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CNN Live Sunday
Racing for a Cause
Aired July 13, 2003 - 16:24 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN ANCHOR: Every time a female runner from Kenya races toward a finish line somewhere in the world, some other young women in her country have a shot at a better life. The July 4th Peachtree Road Race here in Atlanta forms the backdrop for this inspiring report by CNN's Alfonso Van Marsh.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALFONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They're off. Kenyan runner Lornah Kipligat in front with the W1 tag, is trying to set a record. She's the reigning 10-k road race world champion, according to the International Association of Athletics Federations. In Atlanta she's hoping to win the world's largest 10-k road race for the fourth time in a row.
LORNAH KIPLIGAT, 10-K WORLD CHAMPION: You are so concentrated on how the race is going, who is next to you, who is your contendants. And so you really have no time to think on other things.
VAN MARSH (on camera): If Lornah wins the Peachtree Road Race, she'll take home a $15,000 prize. She admits she's in it for the money, but she says she's not keeping the cash for herself.
(voice-over): Lornah uses her winnings to fund a runners' camp for girls in rural Kenya. Through sport, Lornah trains distance athletes to run, run away, she says, from poverty and subservience to traditionally minded Kenyan men.
KIPLIGAT: Right. People wonder why bother. But I understand what the people in the village fears. Through sports we can change so much. And especially in Africa where sports is still a minor thing for women.
Welcome. Welcome to Atlanta. It's your first time, huh?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First time.
KIPLIGAT: OK. You're welcome.
VAN MARSH: This year Lornah brought a protege from her camp. A shy 23-year-old named Jane Kiptoo.
JANE KIPTOO, KENYAN RUNNER: Because it is my first time and I want to do my best.
Oh, that's a lot of sun. VAN MARSH: Jane is also from Lornah's farming village. She says hot, humid Atlanta is quite a change from the high-altitude training center in Kenya. But there are fiberglass reminders of their rural Kenyan home.
(on camera): Do you think that someday you might run faster than Lornah?
KIPTOO: Yeah.
VAN MARSH: Someday soon?
KIPTOO: Yeah. Very soon.
VAN MARSH (voice-over): But not at this year's Peachtree. Protege Jane placed fifth for the women. Lornah placed second. But they say their combined prize earnings, almost $10,000, are all for a good cause.
Alfonso Van Marsh, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired July 13, 2003 - 16:24 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN ANCHOR: Every time a female runner from Kenya races toward a finish line somewhere in the world, some other young women in her country have a shot at a better life. The July 4th Peachtree Road Race here in Atlanta forms the backdrop for this inspiring report by CNN's Alfonso Van Marsh.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALFONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They're off. Kenyan runner Lornah Kipligat in front with the W1 tag, is trying to set a record. She's the reigning 10-k road race world champion, according to the International Association of Athletics Federations. In Atlanta she's hoping to win the world's largest 10-k road race for the fourth time in a row.
LORNAH KIPLIGAT, 10-K WORLD CHAMPION: You are so concentrated on how the race is going, who is next to you, who is your contendants. And so you really have no time to think on other things.
VAN MARSH (on camera): If Lornah wins the Peachtree Road Race, she'll take home a $15,000 prize. She admits she's in it for the money, but she says she's not keeping the cash for herself.
(voice-over): Lornah uses her winnings to fund a runners' camp for girls in rural Kenya. Through sport, Lornah trains distance athletes to run, run away, she says, from poverty and subservience to traditionally minded Kenyan men.
KIPLIGAT: Right. People wonder why bother. But I understand what the people in the village fears. Through sports we can change so much. And especially in Africa where sports is still a minor thing for women.
Welcome. Welcome to Atlanta. It's your first time, huh?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First time.
KIPLIGAT: OK. You're welcome.
VAN MARSH: This year Lornah brought a protege from her camp. A shy 23-year-old named Jane Kiptoo.
JANE KIPTOO, KENYAN RUNNER: Because it is my first time and I want to do my best.
Oh, that's a lot of sun. VAN MARSH: Jane is also from Lornah's farming village. She says hot, humid Atlanta is quite a change from the high-altitude training center in Kenya. But there are fiberglass reminders of their rural Kenyan home.
(on camera): Do you think that someday you might run faster than Lornah?
KIPTOO: Yeah.
VAN MARSH: Someday soon?
KIPTOO: Yeah. Very soon.
VAN MARSH (voice-over): But not at this year's Peachtree. Protege Jane placed fifth for the women. Lornah placed second. But they say their combined prize earnings, almost $10,000, are all for a good cause.
Alfonso Van Marsh, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
