At 42, home is not just four walls, furniture, and people to talk to for Grace Kinyua. The IT project manager says home looks and feels like the snow-capped Rwenzori Ranges or the glaciated Uhuru Peak of Mt Kilimanjaro. You could even say it’s in her genes.
“My grandfather worked with white settlers and was among the first local people on record to climb Mt. Kenya, a bug he passed down to my late father, who, in his prime, was an avid hiker,” says Grace.
She is the apple that fell very close to the tree and grew taller than the tree. She has been to the top of Mt. Kenya 19 times, 12 of which she did in 2023 in a 12-month challenge she took at the start of the year. Those who know her well say she deliberately chooses to suffer, and that is because she is always pushing herself to climb another mountain.
Her true north is a question that her late father kept asking her every time she went back home from a mountain hike, “Which mountain will you climb next?”
She picked up hiking in 2018. First, she joined a hiking group, and her first attempt was Mt Kinangop.
“While getting the brief about the hike, we were advised to carry our gumboots since Kinangop was rainy. Being the rookie I was, I carried my cute red gumboot, which earned me the moniker Gucci Grace among hikers. So, in hiking circles, I am known as Gucci Grace,” she says.
Later, she summited Mt Kenya and made it her hobby. Next, she went to Mt Kilimanjaro, then the Rwenzori Mountains, and has never stopped since then.
She became a pro and now doesn’t have to hike in groups. So many have been her hikes locally, that she has stopped counting. During the work-from-home days of the Covid pandemic, she needed a placeholder for her hobby since there were movement and congregational restrictions.
“I started walking, but soon, it became too boring for me, and that’s how I picked up running. I started with five kilometres then went to 10 and by the time we resumed normalcy, I could do a half marathon.”
36-hour Kilimanjaro ultrarun
Last year, she challenged herself to take on Mt Kilimanjaro and the Kili Marathon, all under 36 hours.
“We started at 5am and got to the base camp at 2pm. We proceeded and summited at exactly 7.43 pm,” she says.
This being a day dash, Grace and her team climbed back down and rested the following day, awaiting the next day’s marathon, where she ran 21 kilometres.
“Going on such an activity is like going to war. Your focus on winning is your greatest arsenal. Mt Kilimanjaro taught me that the mind is the strongest thing I have; anything I perceive in the mind is achievable. Being out there in the dark on Africa’s highest point would have been enough, but my mind was fixed on going the whole nine yards,” she continues.
Grace’s achievements aren’t just limited to mountain peaks. She also conquers ultra-marathons.
Photo credit: Pool
Risks and rewards
Grace did not inform her family until she had left for the hike and marathon because she felt they would dissuade her from it.
“Everybody thinks you are being careless, especially because I am a parent to two boys. The conversations are always centered around them and the risk I expose myself to. The truth is, those risks exist, and their fears aren’t misplaced. I believe fun and fulfillment start where fear ends. I make adequate plans before I embark on such activities, and this includes readying my body, leaving my household in order, and planning my work so that my absence does not affect my work.”
Grace Kinyua, an IT project manager at the entrance of Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal, home to Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world.
Photo credit: Pool
Losing toenails
Grace lost two toenails while she was up on Mt Kilimanjaro. “On the bright side, losing two toenails has reduced my pedicure expenses,” she giggles. “I now rarely put on open shoes. This is a small exchange for the fulfillment I get by doing what I do. Besides, toenails, like hair, grow back and mine have been growing back,” she says.
Even with this brave show, Grace admits that she does this afraid. Early this year, the country held its breath when news broke that Joshua Cheruiyot had gone off the radar while attempting to summit Mt Everest without supplementary oxygen. Sadly, days later, Cheruiyot was confirmed dead.
“Joshua was my good friend, an industry colleague, and a person I looked up to in mountain matters. His death was a huge blow to our community. Last year, my first-ever guide on a Mt Kenya hike fell and died as he was trying to save a hiker. These accidents can trigger fear. Knowing that these friends died while doing the things they loved, however, inspires courage and resilience. Accidents do not happen only in the mountains. I can only do my best to reduce the chances of these accidents happening, like having the right gear and aligning to set safety protocols. So, yes, fear is a part of the process, but the only way to get to the top is to overcome it,” she says.
When the BDLife visited her in Upper Hill, Nairobi, Grace had an ankle brace—an injury she got from running. “I guess this is why people say I like suffering. I have had this for some time now, and I can’t wait to get it off and run this year’s Standard Chartered Nairobi marathon [set for October, 27],” she says.
Beyond mountains and marathons
Grace’s achievements aren’t just limited to mountain peaks. She completed a 100-kilometre circuit around Nairobi’s four major bypasses (Southern, Western, Northern, and Eastern bypasses in that order) in a single day. And while she conquers ultra-marathons, she’s also involving her two boys (aged 14 and 10) in some of these adventures.
“Last year, I went with them for one of the dashes. They did their two-kilometre and went back to base camp as I proceeded to the summit. They have joined me for two marathons and now have medals to show.”
This helps her to deal with mom guilt occasioned by long hours spent away from them.
She encourages women to take up such hobbies and live more.
“Every time I look at my Strava rankings, I wish I saw more women. I am encouraged by Courtney Dauwalter—one of the best ultrarunners in the world. She is a guru in the game and beats men and women alike and shines the light on women that dare to do more.”
Grace believes firmly that mothers do not have to give up their fun side when motherhood kicks in.
“Do things for yourself as well. As mothers, we tend to immerse ourselves in raising our children so much to the point of forgetting who we were before we became parents. It would help if, from time to time, you reminded yourself about yourself.”
