New Balance and chasingKIMBIA, a blogumentary that documents the lifestyle and training of some of the world's best marathon runners from Kenya, announce the “Auction for Education” to raise funds for the KIMbia Foundation in support of youth education in Kenya, where only 24% of children attend high school.
The first item New Balance and chasingKIMBIA will auction is a custom pair of KIMbia racing flats signed by two Team New Balance athletes, Ben Maiyo and Stephen “Baba” Kiogora. The New Balance RC205 racing flat has been customized with a KIMbia logo and Kenyan shield and is the same model that Maiyo and Kiogora will wear during the 2007 Boston Marathon on April 16. This initial auction will close at 9:00 AM EST on April 7, 2007 and the winning bid will go to support the KIMbia Foundation. Additional auction items, including the athletes actual race singlet and shoes, will be posted on chasingKIMBIA.com through Marathon Monday.
“ChasingKIMBIA offers its readers unique insights into the daily lives of elite marathoners as they train together and strive to achieve their personal best,” says John Evans, Team New Balance Manager. “This auction highlights their ongoing commitment to supporting their hometown communities in Kenya by providing increased educational opportunities for Kenyan youth.”
The money raised through the KIMbia Foundation is used in one of three ways: to send Kenyan children to school, support HIV/AIDS training at a Kenyan teacher's college, or for track rehabilitation in the Kenyan Singore community.
Sponsored by New Balance, ChasingKIMBIA debuted in 2006 as a blogumentary providing a unique “backstage pass” to the lifestyle and training of elite marathoners by allowing visitors to learn about their culture, individual personalities, and the sacrifices they make to be the best. Tom Ratcliffe, founder of KIMBIA (www.kimbia.net), and blogumentary author Matt Taylor started the site last fall in Boulder, CO by following seven Team New Balance marathon runners as they trained for the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon and the ING New York City Marathon. This winter, Matt traveled with the elite runners to their training camp in Iten, Kenya and has been chronicling their training for the 2007 Boston, London, and Rotterdam marathons. KIMbia is the Swahili word meaning “to run.”
