Kenyan runner's 14km daily journey to Hong Kong marathon success

South China Morning Post

18-04-2025

I grew up in a remote area of Kenya, called Nandi County. School was very far away, so usually we would just walk. We'd go in the morning, about 7km. If we were late, I would just start to run. In
Kenya , schools don't provide food, so for lunch I would go back home and then again to school after. From this habit of going back and forth, I would cover almost 14 extra kilometres per day.
Rutto Bethwell Kipkemboi training in Kenya. Photo: courtesy Rutto Bethwell Kipkemboi
I was seven when I started running. From that age, there were school running competitions and I thought I could try out for them. That is when I developed a love for the sport. In school, there was no coach.
You just ran. Often I would end up number one or two. From interschool meets soon I was moved to another race class exceeding my level at my school. I remember I ran a 5,000-metre race and I came second and was again taken to the next level, where I regularly won.
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After I graduated from secondary school, I started to really engage with training. I would do a morning run, then go to some classes. After I got home in the evening, I would do a small run of maybe 3km before resting. My parents encouraged me to do sport. Before me, there was nobody in my family who were athletes. But after me, my younger sister and brother started running, too.
Rutto Bethwell Kipkemboi with his daughter Beryl Chepkoech Rutto in Kenya. Photo: courtesy Rutto Bethwell Kipkemboi
In athletics, there is often a transition. People in their teens might start young in track, running short distances. Then maybe after you might try 10km, 15km or a half marathon. For me, in my 20s, the first real marathon I did was in 2021. It was during Covid. I went to the city of Eldoret, in Kenya. I came in sixth. From there, I was selected to go to a training camp about 50km away from home. I trained there with some elite runners. The coach also introduced me to a manager in Europe, from the Netherlands, and the manager then invited me to run a marathon in Siena, Italy. I came in 12th.
Rutto Bethwell Kipkemboi, who competes all around the world, crosses the finish line at Victoria Park to win the Hong Kong Marathon. Photo: Edmond So
marathon is a very tactical race. It needs a lot of time, dedication and commitment. I run 35km a day. I will do 20km in the morning, in a high-altitude place. Then after breakfast, I sleep for an hour. You have to rest your mind. Then I train again in the evening at an even higher altitude. I do this for three weeks, then I am ready. You have to love the training and the competition
It is really hard to stay at the top among marathoners. If you look at most races, you have maybe five Kenyans and five Ethiopians at the top of the list. I also have about 50 individuals that are training mates. In this year's Hong Kong Marathon, the top four male runners were Kenyans. We came as friends but during the race, we were competitors and rivals. We all understand each other as Kenyans. In a race, at first we assist each other, as well as Ethiopians or anyone else, but after some time you focus on yourself.
Sometimes the managers don't want us to communicate so much before or after because other guys might be sponsored by different labels or they are with another running club, so they want us to keep our secrets to ourselves. But because we are all Kenyans, we advise each other anyway.
Rutto Bethwell Kipkemboi considers becoming a coach one day. Photo: Eugene Chan
The course in Hong Kong was tough. Out of all the marathons I have run, this was the toughest because of the elevation. Other races are more flat. What assisted, or rather, pushed me was the training. I do hill work, hill sprints. I never focus on speed; I just focus on mileage. I'm hoping to run for another five years, but my goal is the Olympics. With the time I have now, I can qualify, but to be selected for the Kenyan team is very tough. If not the Olympics then at least the World Championships or the African Championships. After retiring, I might go into coaching because I love the sport. I really like athletics, and I like working with younger runners.