Iten Running Center in Kenya: Where world elite, amateur runners, and young talent train

The fog lies over the fields like a white-gray layer, barely distinguishable from the gray of the sky on this Sunday. 6:54 a.m. It's 11 degrees Celsius. The numerous wooden structures along the roadside, which later in the day will become market stalls, are deserted. Cars and mopeds bring smartly dressed people to the intersection. They march to the church through the red mud that the night's rain has turned the road into.

Fifteen runners jog down the street, some accompanied by young girls in white and pink dresses, on their way to church. They giggle and high-five each other. The men finish their four-kilometer warm-up run.

Amanal Petros, the German marathon record holder for a year and a half, stretches, one leg propped up on the trunk of a car, the other on the ground. The other runners change clothes and shoes to loud pop music. Petros consults with assistant coach Willy Kosgey, who looks after him when his German coach, Tono Kirschbaum, is away in Kenya.

Then it's off. 35 kilometers lie ahead of the athletes. Kosgey follows in the minibus, takes videos for analysis and social media, distributes water and gels, and accepts sweaty shirts. Kosgey isn't satisfied. The group is supposed to run about 3.24 minutes per kilometer between kilometers 25 and 30, but they're going faster. "Pole Pole," he says, which means "take it easy," "just relax!"

When Amanal Petros first arrived in western Kenya for training camp in 2019, he walked the approximately 500 meters from his accommodation to the famous "Iten: Home of Champions" sign early in the morning. Runners still gather there today, he explains, as he is driven from the training course to his accommodation. He joined a group planning a medium-distance run in the forest.

"He was so lost," Josphat Boit calls, laughing, from the front seat to the back seat where Petros is sitting. "I thought I could easily keep up. But I quickly lost contact and was alone in the forest. Instead of the planned 20 kilometers, it ended up being 28 kilometers," says Petros, laughing. Six years later, one of them, Boit, runs the marathon in 2:05:42, and the other, Petros, in 2:04:58. Boit was Eliud Kipchoge's pacesetter for years, including during Kipchoge's world record. Today, he runs for himself and used the entry and prize money to buy the car in which he now sits as a passenger.

Amanal Petros, 30, is spending three months this summer in Iten, Kenya. He's preparing for the World Championships in Tokyo. He wants to reclaim the German record that Samuel Fitwi snatched from him. "I can't take it easy now that Sami was two seconds faster than me," he says, laughing. He's sitting in the hotel bar of Kerio View, the second-oldest runner's hotel in Iten, gazing down into the Great Rift Valley and sipping his cup. "You can only get a proper cappuccino at one place in the whole city," he says.

Amanal Petros has been training in Iten, Kenya, for several months every year since 2019.

Source: IMAGO/Joerg Boethling

These are the things he likes about Iten: Peace and quiet. Nature. Focus. No distractions. Petros had previously trained in St. Moritz and Arizona. Then the German Athletics Association suggested Iten. Petros sought advice from steeplechaser Gesa Krause and former long-distance runner Arne Gabius, who both trained in Iten. "Here, I don't have to take care of myself or organize anything," he says. "There's someone for everything. My job is just running, eating, and sleeping."

The town of 40,000 inhabitants lies 2,400 meters above sea level. Ideal for altitude training. 35 kilometers from Eldoret, 320 kilometers from Nairobi. A place constantly on the move. Along the roadside and on the forest paths, they run, jog, and stretch. Between 2,000 and 4,000 runners are here at any given time. Iten is a springboard not only for them, but also for those whose labor is needed. Physiotherapy and massage practices, hotels and restaurants, moped and taxi drivers who follow the runners and hand out water bottles, and vendors in small local shops are all part of the running industry.

Iten is where the world's elite train. Four-time Olympic champion Mo Farah, silver medalist Abdi Nageeye, and four-time world champion Lornah Kiplagat. Iten is where young Kenyans, brimming with hopes for a better life, come to make their breakthrough. And it's where ambitious amateur runners from Europe and North America travel to be with like-minded people, ever since Lornah Kiplagat organized the first camp for foreign guests at her "High Altitude Training Centre" in 2000.

