Mary Ngugi-Cooper is taking part in the race for a better future for young Kenyan runners

As a child, distance runner Mary Ngugi-Cooper had no aspirations to turn out to be an athlete. Running fast was as natural to her as respiration, and her unofficial training included “running” errands in her hometown of Kikuyu, a town in southern Kenya near Nairobi.

“We ran very far to go to the store, to high school, to the farm; “my mom always sent me because she knew, ‘She’ll be there in five minutes,'” Ngugi-Cooper tells ESSENCE, laughing at the memory. “I beat all the boys coming back to school and they always asked, ‘Are you crazy?’ Why are you running so fast? “It’s not a competition.” ‘Slow down.’ But I wouldn’t slow down.”

Ngugi-Cooper stepped up her pace by participating in road running competitions, where she represented her school, local chapter and district for the first time, after which went on to compete at nationals. In 2005, the coach noticed her and invited her to a training camp. A 12 months later, her skilled profession took off and he or she was soon competing around the world, competing in the Junior World Championships in Beijing and eventually the Boston Marathon, which she is going to run for the fifth time on April 15.

Inspired by her travels, Ngugi-Cooper launched a women’s empowerment movement called Women’s Sports Association supporting young girls from East Africa participating in sports.

“I lived in the UK, made friends in America and saw how different things are there. I’ve seen girls treated differently. Girls have a voice, they are empowered and they are educated. The culture is different. So I asked, “Why can’t our girls in Kenya be the same?” – says. “I wanted to give back to the community and try to give girls what I saw abroad because my eyes were opened and I saw that we don’t have to be controlled. We can say no. We can demand equality for ourselves.”

But the more Ngugi-Cooper began talking to young Kenyan women about their experiences, the more she realized they needed greater than just mentoring and inspiring words.

“When I heard stories of ladies being molested by coaches, of ladies being raped at camps, of losing money because they signed a contract without knowing what they signed, or of not having control over their money because coaches take it or sometimes their husbands take it, after which I said, that we’ve to do something,” he says.

The murder of 25-year-old Kenyan long-distance medalist Agnes Tirop by her husband in October 2021 was the final spark that ignited the Ngugi-Cooper match. In October 2022, she founded Nala Track Club, an all-women organization based in Nyahururu that goals to assist young women in Kenya excel in running at a semi-professional level. Named after the African nickname of a successful influential woman, Nala Track Club helps provide participants with a secure training camp environment and covers housing and education costs for those that need it. A coach-training program for women has also been established to reinforce their development in the country.

“I’ve never heard of a female coach,” admits Ngugi-Cooper. “I’ve never seen one like that on the track. I’ve never timed myself by one of these, and honestly, I grew up thinking it was normal. In Kenya, it is a male-dominated sport. If you’re a woman, you can be a cleaner, you can be a cook or a caregiver, you can’t take on big jobs and that’s one of the things we’re trying to change. Women can be coaches; they can own the camp.”

When Nala began, Ngugi-Cooper and her husband Chris brought six girls and funded the program entirely out of their very own pockets. “It was difficult for me because I had no support; I had to use my own money,” she says. “My husband had to help me and I even had to give away my own clothes. Most of these girls come from very poor backgrounds. They have nothing. They run barefoot. They don’t even have their own clothes or shoes for learning. So I gave them their own shoes and clothes so they could train. I took them to school with my own money. I tried to support them as best as I could.”

One 12 months after its launch, Nali will likely be joined by Nike to assist girls with basic needs and residential scholarships to remove financial barriers to their training and education. There are currently 17 girls in the athletics club.

“We have our own camp now. We are the owner of the camp. We can pay their tuition and medical bills, and if they have any problems, they can go to the hospital. We give them money for hair. We provide all basic needs at the camp,” says Ngugi-Cooper. “We also have a trainer whom we are developing, a photographer and a physiotherapist. It’s a whole big group now.”

Ngugi-Cooper’s efforts are part of a much larger movement to finish gender-based violence in Kenya. In late January, marches were held in East African cities and towns to protest against murders of 14 women who has been killed since the starting of the 12 months. According to AP Newsthis number has now reached almost 60. In the 12 months 2023 Demographic and health surveyover 11 million Kenyan women (20% of the population) reported experiencing physical or sexual violence from an intimate partner during their lifetime. Many residents and organizations resembling Coalition Against Sexual Violencethey call on the government to act.

“What are you truly attempting to do to stop it? That needs to be the foremost goal, not only attempting to help women who’re already in it,” says Ngugi-Cooper.

“It’s a cultural issue. It’s not just athletes. It’s the whole of Kenyan society, so it’s going to take more than just the government, because if I experience violence and I don’t say it, or if I’m raped but I don’t say it, no one will talk about it and there’s nothing they can do about it. I think we need to be open and understand that this is not normal. This is not okay. We should all try to do something about it.”

As Ngugi-Cooper prepares her mind and body for Monday’s race, she is more aware than ever of her role in ensuring a brighter future for Kenyan women and girls.

“I feel more responsibility than before because now I don’t run just for myself. I’m running for these girls. They look at me with admiration,” he says. “I want to go there and win races too, but even if I don’t, I will still be proud of myself because it’s not just about winning races. I am more than that and that’s what I want to show my girls. You are more than that.”