I anticipated the world Cross country championships that took place in my country Kenya, in Mombasa, 24th March 2007. It came and we conquered.

How much do we need to prove that youth can run ahead of the challenges facing us? Let me congratulate Eritrea, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Netherlands, for the medals won. Am sure you wonder why Netherlands, allow me, since Lorna Kiplagat is a born Kenyan. Hats off! Now that I could not make it to Mombasa, I was glued to my TV set. It was clear that youth runners from Kenya and Ethiopia were all ready to sweep it all. My wish would be to meet the Ethiopian youngster, Kenenisa Bekele. I met few incumbent Ethiopian youth in Nov, 2006, during the ‘Speak Africa’ workshop and they taught me to admire Bekele, whom they spoke highly about. I will live to long for Bekele’s handshake. BRAVO! To the Kenyan youthful team, who proved that Africa has potential resources. The depth of wanting talent from Tirunesh, Gelete, Meselech, Sule and Genzebe was encouraging.

Slow steps we might be making but when given a chance, SMART moves to glory, we win! BIG FIVE to the African runners