"There's no other place or sport where amateur runners and beginners train alongside the best in the world," says Hugo van den Broek. "An amateur footballer can't just show up at Messi's training and play against him." Van den Broek was one of the fastest Dutch marathon runners. 25 years ago, he prepared for competitions in Iten; today, he's a coach. The place has never left him. "Perfect training weather, the altitude, the infrastructure, the nature – and you never lose motivation because you're part of this special community," he says.

Hugo van den Broek runs a training camp in Iten for ambitious foreign amateur runners.

Source: Miriam Keilbach

Hugo van den Broek, who coached the Indian national team for five years, and European champion Hilda Kibet, his wife and niece of Lornah Kiplagat, have been running the "Kenya Camp" for three years. It began as a guesthouse geared toward professionals and sub-professionals, with appropriate nutrition and guidance. Now they offer a program for amateur athletes up to twice a month. One- to two-week stays—with a training plan, pacemakers, and activities. "Interest is growing," he says. "Amateur runners come because they want to push themselves even on vacation. And recently, more women have also been coming who aren't confident enough to travel to Africa alone, but who find a safe environment with us."

Iten's history as a runner's village begins with St. Patrick's High School. The boarding school for boys was founded by Irish missionaries in 1961. Academic and athletic excellence was expected – and delivered. In volleyball and basketball. And in track and field, where Kenya hadn't previously been a major player. "St. Patrick's established the idea of achievement and competition," says Dawson McCall of Loyola University in New Orleans. The African historian wrote his doctoral thesis on Iten. This July, he returned after five years. He plans to write a book about the place.

"The sport promoted values like hard work, unity, and justice. This was also important for other areas of life," he says. St. Patrick's students have been involved in every significant change in Kenya's post-colonial running history—first victories, first scholarships abroad, first runners competing for other nations. "Iten is not just St. Patrick's, but St. Patrick's is the main reason Iten has established itself as a running center," he says.

The place represents the rise of Kenyan running. Kenyans account for 26 of the 50 fastest men and 17 of the 50 fastest women of all time. 117 Olympic medals have gone to Kenya. But ultimately, the question arose: Are all of them deserved?

Iten calls itself the home of the winners.

Source: IMAGO/Depositphotos

5:53 a.m. The first athletes are wearily arriving at the "Home of Champions" sign, still the meeting point today. They're wearing long tracksuit pants and thick jackets. Some are sitting on the cold floor, holding their cell phones. One is missing: Amanal Petros. Coach Kosgey calls him repeatedly. "Where are you?" Doping control. Petros was in the bathroom when the inspectors knocked on the door. The procedure took an hour.

The running scene in Kenya is under scrutiny. Around 80 Kenyan runners have been banned for doping in the past three years. Many are from the back row, under pressure to succeed. But there are also big stars among them. Most recently, just a few days ago, marathon world record holder Ruth Chepngetich was banned.

"Iten gets all the attention because so many people train here. But it's a much bigger deal," says McCall. Eldoret is the "City of Champions," the starting point of the running industry. Kapsabet, 40 kilometers southwest of Eldoret, calls itself the "Source of Champions" because many stars come from there. And then there's Kaptagat, 20 kilometers southeast of Eldoret. The place where Eliud Kipchoge, the fastest living marathon runner, lives and trains. The place where Sabastian Sawa lives and trains. They believe Sawa has the potential to break the record of the late Kelvin Kiptum, who ran the marathon in 2:00:35 in the world record.

Eliud Kipchoge was the first person to complete a marathon in under two hours. However, the Kenyan's athletic achievement has a somewhat shaky aftertaste due to the "laboratory conditions" in Vienna.

