Mary Ngugi is at the sharp end of marathon competition but, through her Nala Track Club, she is also aiming to help Kenya’s young female athletes secure a brighter future

“When people are used to living in a certain way, it takes time to change that,” says Mary Ngugi, reflecting on the progress of Nala Track Club, the girls-only running camp she founded and officially launched in Kenya in October last year.

The 34-year-old is speaking from experience. She has witnessed female athletes being abused, harassed and intimidated by men. “I’ve grown up in a homestead where you see that the man is always the one who is making the decisions,” she says. “Also, growing up in a camp where it’s mixed with boys, I saw all those kinds of things. It doesn’t have to be violence or whatever, but you can see that you don’t have a voice. Maybe you’re doing something and they look at you and they’re like: ‘What are you doing? This is not what we do here.’ It’s like they decide what is right or wrong, it’s not up to us girls.”

The murder of her former team-mate Agnes Tirop was a catalyst for action and, through Nala, Ngugi is challenging Kenya’s societal norms and the sad prospect that history could repeat itself through a vicious circle of male dominance. 

She first set up the Women’s Athletic Alliance, a network to help the next generation of female athletes with a focus on mentoring, but she wanted to create something that would actively help young girls and provide them with a safe place, not just tell their stories.

“I wanted to mentor them, but also to house them, to train them and to pay for their schooling,” she says. “I thought starting a camp was a really good idea.”

Nala Track Club is based in Nyahururu and supports girls from all over Kenya who have potential but are lacking the support they need to progress. It launched with six girls and it now supports 12, ranging from 14 to 22 years old. 

The girls eat, live, learn and train together. They do a short jog before breakfast, then they attend school. Many will have a track session in the evening. “It’s like a home for them,” says Ngugi, who explains that they work in partnership with a school which is aligned with their mission.

According to an article on Olympics.com, government figures in Kenya show that most girls have to give up their sporting passions to pursue an education, while female athletes who choose to continue studying are discouraged from ongoing participation in sport.

Creating a balance between training and education has always been key for Ngugi. While she has twice made the podium at the World Half Marathon Championships, her bronze medal over 5000m at the 2006 World Under-20 Championships represents more than just athletics success. 

“I liked the camp I went to because they supported our education,” she says. “I was able to finish my high school, and whilst I was in school I was able to represent Kenya in the [World] Junior Championships. I think that’s the kind of thing I want for other girls, that they can continue their education and be the best they can be in athletics. If they want to be an athlete and they want to go to school, they don’t have to choose between the two. They can do both.”

Nala Track Club is an incredible legacy project, but Ngugi’s racing career is far from over. The 34-year-old, who is coached by Steve Cram, finished second at the 2021 Boston Marathon and third in 2022, then ran a lifetime best of 2:20:22 at the London Marathon later that same year. That she was disappointed with her 2:24:33 ninth place in Boston last month says a lot about her, but perhaps not as much as her pragmatic response: “That’s the marathon,” she says. “It happens.” There is a belief, though, that a run of inside 2:20 is possible and that it could come later this year.

In the meantime, Ngugi is enjoying a less intense period of training before a focus on speed work commences over the next two months. Leeds – her home in the UK with photographer husband Chris Cooper – provides a base, while Cram provides the sessions. Unfortunately, she is currently without her training partner Laura Weightman, who is still going through a lengthy rehabilitation process following knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus in September 2022.

Ngugi is happy with her set-up, although she does miss Kenya. “That’s why when I’m in deep, deep training, like in a marathon block, I’ll just go back [to Kenya],” she says. “The long trails, the altitude, I have a big team – I have as many guys as I want to help me which is different from here – so that’s why I go there, but when I’m not training for a marathon I like it here. It’s like a change of scene. When I’m in Kenya I’m looking forward to going to the UK. It helps me to push, because it’s like a break for me.”

A return to Kenya also means visiting Nala Track Club. It’s too significant an operation to run alone, and Ngugi works closely with a small team of women she trusts to look after the girls and to coach them. 

Developing more female coaches and succession planning for Nala is an important strand of Ngugi’s work. She wants to become a coach who can subsequently train others, ultimately growing the pool of coaches attached to the programme. 

“We help each other,” she says. “They’re learning to be coaches as well as me and they’re gaining experience, learning how to deal with athletes, how to deliver a programme. 

“I learn so much from Steve. Even though he’s not training me to be a coach, I’ve learned so much because I question some things. I see how he deals with me, I see how he gives me a workout and what he’s expecting of me, so I’ve learnt so much. We’re also learning from a male coach [in Kenya] who used to be my coach before Steve.”

