World beaters inspire athletes

Boniface Mulwa (3000m) and Christine Ndanu (800m) train

Athletes from 12 camps across the country have intensified training ahead of the IAAF World U-18 national trials to be held in Eldoret next weekend (May 5-6).

One of the camps, Athletics Kenya (AK) Southern Branch, located at Machakos Teachers College, has taken its training a notch hire by seeking the services of former and current world beaters to inspire young and upcoming athletes hopeful of bagging a ticket at the forthcoming trials for their first ever national duty.

The camp management have sought the services of world beaters including the 2010 World 800m Junior champion David Mutinda Mutua, 2012 World Half Marathon champion John Nzau Mwangangi, decorated Commonwealth and African 5000m champion Caleb Mwangangi Ndiku and his brother Benjamin to inspire the young athletes.

“We all started our athletics career from here, so we feel oblige to inspire these athletes as they step up training,” said Mutinda.

The 2009 African Junior Championship bronze winner explained about their weekly schedule with the budding athletes as they sought to furnish them with relevant skills and techniques that could help them rival their experienced counterparts from the athletics rich Rift Valley region at the trials.

“On Mondays we take the athletes through a 15km easy run that last for one hour 20 minutes. After that we do stretches for an hour then we break for lunch.We then conclude the day with an evening jog,” Mutinda says.

Nzau quips that their Tuesday training normally concludes at noon since it is intense and full of endurance.

“On Tuesday we do early morning runs for 40 minutes before we take a break. Then we resume with a high level speed work from 10am -12noon, then we let the athletes to relax the rest of the day,”says Nzau.