Athletics Kenya launches mountain running program

In recent years, the world has witnessed interest in mountain running and now, Kenya, a powerhouse in the middle and long distance running, has expressed keen interest to venture into the new frontier.

On Thursday, Athletics Kenya (AK) President Jackson Tuwei officially launched a mountain running programme in the country and appointed former AK public relations officer Peter Angwenyi to spearhead the project when he toured Run Together athletics camp in Kiambogo, Mt. Longonot region of Naivasha.

The camp has about  70 athletes with 15 of them considered elite runners.

Athletes to world race

In July, Kenya sent four top athletes from the camp to compete at World Mountain Running Championships in Italy, with Lucy Wambui  winning the gold medal in the women’s 13km race while Penin Surum finished 10th.

Tuwei said: “We are very impressed with camp’s training set up and management. We decided to establish a mountain running championships in Kenya because our athletes have been running in this event for quite a while now, but we have not been supporting them much.

“This year we registered four athletes to feature in World Mountain Running Championships in Italy and we had to send Peter Angwenyi to go and manage them. Lucy Wambui winning gold means, she was prepared for the event, while men’s team finished in position six. It’s only wise to take it from there.” 

[Dennis Okeyo]