New Delhi: “For 23 years, my weight has been 50kg. Not 50.1kg, not 49.9kg.” Ezekiel Kemboi’s eyes light up emphasising this. The 42-year-old double Olympic 3000m steeplechase champion from Kenya retired in 2017, but has not stopped running 40km regularly, which explains his single-digit body fat percentage as well. In the corners he comes from, Kemboi says, discipline and denial, along with running, are a way of life.
On a late November evening with the leafy central Delhi neighbourhood shielding him from the high pollution, Kemboi can’t stop grinning. He has spotted a park with a jogging track nearby and has also been informed that the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium is barely 3km away.
“I have been running all my life,” Kemboi, who was here for the Ekamra Sports Literature Festival, says. Well, everyone runs in Kenya. Some faster than others, some farther than others, but run they do.
Kemboi remembers running to school 10km away in his native Matira village in the Rift Valley, the cradle of the world’s elite African distance runners. He would run home for lunch, back to school, and again run home. That’s 40km as a boy. Taking up running as a career was thus a natural progression.
“I started athletics in right earnest after completing my high school at 18. My city Eldoret is called the City of Champions…It has produced so many world-class athletes. They are everywhere – in town, newspapers, television. I wanted to be one of them, and so I started training.”
Kemboi counts Kenyan pioneer Kip Keino, the 1968 Mexico Olympics 1,500m champion who won the steeplechase in 1972 Munich, steeplechase triple world champion Moses Kiptanui and Patrick Sang, an Olympic steeplechase silver medallist and later a top coach, among early inspirations. In Eldoret, he shares the boundary wall with close friend Eluid Kipchoge, the double Olympic marathon champion with whom he has been running since 2001. In the supermarket, he runs into David Rudisha, Faith Kipyegon and Mary Jepkosgei.
“Rift Valley is this mythical place for many, but for us, it is all about training and more training. You train well, rest well, and break records. That has been my philosophy. I don’t understand modern sports science. In that sense, I am a little old-fashioned. I like to train hard.
“There is nothing special we do in terms of training or diet. We consume more carbs than protein, and lots of vitamins. We have good doctors who regularly monitor us. We focus a lot on recovery. And we just run, run, and run.”
It appears a rather simplistic summation of the regimen but the chosen few in Rift Valley revel in a secluded, spartan lifestyle. The world’s best are required to cook, clean and undertake daily chores to stay humble and honest.
“It’s easy for youngsters to become complacent after a little success, but such a lifestyle keeps them on their toes. The seniors are expected to lead by example.” The athletes begin their three-hour morning session at 6am. The evening circuit begins by 5pm. In a day, a middle-distance runner has clocked between 25-30km. For long-distance runners, it is upwards of 40km.
The US journalist and runner Sarah Gearhart, who penned the book We Share the Sun: The Incredible Journey of Kenya’s Legendary Running Coach Patrick Sang and the Fastest Runners on Earth, travelled to Rift Valley in 2021 and came home mesmerised.
“What struck me was just how all these athletes were training together. Even an 800m runner ran the 40km on this route they called the Boston Loop, which was at an altitude of around 2,500m. The mental toughness in all these athletes is superb. Also, no one runs with headphones or water bottles. They were there for business and were very focussed,” Gearhart says.
“It’s a cultural thing in Kenya,” adds Kemboi. “The geography no doubt plays a crucial role. We have lots of hills and forests. We have plantation drives every year to ensure our lungs stay healthy.”
A few years back, the World Bank and United Nations constructed a ring road in Eldoret with lanes dedicated to runners and cyclists. “It was a great initiative because people can now run whenever they want. Similar roads are being planned in other major cities too,” he says.
Doping though remains a serious issue in Kenya. Post 2016 Rio Olympics, the Kenyan Olympic Committee had to be dissolved due to numerous doping scandals. Kemboi believes Kenya’s anti-doping programme is on the right track.
“I am involved in a lot of awareness drives and I can say that doping is indeed an issue. People can go astray in search of quick fame or money, but the federation is doing its best to promote clean running. Our anti-doping bill makes it a punishable offence.”
The emergence of quality competition in other parts of the world is another challenge facing the Kenyans. At the Paris Olympics, Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali defended the 3000m steeplechase while Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen took gold in 5000m, after winning the 1500m gold in Tokyo. USA’s Cole Hocker won the 1500m in Paris.
Kemboi though doesn’t believe that Kenyans are losing grip over certain events. “The more competition there is, the better it is for the sport.”
