KIMbia Athletics

Select shots featuring KIMbia athletes racing in the 2009 Chicago Marathon. Race recap here.

Though young and with nary a marathon to his name, KIMbia’s Charles Munyeki showed no hesitation to mix it up with the world’s finest in Sunday’s Chicago Marathon.  At the halfway point, the lead pack consisted of Vincent Kipruto (PB 2:05:47) Sammy Wanjiru (PB 2:05:10 and possessor of the marathon Gold from the Beijing Olympics) and Munyeki.  The pace was just a handful of seconds away from World Record pace, at 62:00.

Yet Munyeki didn’t flinch until 35k, when the pre-race favorite Wanjiru broke things open.  In his debut at the distance, Munyeki would come home in 2:07:06, having held on for 4th, as standout Abderrahim Goumri made a late charge from 4th all the way into 2nd.  Ben Maiyo, 2nd here in 2005, took 11th with 2:16:38, after attempting the very tough early pace.

Check back Tuesday for a full gallery of photos from the race!

The KIMbia team got plenty of face-time in the 2009 Boston Marathon broadcast. Elva Dryer spearheaded the women’s pack for several miles, while the trio of James Koskei, Timothy Cherigat and Stephen Kiogora were quite visible, tucked into the lead men’s pack early, and in the case of Stephen and Timothy, surging into the lead a little past half-way.

After reckoning was completed at the finish line, Top Performance honors have to go to James Koskei, for winning his first Masters Marathon title, and double-dipping in the Open money, too, thanks to his 11th-place finish.  And, his time of 2:14:52 was within a minute of his PB (2:14:02 – Dubai, 2007) — quite credible on the Boston course.

After running as a phalanx early, the KIMbia trio also finished in sequence — preceding James to the line was Stephen, whose 2:13:00 was good for 9th, with Timothy just behind: 10th place in 2:13:04. After battling a leg injury during the final weeks before Race Day, Ben Maiyo was forced to drop out in the first quarter of the race.

On the women’s side, Elva hung with the leaders for about 14 miles and came home 12th, finishing in 2:38:50.

Finally in Boston, Timothy and Stephen offer a crash-course in “Boston” to teammate Ben Maiyo.

360 Athletics LIVE is Marathon coverage like you have never seen before.  In the Live blog below, we will be providing up-to-the-second race updates and commentary, video features, live video commentary from our on-site analysts, and (best of all) audience participation.  Let us know what you want to see in this coverage and we will do our best to get that to you.  So, sit back or stand up, cheer on your favorite runners, and enjoy 360 degree coverage of the most famous foot race in the world! Read the full article

On Monday, defending champions Robert Cheruiyot and Dire Tune will try to hold off strong Boston Marathon fields that include the best American hopes for a Boston Champion, in Ryan Hall and Kara Goucher. Flying a little under the radar is a talented group of KIMbia athletes — Timothy Cherigat, Elva Dryer, Stephen “Baba” Kiogora, James Koskei and Ben Maiyo — looking to make their own mark on this year’s race, and we will be tracking their efforts LIVE, in real-time, right here, with a one-of-a-kind live blog featuring video features, interactive polls and audience commentary, and a contest giveaway.

So, Monday morning, come chat it up with your fellow running fans in our virtual sports-bar while you watch the Universal Sports video feed.  And, for you iPhone users who can’t get to a computer, you can follow our play-by-play right on your iPhone.  In the meantime: whether you have a question for our competitors, or about some aspect of Boston — the city or the event — leave a comment below and we’ll do our best to cover it on Monday!

Stephen Kiogora–better known as Baba to marathon fans–ran a fantastic personal best of 2:08:24 at this morning’s Frankfurt Marathon. Baba finished third, and was part of the three-man lead pack that splintered at about 35K once winner Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot broke away.

In his debut, Cheruiyot (no relation to the World Marathons Major champ) ran 2:07:21. Baba was close behind Wilson Kigen, who ran 2:08:16. (Kigen’s brother Wilfred had won in Frankfurt the previous three years.) Unfortunately, Baba took a nasty fall as he was entering the arena where the indoor finish at Frankfurt occurs.

Ben Maiyo was seventh in a solid 2:09:58. Julius Koskei (James’ brother) was one place back with a nice debut of 2:10:14.

1. Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot (KEN) 2:07:21
2. Wilson Kigen (KEN) 2:08:16
3. Stephen Kiogora (KEN) 2:08:24
4. Philemon Kirwa Tarbei (KEN) 2:08:47
5. Benson Barus (KEN) 2:08:57
6. Japhet Kosgei (KEN) 2:09:24
7. Benjamin Maiyo (KEN) 2:09:58
8. Julius Kibet Koskei (KEN) 2:10:14
9. Vincent Kipsos (KEN) 2:10:23
10. William Kiplagat (KEN) 2:10:53

Peter Vigneron is in Kenya for the next few months to work on Kimbia Foundation projects. Here’s his account of the Iten Peace Run, held last Saturday in Kenya’s unofficial running capital.

A little after 8am I arrived at the soccer field in Iten center, shepherded by Paul Koech and with 30 girls from Silgich Hill Academy following in two matatus. Already I was traveling with a former world champion, and presently I would meet another, then an Olympic gold medalist, then a reigning world champion at 800 meters. I snagged a picture of the man who holds the greatest record in track and field, and—true to form—he made an early exit from the scene. This was the start to my fourth day in Kenya, 74 hours into the trip.

Toby Tanser and Lornah Kiplagat have held a girls race in Iten since 2004. This year’s edition was scheduled for January 5th, but events intervened and the race did not proceed. On February 28, Kenya’s rival politicians signed a power sharing agreement that has brought a nervous peace to the country, and the event, which in normal circumstances promotes education and athletic achievement for young girls, was recast as a peace march and 4k cross country fun run. This year, it featured nearly every prominent Kenyan runner of the last four decades.

When the idea for a peace run was born, Kenyans had made precious few serious gestures toward peace and reconciliation nationwide. In fact there is still a disheartening shortage of such gestures, but the running community is beginning to make its voice heard. “Actions speak louder than words,” Olympic bronze medalist Mike Boit said after the race, “and we have told everyone that we want peace in Kenya.”

The elephant on the field Saturday afternoon was a report published by the International Crisis Group (ICG) February 21 that accused runners of funding and organizing some of the post-election violence in Rift Valley Province. It quoted sources who suggested that Kalenjin runners with military training helped to drive the Kikuyu supporters of Mwai Kibaki out of the Rift after the election, and were thusly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people and the widespread destruction of Kikuyu homes and shops.
These allegations came several weeks after several athletes received SMS text messages threatening violence against runners if they purchased abandoned Kikuyu land. The ICG paper reports that runners involved in the violence had “partly economic” motivations for supporting Kalenjin militias, and the SMS threats were probably intended to deter athletes from buying Kikuyu land at low cost. Moses Tanui, who owns several large commercial buildings in Eldoret, was also harassed by police, whom many Kalenjins say sided with the government against the opposition.
Tanser recruited nearly 600 girls from local primary schools for the race, and gave each a yellow t-shirt bearing the Shoe4Africa logo and the words “Run for Peace.” Tanser’s organization distributes running shoes to underprivileged Kenyan children, and each girl received a pair of sneakers at the finish line.
Each elite athlete was also asked to don a shirt, and so shortly after 10am, a parade of yellow clad runners—past, present, and future—marched through the small commercial center of Iten. 1988 Olympic silver medalist ‘87 world marathon champion Douglas Wakiihuri carried the Kenyan flag at the head of the parade with Luke Kibet, the reigning world marathon champion who was injured in the violence. Wakihuri is Kikuyu and Kibet Kalenjin.
The 31 page ICG report contains only one paragraph on athlete participation in the violence, but that paragraph has attracted worldwide media attention. An article on ForeignPolicy.com noted how disappointing it would be if athlete role models were responsible for or involved in violence. It is a concern that has deeply offended the Kenyan running community, who view themselves as the face Kenya shows to the world.
After the march, KIMbia athletes Chris Cheboiboch and Tim Cherigat led the girls through the two-lap 4k course. 14 year old Paskaline Kosgei took an early lead, running alongside Cheboibach for a solid victory over Chelimo Ng’etich and Gladys Cherop, who were paced by Cherigat. Kosgei won a Compaq laptop for her school, and Ng’etich and Cherop took home 12,000 and 8,000 Kenyan Shillings, respectively, or roughly $185 and $125 USD. All but a few girls racing went barefoot, and the scene at the finish was at times both chaotic and comical. Race organizers and staff rushed to hand out shoes but were quickly overwhelmed. At one point the queue for the finish grew to over 100 meters.
The athletes I’ve spoken with are furious that the paragraph implicating runners in the ICG report has been seized upon by the media. “It’s all political,” one told me. “It’s people taking advantage of the situation to tarnish big names in the running community. They see an opportunity and they take it.”
In Iten, business is back to usual. The hundreds of runners who normally train on the town’s famous red dirt roads have returned. KIMbia athletes Cheboiboch, Cherigat, James Kosgei and Mike Jeptoo put in a very good 25k effort on Wednesday, and Charles Kibiwott ran 2:08 at the Seoul International Marathon on Sunday. World Cross County is coming up. The athletes would like the violence, and now the accusations, behind them.

