Kenya a bestseller in the most storied race: the marathon

In his book, Olympic Marathon: A Centennial History of the Games Most Storied Race, Charlie Lovett writes thus:
“There is something in man that seeks out challenge, especially the challenge of a single man taking on a task in which all the forces of nature, and often the opinions of men, are arrayed against him; a task in which his own solitude may become his greatest enemy; a task that his own drive, his own desire, and his own ego cannot fail to make him accomplish. There is something in man that seeks out the challenge of the unknown. There is something in man that makes him run marathons.”

From the time G. Grigorou won the first marathon, the Greek Marathon Trials on February 15, 1896, in a time of 3 hours and 45 minutes, man has continued to run the race, and faster and faster.

And these marathons have produced remarkable stories.

Only five men and eight women have managed to break their own marathon records.

Englishman James Peters stood out in the 1950s when he broke the men’s marathon record four times. He was the first to achieve a sub 2 hours 20 minutes.

The women’s version is more impressive. Greta Weitz of Norway not only set four world records in a row from 1978 to 1983 but also won a record nine New York City marathons.

Even George Saitoti will smile at the records of Ethiopian hero Abebe Bikila.

Bikila broke the world record at the 1960 Olympic Games while running barefoot and four years later at the 1964 Olympic Games, this time in shoes.

Paula Radcliff ditched a frustrating track career of repeated also-runs for road running and became the fastest female marathoner in history with her astonishing personal best of 2:15.25 set on April 13, 2003.

But for me the most compelling marathon story is Kenya’s total dominance.

Just look at the list of all time best results. Kenyan men occupy seven of the top 10 fastest times in history, 15 of the top 20, 30 of the top 50 and 59 of the top 100.

Just last Sunday Patrick Makau reclaimed the world record for Kenya with a blistering 2:03:38 run in Berlin to shave off 21 seconds from the great Haile Gabrselassie’s time set on September 28, 2008.

If the government were to ever contemplate creating another national holiday in this country, I would suggest Marathon Day. It would be a fitting way to celebrate the remarkable achievements of our fellow countrymen and women, and a story to tell.

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Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards is a clash like no other

Hang on to your seat soccer lover, the return leg of Kenya’s biggest football derby — AFC Leopards versus Gor Mahia — is coming up tomorrow.
A lot has changed since the first leg on July 24 when the pre-match favourites Gor won 3-1.

Leopards have since then amassed 14 points in a six-match unbeaten run. Gor, in contrast, have managed just seven from seven matches in a stuttering run.

Gor Mahia are undergoing such a seismic shake to their confidence that fans are crying for their former darling coach Zedekiah ‘Zico’ Otieno to resign.

AFC Leopards, who Gor fans jokingly referred to as Always Firing Coaches, appear to now have such strong faith in their three-month old Dutch coach Jan Koop that they even renamed him ‘Wepukhulu’ during some night ceremony in Mumias after visiting the historic Nabongo Mumia shrine.

Outwardly, Koop and Leopards fans are looking easy while Otieno and Gor fans are uneasy.

The excitement meanwhile is approaching fever level.

It really shows nothing has changed.

Of all the fixtures of the league, this is the one neither team will ever want to lose, and the enthusiastic sets of fans will jam Nyayo Stadium to cheer beloved Ingwe, K’Ogalo to victory.

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The All Africa Games fiasco a reflection of management

Stories that have emerged about Team Kenya since they returned from Maputo are so disappointing no one will, surely, take this country’s intent to host the 2015 games seriously.

The most shocking of course was the inclusion of the men’s netball team. The squad travelled to Maputo on tax payers’ money yet there was no netball competition at the games!

The team was later flown back to Nairobi, but not before getting paid allowances at $100 (Sh10,00) per person per day.

Taekwondo’s case was laughable. The Kenya team management officially offered 14 slots for their athletes, only for two more fighters to mysteriously appear at the games after a five-day road trip through three countries. They were not even insured.

And despite Charles Nyaberi, the chief de mission, ordering them back to Nairobi — they were not part of the official Kenyan delegation anyway — they defied him and actually competed!

Selection of many disciplines was shambolic with mediocre athletes getting picked at the expense of the deserving. The poor results were there for all to see.

Meanwhile, Nyaberi talked about Kenya presenting a bid to the Supreme Sports Council for Sports in Africa sitting in Maputo.

What. Kenya can as well present a bid for the Olympics.