Dam to Dam, 10 miles, first in 51.30

Last sunday, 19th of September, I got one of the biggest

victories in my runningcareer up till now. I have been

training in Kenya for the last 6 weeks, preparing for the

Frankfurt marathon

(October 31). Training went well and I felt in shape, but

you are not sure until you actually have a race. This race

starts in Amsterdam and finishes in Zaandam, so you run

one-way. It has a

fast course, but this year we had the disadvantage that the

wind was blowing us in the face a large part of the race.

From the start I felt strong. Lornah Kiplagat, my cousin,

started fast, very fast. I know Lornah is a front-runner.

She likes to dictate the pace and to start very fast, so I

was prepared for that.

The Ethiopean Tufa and I were the only ones who were

following. The others dropped from the start. We passed 3K

in 9.15 and 5K in 15.35. Although it was fast, I felt

comfortable with it.

After 9K I realized we were slowing down. At that point I

was left with Lornah only, because Tufa had dropped already.

I was hesitating: Should I run away, or wait a bit?

I decided to wait, because there was a strong headwind. We

passed 10 K in 31.38. After 11K Lornah was slowing down

more, and I took over the lead. First I continued the same

speed, so

that I could go together with Lornah (I thought we could

help eachother), but after 13K  I realized that I was

stronger and it was time for me to go. So I changed my gears

and ran away. Up

to that point, I had never thought about the men – in this

race the men start 5.46 later than the women and try to get

them – but at once I saw a chance to stay in front of the

men.

Unfortunately we had lost too much time between 9K and 13K

and the leading men passed me about 500m before the finish.

Next year I will run more aggressively and try to stay in

front of

them!

I won the race in 51.30, followed by Lornah who ran 52.03

and Tufa in 52.43.

The next day I went back to Kenya to continue with my

preparations for the marathon in Frankfurt.

July 27th, Barcelona (BCN2010)

Only one day to go till the European Championships 10.000 meter race.

My training has been going on very well. I stayed in Kenya, at 2400 meters altitude, for the last 3 months.

In May I did two roadraces. First there was Glasgow women's 10k, where I was number four. That was not a good race for me. Two weeks later I went to India, to run the Sunfeast World 10k in Bengaluru. I finished number six, but the competition was very strong and I was satisfied with my performance. From that moment my shape has improved. I combined quite some trainingsessions with my sister Sylvia Kibet. She has a lot of speed (she already ran 14.31 on the 5k this year) and that really helps me. When we train together, we push very very hard, because we both don't want to let the other one win.

As part of my training I ran the Kenyan trials in Nairobi. The race was not that fast, so I decided to lead for 3 to 4 kilometers, after which Linet Masai increased the pace. I ran 33.09 in that race and I think it was a good test.

For the last four weeks I just trained, combining faster endurance runs with speed. I'm looking forward to the 10.000 meter race of tomorrow. Looking at the startlist, I realize it's going to be a tough race. I am definitely not the favorite and it's a challenge to try to get a medal.

bron: www.losseveter.nl

World Championships Cross-country, number 10

My good intention for this year is to regularly update you

about my training and races, here on my website. Up to now,

I have been a bit too lazy when it came to writing messages,

but that will change! (I hope).

Let me start with yesterday. I ran the 'World Cross' and was

number ten. That is not as good as my position in 2009 (6)

and 2008 (5), so I was a bit disappointed. On the other

hand, I think I ran a good race, and this is my level. The

others were just too fast for me. From the start the pace

was really high. Linet Masai went out and set a very fast

pace. The course was in good condition, not as muddy as I

had hoped (I'm good in muddy conditions), so it was possible

to make a lot of speed. I followed from behind, after one

lap being in 20th position, slowly moving forward in the

field. Every lap I managed to pass a few people and I went

into the fourth and final lap in 12th position. Flanagan

from the USA (the 10.000m bronze medalist from Beijing) was

in front of me and with a fast last kilometer I managed to

pass her and another runner from Burundi.

Allthough I really enjoyed being in the 'World Cross' again,

this was probably my last cross-country race. Up to now I am

doing everything: roadraces, cross-country, track and

marathon. I realize that it's difficult to combine all those

different events on a high level, so I have to make a

choice. It's better to specialize in something than to do

everything half/half. The choice for me will be roadrunning

/ marathon.

Right now I'm going to take a little brake. I will do a week

of easy training in The Netherlands, after which I will fly

to Kenya where I will prepair for some roadraces –

probably the Glasgow Women's 10k in May. I will keep you

updated!!

October 18th, Amsterdam

source: www.losseveter.nl

september 20th, Zaandam (the netherlands)

source: www.losseveter.nl

august 22nd, Iten Kenya

Welcome to my website! Here I will update you about my training, my plans and my races.

I decided to do this in English, though some people would probably prefer me to write in Kalenjin (my mothertongue), Swahili (the official language in Kenya) or Dutch (the official languague in the Netherlands). However, though my English is not perfect, it's understandable for most of the people who know and follow me. In some cases, when I copy an interview that appeared in a magazine or newspaper, this will be in Dutch – I'm sorry for those who are not Dutch.

At the moment I am back in Kenya, after staying in The Netherlands for four weeks. The last two races have been good for me. On the 14th of June I broke my personal best on the 10.000m during a trackmeeting in Utrecht (from 30.58 to 30.51). Though it was a bit painfull for me that my little sister Sylvia beated me in the last lap ;) I was happy with this result. Two weeks later I won a 10k roadrace in Appingedam. My time of 31.55 in warm and windy conditions was satisfying.

Back in Kenya now, where I train most of the time, I started my preparation for the marathon. On October 18 I will run Amsterdam marathon, and my goal is to do it much better than last time, when I ran 2.32 in my debut.