Kaptagat's center consists of half a dozen houses, with other buildings scattered throughout the vast landscape. "Iten is so crowded these days," says Japheth Kimutai, "it's more secluded, quieter, and you can focus better here." Kimutai, fifth in the 800-meter race at the 1998 World Championships, is the director of Complete Sports.

In 2012, a kind of Christian youth academy was built, founded by the German Bernd Breitmaier. The Kenyan young athletes live and train here and are expected to apply for scholarships in the USA. The whole thing is financed through donations. Trees have been planted in the garden by the most successful athletes. For example, Emmanuel Korir, Olympic champion in the 800 meters, and Irene Chepkemboi, who finished second at the U20 African Championships in the javelin throw.

Japheth Kimutai is the director of "Complete Sports." In the gym of the youth academy, athletes are reminded of their Olympic dreams.

Source: Miriam Keilbach

Guest rooms have also been available for two years. Now, as in Iten, ambitious amateur runners and the world's elite come here. Richard Ringer, the third-fastest German marathon runner, was recently here. And Koen Naert, the 2018 European Marathon Champion.

They train on their own track. Unlike Iten, Kaptagat has a decent stadium. The aging Kamariny Stadium south of Iten has been scheduled for reconstruction for years. While the wait in Iten is over, Kipchoge has had a new sports facility built in Kapsabet. On social media, one Kenyan jokes that at the current pace, there will be a new stadium in Iten by the year 4000.

RND editor Miriam Keilbach visited marathon runner Amanal Petros at his training camp in Iten, Kenya.

Source: Miriam Keilbach

Eliud Kipchoge still frequently trains on the track in Kaptagat, as it's closer to home. He and three-time Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon do so. The young athletes occasionally meet the world stars. They're meant to learn, be inspired, and be motivated.

Iten and Kaptagat represent hope like no other place. A place where stars are made – but where there are always losers, too. "Sport is a way to improve life. But there are limits, and many fail," says McCall. There are those who ultimately fall short. Kimutai says: "There are so many who don't make it, but we can place them more easily in careers because they bring certain values with them."

And then there are those who made it - at least for a short time. Men who made a lot of money quickly. And lost it just as quickly through cars, bad investments and shady partners. Who became addicted to alcohol, committed suicide or died in speeding car accidents because they couldn't cope with the relapse into poverty. The Economist magazine recently featured this "curse" in a major report. The article also looked at successful female athletes who, through fame and fortune, become targets of femicide. The most famous victim was Rebecca Cheptegei. The Ugandan woman was training in Iten before her husband doused her with petrol and set her on fire.

In Iten you can always see people in sports clothes.

Source: IMAGO/Xinhua

These tragedies aren't deterring the athletes in Kenya. The money is too tempting, the hopes too high. Organizers pay tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of euros to attract the world's elite to their competitions. There's also prize money and bonuses for achieving certain times.

Amanal Petros spends several months a year in Iten. He trains here with the best group. He says that the environment and the fellow runners push him. "You see the others and think: If he can do it, I can do it too." What works for him is one of Iten's success principles, as van den Broek also knows: "Young Kenyans benefit greatly from training in groups with world-class athletes."

At first glance, it would seem obvious that Petros trains in Ethiopia. He grew up there, and his mother and sister live there. And his competitor Samuel Fitwi also runs there – in the mountains around the capital, Addis Ababa. But unlike Ethiopia, Petros has no emotional connection with Kenya. He says he is too sensitive for Ethiopia and cannot fully concentrate on running with everything that is happening in Tigray, where he grew up. He has only been to Ethiopia once since fleeing to Germany – last year. After the Olympic Games, where he had to give up after about 30 kilometers. "I just wanted to be with my mom," he says. Sometimes, but rarely, he brings his mother to Kenya for joint meetings.

The conversation is interrupted by a beep. Petros's new watch. "I noticed you've been sitting for a while. Get moving now to reach your daily goal," reads the display. Petros laughs, pulls out his phone, and takes a video that he plans to upload to Instagram later. "I just ran 39 kilometers and my watch tells me to get moving."