All Time.’
The 52-year-old devout Christian attributes her success on track to sheer hard work, discipline, and her staunch belief in God.
“What made me become such a champion is barely hard work and the fear of God, and I can give all the credit to God because he has given me all the talent and strength to do the training, and he has protected me even from all injuries, “she said.
Her 2001 women’s world record (2:18:47) was a hallmark at the time as she became the first woman to run the sub-2:18 and has since remained a contributor to Kenyan athletics.
Ndereba is currently the Assistant Commissioner General of Prisons, where she doubles up as the Deputy Director coordinating sports.
Although retired, the Olympian revealed she still actually misses running and would not pass on the opportunity to get her competitive juices flowing, such as when she came in second at the Senior Officers 2km curtain raiser race at the Prison Races.
She furthermore beseeched young athletes to shun the thoughts of doping or enhancements, encouraging them to embrace hard work and discipline and to run clean.
“Our young talents should embrace hard work, and I would encourage the young people to embrace running pure, running pure and full-blown hard work.”
