RUNNING
FOR YOUR LIFE!
(YOUTH TRACK
IN KENYA)
The World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa, Kenya was a celebration of national pride for all Kenyans. As an American living in Kenya I was amazed as all eyes were glued to the television as we watched the Kenyan distance runners dominated from start to finish. The event, held on March 31, 2007, was the Super Bowl for Kenyans as the entire country stayed in front of the television from the opening ceremony to the closing event. An all day track gala! I found myself caught in the hysteria of cheering on these athletes as Kenya proudly brought home the World Championship team title. Unfortunately for me, there was not an American in sight. Yet, as a track fanatic, I was satisfisfied being able to watch the best athletes in the world battle the scorching heat on the East African coast.
From start to finish Kenyans dominated all events. The only non-Kenyan winner was Lorna Kiplagat, who won the Senior women’s event. Ironically, Kiplagat was born in Kenya and only recently migrated to the Netherlands where she is now a citizen, thus it truly was a Kenyan sweep in the World Championships. But most impressive were the Junior runners. Kenyan athletes took home all three medals in both the Junior men and women division. However, the sweep was not as impressive as watching the Junior Kenyan athletes cross the line one after another, thus ensuring the team title remained with the home team. The Juniors were so impressive I wondered if anyone else was in the competition. So I began to ask myself, why are these Kenyan youth such good runners? What separates them from the rest of the world?
Kenyans dominate long distance running all around the world from Boston to London. They run as if their life is on the line. They run with passion and a desire to be the best. I have been in Kenya since November 2006 and the one thing I have noticed is that Kenyan children are always running. They run to the market to get food. They literally run miles to bring water home for the family. With no youth sports programs, no after school activities, the children run all day, many without shoes. Track is the national sport in Kenya. It is even bigger than soccer. Every weekend there are several meets with television and news reporters. Every weekend you can watch highlights on the sports shows, as Kenya is proud of it’s track heritage. Track in Kenya is what basketball is to American, everyone likes to play and watch others play. In a recent masters meet, shown on television, a 70 year old man easily outdistanced his much younger counterparts, yet more impressive, he ran with no shoes.
Kenya is a high altitude country with many mountains. Most of the runners come from the high altitude locations which are usually in the country where they have no electricity, no running water and no basic amenities that we take for granted in America. In these areas the average family lives off less than $1 per day, thus running becomes their way out of poverty. Just as African Americans use basketball to get out of the ghetto, Kenyans use track to get out of the slums. With such a long history of great runners, Kenya is a paradise for training. The coaches are world champions and the competition is unparalleled in any part of the world. Bernard Legat, a Kenyan who is now a US citizen, is America’s best chance for a medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Yet in Kenya, Legat would struggle simply to make the team, thus with such a large quantity of world class athletes many Kenyan runners opt to gain citizenship in foreign countries. Come 2008 you will see many Kenyans running in China, just not under the Kenyan flag. The coaches also do not allow their athletes to train at an early age. I think this is a lesson American runners can learn from. They say if you begin training too young you will burn out by the time you are an adult. The results speak for themselves. So Kenyans do not start formal training until High School, at about age 13 or 14. However there is much informal training as I see children running down the dirt roads everyday.
So what about the short races? There must be someone in Kenya who can run the 100 meter dash? To my surprise the sprints and jumping events are deemed too difficult. As a former state champion sprinter I thought this was odd because I did not want to run more than one lap, let alone run a marathon. They look at the American sprinters and see all the muscles and assume they would have to spend too much time in the weight room. So if you call for the sprints or jumping events, very few people will show up. But when you call for the mile, you will have to run several heats just to accommodate all the athletes. I believe the Kenyans can be good sprinters and jumpers, however, there is very little support even in a country that loves track so much. It is hard to invest in new tracks (most are dirt) when children are dying of starvation. It is hard to invest in uniforms and equipment when the schools have no books.
Since arriving in Kenya I see youth track and field as a way to help a country with so many needs. Track builds self-esteem and confidence in one self. I hope one day to see track camps all across Kenya where the children can run, learn and have fun. I dream of a Kenya where track inspires hope in the youth and allows the children to run for glory. The glory is not the gold medal, the glory is succeeding in life. Track always made me feel better about myself so I am hoping we, as Americans, can find a way to support track in Kenya. My vision is to have a top-flight sprinters and jumpers camp in the capital Nairobi. Very few runners come from Nairobi as most come from the country, but Nairobi is where all the big meets are held. In this camp there would literally be tens of thousands of youth ready to learn the sprints and jumping events. But most importantly, it will be a way to show love to people who are in such needy situation through track and field. A way to change Kenya one child at a time. Maybe some of us track fanatics can put our minds and resources together and make this dream a reality. Youth track in Kenya, they are literally running for their lives!
Stacy Harris