1. The two runners I passed on my way to Iten. photo by Justin Lagat
2. Eiichiro Kamikawa of Japan who continues to train in Iten stops to check one of the famous routes used by Kenyan runners on their long runs. photo by Justin Lagat
This is our weekly check in from Kenya senior writer Justin Lagat, who we have been fortunate to have fill these blogs since 2013. His keen observations of his homeland, and his ability to give us a very personal view of Kenya, especially during this time of the current plague.
We thank Justin Lagat and wish him, his family and friends safety and good health…
Even with the big races being either canceled or postponed across the world, there is still one place where you can easily get a chance to watch the world-beaters pushing their limits in running; in some of the popular routes for speed workouts around Iten, Kenya.
With a number of measures being put in place in the transport sector in Kenya to curb the spread of the COVID 19, it had been a while since I traveled to “the home of champions” to see for myself how everything is going on there regarding running. So, this weekend I took a road trip there from Eldoret, not taking the main road but rather through some of the famous routes where most runners would use for their tempo runs.
I started out at around 7 am in drizzling morning weather. As I entered the road after fueling the car at a petrol station, I noticed two runners with one of them wearing a white jacket that is common with the NN running team, but they were already at some distance and I could not recognize them since my concentration was more on re-entering the relatively busy Eldoret-Nairobi high-way.
Heading out of Eldoret after branching on to a less busy route, I came across a number of runners running individually. Some appeared to be just running as recreational runners while others appeared to be competitive, judging by their appearance.
I soon joined one of the famous roads that most of the runners usually choose for their serious workouts and it didn’t take long before I noticed a van ahead of me with hazard lights on. Ahead of the van were two runners on a serious run. It was a sight to behold! It was more of a real high-level road race. I drove behind the van for a while and was surprised to see the speed at which the two runners were running at. The speedometer showed they were running at around 25km to 30km per hour. It could have been some kind of a fartlek run. I never knew there were still runners pushing their limits at these times when there is a lot of uncertainty on when the next race will be held.
As I neared Iten town, I noticed two foreign runners running individually, in different directions. The place looked slightly different with fewer people than I would usually find walking around. Runners would usually be running around in Iten all day long but, this time around, it was different.
I picked up Eiichiro Kamikawa, a Japanese friend who is currently training in Iten, and one of the runners that I coach online. He hopes to get some good results like his countryman, Suguru Osako who also came to train in Iten before going to run the Japanese national record of 2:05:29 for the marathon at the Tokyo Marathon.
Together we headed to Kaptagat where we toured around the place and found a few runners around as well and most of the camps there were closed. We briefly chatted with one runner at the gate to Dr. Rosa’s camp and he told us that the camp was closed and that he had only come back to pick up something. A caretaker was the only person present at the camp.
From my short trip, one thing is clear; camps are closed, but training has not stopped for most of the Kenyan runners around Iten.
