June 29th- From Wendy’s perspective…

Brad and I woke up early and had our quiet time by the fireplace in our room. At 6:15 the kids were up and ready to head to the marathon course. We received a new driver. His name is Ngila and he turned out to be my angel. We left our house at 6:30. It was beautiful to see the sun coming up over the Sahara.

 It was in the 50s so we were happy to snuggle in our blankets on the Land Rover. Ngila drove us right to the starting line. First was the kids race which Dakota and the First Lady of Kenya participated in. They started late because they had to clear the course of Hyenas. I’m thinking, what kind of mother am I to send my daughter out into the wild Sahara with Hyenas? Dakota made a friend with a local on the race. Ngila took Sydney, Jack, and I to meet Dakota at the finish line. The local kids ran so fast and many of them were fainting at the finish line. Sydney was so happy to see Dakota that she cried. Next Ngila got us to the fifth water station so we could cheer on Max and Brad. Then Ngila got us to the finish line to meet Max. I am so proud of Max for completing this half-marathon. Ngila took us all back to the house and then Ngila took me to every water stop so I could cheer Brad on and give him water, Ibuprofen, and gel packs. Ngila has run this marathon and been involved with it for fifteen years. The other drivers call him “the professor” because he knows the Sahara so well. I am so thankful to Ngila for making it so I could be there for Brad. I have a horrible sense of direction and left to myself I know I would have been off wandering in the middle of the Sahara probably being chased by a Cape buffalo!

 Brad and I came back to the house and had a beautiful lunch with the kids and other runners at Sirikoi. We rested and Ngila picked us up at 5:30 for another game drive. It was amazing! At one point we were surrounded by elephants! One of them came up to the car and sniffed us. He was scanning us with his nose. 

So magical, a definite highlight of the trip. We saw giraffes, zebras, ostriches, monkeys, and Cape 
buffalos. Then we headed back to Sirikoi for a beautiful candlelit dinner with Lord Anthony who 
serves in the British parliament. 

We fell asleep next to a roaring fire in the fireplace and they even put hot water bottles in our bed. This marked the end of a beautiful winters day in Kenya 🇰🇪. So thankful that everyone completed their races safely and I got to see it.