Brenda Mutoro

At 5:00 a.m., Nairobi’s sky is still a bruised purple. In Kibera, Brenda Sindani Mutoro sits on the step outside her door, lacing her running shoes. The air is cool, the streets hushed but for the distant whine of a boda boda. She rolls her ankles, stretches her hamstrings, and mentally traces her route—past shuttered shops, then onto the main road. Going back inside never crosses her mind.

It’s hard to believe that just two years ago, this ritual didn’t exist.

The Hike That Started It All

In 2023, a family outing to Ngong Hills became a wake-up call. While her brothers climbed with ease, Brenda fell behind, each step heavier than the last.

“That day humbled me,” she says. “I couldn’t believe how unfit I was.”

Her weight wasn’t the problem—it was stamina. For two weeks afterward, sore and reflective, she thought about what she wanted to change. Then she started with slow 5 km walks, resting whenever she needed. No big goals, just movement. Those walks turned into short jogs. The jogs stretched longer. Soon, she was running before dawn.

Finding Her Time—and Protecting It

Running fits around her life as a dental assistant, which includes Saturday shifts. Early mornings are her only option, but they come with risks.

One day, three men tried to rob her. She wasn’t carrying valuables, but the encounter was a shock.

“I changed my route,” she says. Now she sticks to well-lit areas with some early foot traffic, like Prestige and RaceCourse. Weekends are for longer routes toward the Southern Bypass or Ngong.

From Distance to Time

Brenda’s training has evolved. She once chased kilometers, but after injuring her hamstring before the Standard Chartered Half Marathon, she switched to Coach Dedan’s time-based program—60 or 120 minutes, plus strength training and stretching.

She still ran the Standard Chartered that year, alternating walking and running, even sprinting at the finish. “It taught me not to overtrain,” she says.

Hill repeats along Kingara Road became a fixture. “It’s steep enough to intimidate drivers,” she says. “Run it for an hour and you feel it everywhere.”

Gear and Grit

“You honor your shoes,” Brenda says. They’re her most expensive piece of gear, often bought secondhand from a seller on Instagram who helps her find the right fit.

It’s a small but telling detail: Brenda runs on grit and resourcefulness, not expensive gadgets. She uses her phone to track runs and dreams of owning a GPS watch “someday.”

Running for the Mind

Ask why she runs, and she doesn’t talk about medals.

“It’s more mental,” she says. “When you turn 30, there are all these societal expectations. And if you don’t have those things, you start to question yourself. Running keeps me focused on my own goals.”

She sometimes joins the free, inclusive group “We Run Nairobi” or runs with a friend for accountability, but most of her miles are solo. “I’ve gotten used to it. I even enjoy it now. There’s space to think.”

Races and the Road Ahead

Brenda has completed three half marathons: the Nairobi City Half, the Standard Chartered Half, and the Kilimanjaro Marathon. Kilimanjaro was her proudest moment—her coach set a two-hour goal, and she crossed in 1:58.

Next up: the full Nairobi City Marathon. It’s a new challenge, but so was that first walk after Ngong Hills.

“I started because I couldn’t keep up,” she says. “Now I run because I’ve found my pace.”