Kenyan Elite Training Series: Agnes Tirop (14:20 5km, 30:22 10km)
Please note: this article was written by Thomas Potzinger (European coach and assistant to Renato Canova). The article hasn’t been edited to correct grammar or brevity but rather published as submitted.
Agnes Tirop ran this year the 3000m in Eugene in 8.27, was second in Peach Tree 10k in 30.22 one second behind Brigid Kosgei and was winning the Kenyan Trials for 10.000m in 31.25 in front of Helen Obiri in Nairobi in high altitude last month. She was already 2015 world cross champion, the youngest ever and won the last two years the best paid 10 kilometer race in the world, in Bangelore 10k. As well she was 2017 bronze medallist in 10.000m in London world championships. Agnes Tirop is coached by her husband in Iten, Kenya and under the management of Gianni Demadonna.
Agnes is training in Iten with a group of Kenyan male pacemakers and there is no other female in the group. The training of Agnes contains a lot quality. The overall quality of her Training is higher than I have ever seen before. The volume isn’t that high. Around 120- 130 kilometres per week in average. Usually Mondays she does in the morning 14 to 16 km at a very high pace considering the altitude of around 2400m and the hilly terrain in Iten. She starts with around 4.20 pace and after 3k the pace goes to 3.45 – 3.35 per kilometre and even uphill she maintains that pace. This is faster for the normal Monday moderate runs in Kenya that I have seen with other female runners. She consistently drops many of the male pacemakers in training.
The afternoon runs are around 4.10 to 3.50 pace which is also faster than the normal afternoon runs. Agnes rarely runs really slow like many of the Kenyans usually do sometimes. Tuesdays she always does track sessions which vary from the period of training. Often, she does interval starting with 2000m going down to 200s, with a total volume of around 10 kilometres for the whole session and she does also common sessions like 10 times 1000m. Before winning Bangelore 2019 she did 10times 1000m with 2min recovery in 2.56 to 2.53 on a dirt track at 2100m sea level near Eldoret. Personally, I have never heard about anything with a similar pace at high altitude from a woman. Wednesdays she does usually a longer forest run. Where the terrain is extremely hilly, with around 300m positive elevation gain on 18k distance. She covers the 18k route in around 1hour10min, which is quite a good pace considering the route.
Thursdays she does mostly a Fartlek session in Moiben, a flat course near Iten. The total time of the fartlek is most of the time 40min, which can consist 3min fast 1min medium, 2min fast 1min medium and 1min fast with 1min medium pace in different variations. If she does track on Thursdays its usually shorter intervals like 600s to 200s reps, in high pace. In the fartlek she reaches around 3.30 to 3.40 average pace, which means the slower pace is included and if she does track, 400s she does between 62 to 64 and 200s usually under 30 seconds.
Fridays she also does 14 to 16k at medium pace (3.40 around) in hilly terrain in the morning and afternoon off. Saturdays she does tempo or long runs. Depending of the season. In November, December and January she does long runs up to 20 kilometres in moderate pace (3.35-3.40). Towards her track season she does faster tempo runs, which can be 8 to 15 kilometres, before she went to Eugene this year, she did on a slightly hilly tarmac road the fastest 8 k tempo I have ever heard, a woman did. It was in 24.20, which is around 3.03 average in 2100m altitude.
As well she did two weeks before the 10.000m trails on 23th August, where she won, a 15k tempo in 48.18, which is slightly faster than Florence Kiplagat did before she broke the world half marathon record and one week before the above-mentioned trails, she did a 10k tempo in 31.53 in moiben. Usually the difference per one kilometre from moiben to sea level tarmac is 6 seconds per k for a Kenyan. So, it’s like a training run in 30.50 for 10km. Insane. Saturday afternoon is off and Sunday she does usually 10k quite easy in around 4min/k very early in the morning.
Agnes Tirop started to do some light core exercise in the nearby gym at HATC in Iten twice per week, earlier this year, because she had a small injury. In my opinion, she is a medal chance at the Doha World Championships in the 10.000m. Her running style differs from most of the Kenyan or Ethiopian ladies, due her upper body is very strong. She doesn’t shake to the side like the others and has in my opinion the best running form of all the female Kenyan long-distance runners.
Article based on observations from Iten, Kenya.