People are starting to talk about Nala Track Club. While Ngugi’s team are recruiting girls at grassroots level – they travel to school championships and identify talent, while also working with teachers and local coaches – she is now getting calls from girls directly who want to join them. 

“It’s hard for me to say no,” she says. “I would love to take everyone, but I can’t.”

Nala Track Club is focused on female empowerment through the vehicle of sport. Its name is an African word for a powerful woman or lioness.

“As much as I want the girls to perform well, for me it’s more about empowering them and seeing them confident, whether they become athletes or not,” she says. “We want women who know what they want, women who demand equality wherever they go, women who know who they are.

“I’d like to see these girls make decisions for themselves, like: ‘I’m not signing this [contract].’ They don’t need to be told by someone; they can ask questions themselves. They can say: ‘No, I don’t want this.’ They can challenge it because they know what they want. 

“I’d also like to see them join teams, like make the Kenya team for the Olympics. We want to empower them, but we want to see results as well.”

Over a relatively short period, Ngugi is already seeing a difference. “There’s one girl. She was always shy and now, she’s still shy, but you can see she can express herself. She’s a bit more confident, she’s not scared, she’s not afraid. I can see so much difference. It’s not huge, but it’s baby steps. 

“When people are used to living in a certain way it takes time to change that, but we’ll take anything, even if it’s tiny steps. They’re happy. I see them smile. They can talk, you look at them in camp and they’re laughing and joking with each other. They’re dancing around. For me, that’s a win for now.” 

For more, see Nalatrackclub.com

This article first appeared in the May issue of AW magazine, which you can buy here

The United States men's national team's 3-0 win over Mexico in the Concacaf Nations League semifinal on Thursday was halted before the completion of second-half stoppage time due to the referee's discretion.

Referee Ivan Barton, who had already handed out four red cards in the game, paused the game in the 89th minute due to anti-gay chanting heard from the crowd at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Play resumed, and with four minutes left to go in injury time, Barton blew the final whistle after a goal kick by U.S. goalkeeper Matt Turner was once again greeted by the anti-gay chant.

Concacaf told ESPN after the match that the game was not abandoned due to federation protocols regarding the chant, but at the "referee's discretion."

The governing body said in a statement later on Friday: "Concacaf strongly condemns the discriminatory chanting by some fans during the CNL Semifinal match between Mexico and the United States.

"Chants heard during the game led to the activation of the anti-discrimination protocol by the match officials. Additionally, security staff ejected several fans for engaging in unacceptable behavior in the stadium," the organisation said.

"These incidents were extremely disappointing and tarnished what should have been a positive occasion to showcase high-quality football in our region.

"The Confederation is in the process of urgently establishing further details and reports from security and match officials and will make a further statement in short order."

The Mexican Football Federation (FMF) has struggled in recent years with curtailing the anti-gay chant that is typically yelled during opposing goal kicks.

FIFA has issued fines to the FMF because of the action of fans, which included a $108,000 sanction in January for the chant at the 2022 World Cup.

The FMF has made attempts to eradicate the discriminatory yells through avenues such as public service announcements, social media posts and pre-game announcements from players.

Concacaf also announced earlier in the day that it had relaunched a "What's Wrong is Wrong" anti-discrimination campaign that aims to "raise awareness about the importance of inclusivity and equality." As part of the campaign, Concacaf said there would be increased security and a "more proactive approach to ejecting fans who engage in discriminatory chants."

Whether U.S Soccer acts in a more rigid manner remains up in the air. In April, the federation enacted a policy that could punish discriminatory chants during games. If derogatory chants are heard, a team could be banned from taking part in an international game in the U.S. for two years. A second violation would result in a five-year sanction, and a third would be a permanent ban.

A source told ESPN earlier this year that as long as Mexico makes a good faith attempt to eradicate the chants, there wouldn't be any sanctions. There's also uncertainty about what threshold would need to be crossed for the ban to potentially go into effect.

LOS ANGELES – Given his colorful history at the U.S. Open, Phil Mickelson was pleased with his 1-under 69 to start the week at Los Angeles Country Club. Whether he’s pleased with the state of professional golf remains unknown.

Mickelson managed to get to 3 under for the round through 13 holes but bogeyed Nos. 6 and 7 (he started on No. 10). He concluded his round with a par at the ninth, where he had to back off a putt after being heckled by a fan for more than 30 seconds. He finished the day in a tie for 25th and well off the lead held by Xander Schauffele and Rickie Fowler.

“The course is a great setup. They moved some tees up and they put some pins where they allowed us to get off to a good start,” said Mickelson, who has never won the U.S. Open but has six runner-up finishes in the national championship. “But it will play a lot harder as we go on.”

Last week’s announcement that the PGA Tour had reached a “framework” agreement with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabi, however, was not something he was interested in addressing.