International athletes in attendance, Shoe4Africa Run For Peace:

• Daniel Komen
• Janet Jepkosgei (The Eldoret Express)
• Lornah Kiplagat
• Yobes Ondieki
• Joyce Chepchumba
• Amos Biwot
• Moses Tanui
• Luke Kibet
• Moses Kiptanui
• John Yuda
• Paul Koech
• Mike Boit
• Douglas Wakihuri
• Ezekiel Kembio
• Jephart Kimutei
• Ben Maiyo
• Matthew Birir
• Kimutei Kosgei
• John Litei
• Durka Mana
• Silvia Kibet
• James Kosgei
• Rebbie Koech
• Peter Tanui
• Christopher Koskei
• Paul Cherop
• Ben Kogo
• Rose Tatamuye
• Wilson Juma
• Jonah Birir
• Luke Kipkosgei

Tom Nyariki and Edna Kiplagat were both victorious at the BAA Half-Marathon. Nyariki’s time of 1:02:19 smashed the old course record by 38 seconds. Tom just held of Samuel Ndereba by one second. Edna cruised to a convincing 30-second win over Caroline Chepkorir. Richard Kiplagat struggled with blisters, finishing in 6th place in 1:05:13.

Full BAA Results

The results in Chicago were not as good. Ben Maiyo finished 5th and Christopher Cheboiboch 6th; James Koskei and Evans Rutto did not finish. Kathy Butler struggled in the heat, finishing in 2:48. It was a brutal day; race officials actually cut the race off short for people further back in the pack. Full Chicago coverage can be found at chasingKIMBIA. Results will be posted here.

In Minneapolis, Jason Hartmann finished 13th at the U.S. 10-Mile Championships in 50:15. Results can be found here.

Tomorrow we’re back in Boston for the Tufts 10K with Elva Dryer and Nicole Aish.

Chicago 2007: It’s Here!
(If you have QuickTime, please watch this version.)

Click To Play

It’s a busy weekend for KIMbia, so here are a few things to add to your calendar:

1. The Chicago Marathon
If you’re headed to Chicago this weekend, we’re having a gathering at Kitty O’Sheas (in the Hilton Hotel) starting at 3pm, ending whenever it ends. In attendance will be Tom Ratcliffe, Matt Taylor, Bob “Kugaa” Gusmini, Jamie LaChance, Matt Ellis, and Matt Tegenkamp. Rumored attendees include Chris Solinsky and Simon Bairu. Not attending is Godfrey Kiprotich.
Sunday is race day! Ben Maiyo, James Koskei, Evans Rutto, Christopher Cheboiboch, and Kathy Butler will take to the streets of Chicago. We’ll be providing live coverage of the race – text updates with the occasional photo and maybe a video – starting early Sunday morning. After the race, we’ll be congregating back at Kitty O’Sheas, hopefully to celebrate.2. The US 10-Mile Championships are taking place in Minneapolis on Sunday. Jason Hartmann is racing as a tune-up for the US Olympic Marathon Trials.3.The BAA Half-Marathon also takes place on Sunday. Tom Nyariki, Richard Kiplagat, and Edna Kiplagat are racing. If you’re in Boston, it’s a great weekend of running – the BAA Half on Sunday, the…

4. …Tufts 10K on Monday. Elva Dryer is racing. She’s going to run fast, but she’s also going to get a preview of the US Olympic Marathon Trials course. Instead of running the regular Boston course, the women’s marathon trials will be on a loop course very similar to the Tufts course.

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend!