Life For A Kenyan “Outsider” (Many Sub 2:10 Marathoners)
The athletes in the marathon groups we worked with in Kaptagat, Kenya live simple, frugal and regimented lives. However, some have it easier than others.
Eliud Kipchoge trains under Global Sports Management, a Dutch based management company. Global have a compound in Kaptagat where most of the athletes under management live. The few managed athletes that reside elsewhere tend to be the more successful athletes, such as Eliud, who can afford their own housing. These managed athletes have close relationships with coaches and are also sponsored without exception. There are staff in the compound who clean and cook, and the athletes have access to a physiotherapist.
Our principal reason for being in Kenya was to follow Eliud, and the Global squad, in the lead-up to his attempt at the world record in the Berlin Marathon. Despite seeing Eliud frequently in training, the majority of our contact with athletes in the Kaptagat area was with another group of athletes living near our accommodation in the Jobb Centre area. Many of these athletes are not under management and come to Kaptagat of their own accord, training with the managed groups in order to try to join their ranks.
Life is a lot more difficult for these athletes. Many support themselves through meagre earnings from races, or survive on what their family can spare to give them. In a neighbouring complex, athletes were paying $15 per month to rent a tiny room. The Spartan arrangement of the rooms generally consisted of a single bed, a small set of drawers for clothes and miscellanea, and a small stove in one corner; this was used to prepare ugali and managu between sessions. These athletes also had to collect their own water and wash their clothes by hand during rest periods.
We had many opportunities to discuss life with these athletes who weren’t under management. They would frequently invite us to join them on runs or to come to their room for chai. When we asked about how their relationship to Global, or other managed groups, they referred to themselves as ‘outsiders’. They would generally complete their jogs and recovery runs in small groups or alone, and although not members of the managed teams, they would join in on the workouts with groups like Global. They explained that they normally weren’t welcomed into the group, and the coaches tended not to address them, but their presence was tolerated.
The outsiders greatly outnumbered the managed athletes in most cases. When the Sweat Elite team followed along on one of the Global long runs, we were very surprised by the composition of the group. We arrived at 6am, as it was still dark. A couple athletes were waiting at the gates of the Global compound and by the time Eliud and the other Global athletes exited the compound at 6:10 there were between twenty and thirty outsiders gathered. One of the Global athletes yelled the workout to everyone in Swahili. The run started at a jog, but pace rapidly picked up to 3:10/km, with Eliud and Global athletes leading the way and the outsiders being strung out in their wake.
Many of the outsiders we spoke to said they had moved away from their families to be in Kaptagat, and their main objective was to train hard, get some good results in races, and be brought into one of the managed groups. In the intervening period, things were tough. These athletes train a very similar amount to the managed athletes, but some have to find work on the side, prepare their own food (which, as we discussed in the last blog post, is often paltry fare) and equip themselves. They often couldn’t afford new shoes, and many were completing long, intense workouts in shoes that any Western runner would consider dead; no grip, holes etc.
One thing that is really astonishing about these athletes is that many of them would be national champions in almost any other country. We spoke to plenty of sub-2:10 marathoners who hadn’t been taken into any of the managed groups, and hadn’t found any sponsors. Many of the athletes even asked us if we would be able to act as their managers and help them obtain entry into international races; giving them opportunities to win desperately needed money and have some results that would aid them in finding a position within a managed group.
Despite often struggling to afford rent and food, the outsiders managed to keep scraping by, always appearing happy in the process. Their discipline and determination was inspiring, as was the tight-knit nature of the community. It was awesome to see them training hard together, striving to improve and reach the ranks of the best runners, who by all accounts have a much more comfortable life. The camaraderie between the outsiders was also great to see; they cooked together, ate together, washed clothes together and spent most of their free time joking around and hanging out, resting to ensure they were recovered and ready to go hard in their next session.
By Tait Hearps of Sweat Elite