“I don’t want to detract right now from this tournament and where I’m at,” Mickelson said. “I’m playing well, I want to get myself in contention and I really don’t want to [talk]. I’ll talk about it maybe after [the tournament].”

Mickelson joined LIV Golf last year and has been an outspoken critic of the Tour and its leadership.

LOS ANGELES – Sam Bennett got his first taste of a major championship at last year’s U.S. Open. Ten months later, he stunned the world with one of the greatest amateur performances in Masters’ history, playing in the final group of the third round alongside Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka.

Coming into this week, Bennett was no longer a wide-eyed kid with zero expectations. The USGA thrust him into the spotlight with another meaningful group, this time teeing it up with last year’s winner Matt Fitzpatrick and the reigning Champion Golfer of the Year Cam Smith

Surely, there had to be some pressure in Bennett’s mind, right?

“There's no nerves. I feel like I belong,” he said.

“The experience I got playing the weekend at the Open, the weekend at the Masters, I feel like I belong and I'm comfortable on this stage.”

Bennett continues to back up those words. The former Texas A&M Aggie bested both Smith and Fitzpatrick Thursday, posting a 3-under 67 that has him tied for seventh.

This round could have been even better, but back-to-back bogeys to close dropped Bennett out of the top-5. Still, he looks destined for a third-straight made cut in majors.

What makes the 23-year-old so successful at the biggest tournaments? Bennett, who won the U.S. Amateur Championship last year, believes he thrives on difficult courses that require accuracy off the tee and perhaps minimize the variance in putting. He hit 11-of-13 fairways and 14 greens in regulation during the opening round.

And the young star has an old-school mentality. He doesn’t like stressing too much over his TrackMan numbers and doesn’t overcomplicate the game. So far in his career, that feels like a good recipe for these high-stakes events.

“I tend to play good under some pressure because I'm not thinking of anything, and I just let my body take over,” he said.

LOS ANGELES – After breezing through a half-dozen interviews and satisfying a long line of autograph-seekers, Rickie Fowler hung around the scoring area long enough to congratulate the newest member of the 62 Club.

Fowler had held the U.S. Open single-round scoring record by himself for less than 25 minutes before Xander Schauffele rolled through and matched him with an 8-under round of his own. No one else in the early wave at Los Angeles Country Club shot better than 67, the early record-setters seeming to defy belief.

“I personally did not see that,” Scottie Scheffler said, “but I guess it was out there. That’s some serious golf.”

The afternoon starters approached the mark but ultimately fell short in a round in which six players shot 65 or lower on a favorable day that felt more like the old L.A. Open than the national championship.

Of course, there were ample reasons why a pair of Cali kids each carded their lowest major round by three strokes and wiped out 127 years of U.S. Open history in less than a half-hour. Separated by a single group in the morning wave, Fowler and Schauffele warmed up in a drizzle and then played under overcast skies, enough to take some of the fire out of the wickedly fast greens. There was virtually no wind, making the fairways (already 43 yards wide on average) play true to their massive size. And the USGA adopted a kinder, gentler setup (“There were definitely some gettable pins,” Scheffler said) that allowed the 156-man field to get through in a reasonable timeframe.

“It’s not really what you expect playing a U.S. Open,” Schauffele said, “but monkey see, monkey do. Was just chasing Rickie up the leaderboard. Glad he was just in front of me.”

Fowler set the pace by carding a tournament-record 10 birdies, a continuation of the rejuvenated form that has seen him end his prolonged slump and return to the top 50 in the world. Since reuniting nine months ago with swing coach Butch Harmon, Fowler has morphed from a below-average ball-striker on Tour to one of the game’s best. Thursday was an important step, the first time in four years that he’s actually thrust himself into the mix at a major. Walking off the green, he nonchalantly told caddie Ricky Romano that this was how he’d been playing of late – he just dropped a few more putts.

“It’s been trending in the right direction,” Romano said, “and it just kind of all came together today. Golf is a lot of confidence, and I think he’s just built a lot of it.” 

No one should have been surprised by Schauffele’s torrid run. Of the world-class players without a major title, Schauffele has played the best in the game’s biggest events over the past six years, particularly in this championship, with six consecutive top-15s.

“It’s built for his game,” said his caddie, Austin Kaiser. He’s consistent. Complete. Unflappable.

Even with Schauffele’s game in gear, Kaiser said he would have taken a 3-under start at the beginning of the day and stayed home. Maybe a 64 was out there, he said, if someone really got cooking.

But a 62?

“It’s unspeakable out here,” Kaiser said.

Schauffele, however, seemed less impressed. It might have been a historic day – the USGA collected artifacts from both players to store in their museum – but ultimately it didn’t mean much to him. In interviews he was quick to downplay the achievement. 

