by Justin LagatJustin Lagat is always on the lookout for a good story. This interview with Vibian Chepkirui is a wonderful example. Her fine runs at the Vienna City Marathon and her recent training suggest some even faster times in the future.
Vibian Chepkirui spectating in a local road race in Iten, Kenya, photo by Justin Lagat
The 27-year-old Vibian Chepkirui, who made her marathon debut last year in September at the Vienna City Marathon, then went back again last month and set a new course record of 2:20.59, is one of the upcoming female marathon runners replenishing Kenya’s granary of world-beaters in the marathon event. She already has a plan to establish her name better in the distance in the fall.
RunBlogRun caught up with her at a 15 km road race that happened in Iten, Kenya where Stellah Jesang and Rachael Chebet of Uganda wrote history by beating Kenyans on their home soil to finish 1st and 2nd in the women’s race while a relatively new name; Benard Kipkurui emerged to win the men’s race.
Chepkirui is planning to run in a bigger and hopefully a faster marathon in a few months’ time, probably in September or October, and better her chances of running under 2:20. Her management, Ikaika Sports, is finalizing negotiations to get her in the big marathon.
“If I will be lucky to get in a faster marathon, then attempting to break a course record there will easily result in a much better personal best time for me and an improvement on my profile as a marathon runner.
“I am currently doing an average of at least 30km in a day, during my training. If I do 20km in the morning, I make sure to add another 10km in the evening to make it 30. Even on Sundays when it is supposed to be a day to be off training, I jog a little,” Chepkirui said, adding that despite the increase in mileage that she is currently putting in, a routine has made her training feel even easier than when she used to train in the past.
Her change of training base from Eldoret to Iten has also contributed immensely to her success.
“Even before I joined the Ikaika Sports Group in Iten, there was always a different group to join for a training run any time of the day. That is why I saw an improvement in my running when I came to Iten. For now, I do not have to join any group since I am now part of management where we train together as a team,” she said.
“What I have learned as the most important thing to succeeding in running is simply patience and perseverance. Success doesn’t come easy, but is sure to come with hard work,” Chepkirui said.
