Marathon greats Ndereba and Okayo blazed a trail for Kenyan women

Catherine Ndereba.[Courtesy]

She was born Wincatherine Nyambura Ndereba, in rural Kenya in 1972. In the United States they called her Catherine the Great, and the true greatness of Catherine Ndereba was clear for the world to see when she hit the familiar incline of Heartbreak Hill, six miles from the finish of the 2005 Boston Marathon.

That day, April 18, approaching 18 years ago now, had been a tough one for the three-time Boston winner. Playing catch up from the fifth kilometre, Ndereba found herself 80 seconds down on leaders Nuta Olaru and Elfenesh Alemu at the halfway point.