“It’s just Thursday,” he said. “It’s literally just the first day of a tournament. It's a good start.”

His reluctance to gloat was likely twofold: The Open is one-quarter complete, and the USGA is likely to tighten the screws over the next three rounds. There was a general sense that the first round was the easiest LACC would play for the entire week, and the setup czars might be keen to exact some revenge.

“I think the USGA will be a bit frustrated that the number was that low today,” Scheffler said.

“I’m sure after Rickie did what he did they will make it quite a bit harder for us,” added Max Homa.

Smiled Kaiser, “I’m sure the USGA is kind of sweating right now.”

John Bodenhamer, the USGA’s chief championships officer, warned the field that, even with LACC’s unique features, “it’ll be a good ol’ fashioned U.S. Open” in spots.

“We haven’t thrown in the towel, that’s for sure,” Bodenhamer said. “It’s going to be tough. That is what we do.”

The opening-round scoring average (71.3) suggested otherwise, the lowest mark – by nearly a stroke – in tournament history. But with a dry forecast that should allow the USGA to have complete control of the setup, it shouldn't stay forgiving for long. They can deprive the greens of water. Cut holes on humps, mounds and knobs. Extend some tee markers. Dial up the torture meter. Bodenhamer promised a "spicier" setup.

“You just wait until this place firms up,” Schauffele said. “It’s going to be nasty.”

GolfChannel.com senior writers Rex Hoggard and Ryan Lavner are on site in Los Angeles, California, for the 123rd U.S. Open. They are providing daily "mini-pods" recapping each round at LACC on the Golf Channel Podcast with Rex & Lav.

Day 1

So. Much. Red. It was a record-breaking first round at Los Angeles Country Club, where a pair of 62s were shot on Thursday. Does that take away the "U.S. Open" feel? And is the USGA about to unleash the beast?

Christian Pulisic scored late in the first half and early in the second, Ricardo Pepi added a late goal and the United States beat Mexico 3-0 on Thursday night to reach the CONCACAF Nations League final against Canada.

Pulisic, who was making his first start for club or country since April 15, put the U.S. ahead in the 37th minute and doubled the lead in the 46th. He has 25 goals in 59 international appearances, including four goals against Mexico. Pepi scored in the 79th, five minutes after entering.

The U.S, and Mexico each finished with nine players after Weston McKennie, Sergiño Dest, César Montes and Gerardo Arteaga received red cards in a testy second half that included play being stopped in the 90th minute by Salvadoran referee Iván Barton because of anti-gay chants from the crowd.

Play resumed, but so did the chants, and Barton ended the match in the eighth minute of 12 scheduled minutes of stoppage time.

McKennie and Dest will be suspended for Sunday's final after picking up the red cards.

"I'm upset, the game didn't need to turn into this," said Pulisic. "We don't expect this to happen anymore. Now we are missing two good players for the final."

With its first three-goal victory over Mexico in 23 years, the U.S. stretched its unbeaten streak against El Tri to six (three wins, three draws), matching the Americans' longest, from 2011-15.

B.J. Callaghan coached his first game as the second U.S. interim coach after Anthony Hudson quit to join a Qatari club. Shortly before the game, news broke that the U.S. was set to rehire Gregg Berhalter as its permanent manager.

Folarin Balogun made his debut, starting at forward after the 21-year-old decided to play for the U.S. over England and Nigeria.

The U.S. went ahead when Giovanni Reyna poked the ball off Montes and then while prone, poked it forward off Jorge Sánchez. Pulisic burst behind the defenders, took a pair of touches and from the edge of the 6-yard box slotted the ball past goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa.

"We struggled a lot with the ball, things didn't go well at all, it's a loss that hurts us," said Mexico's Ochoa. "We feel sorry for the fans. This is the beginning of a process and we have to learn from this."

McKennie started the move for the second goal with a long pass down a flank to Timothy Weah, who put in a cross. A sprinting Pulisic got behind Israel Reyes and Sánchez, stabbing the ball in with his left foot from 6 yards,

Montes was given a straight red card in the 69th for kicking Balogun while the two were battling for the ball. McKennie was given a red card two minutes later for placing a hand on Sánchez's neck during the ensuing argument and for shoving.

Pepi scored his seventh international goal, taking a pass from Dest, taking a touch and rounding Ochoa. Dest and Arteaga were sent off in the 86th for hitting one another above the neck.

Reyna, his hair dyed blond, made his first start for club or country since March 27, also the last time Dest and goalkeeper Matt Turner had appeared in any match.

Canada beat Panama 2-0 in the opener on goals by Jonathan David in the 25th and Alphonso Davies in the 69th. Mexico and Panama meet in the third-place match.