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World marathon record holder Kelvin Kiptum has revealed why he did not start his career on track before transitioning to marathon unlike many of his competitors
World marathon record holder Kelvin Kiptum says the difficulties he faced while starting his athletics journey did not enable him to begin his track career.
Kiptum has become a revelation after posting three of the six fastest times in history in just under one year, since making his marathon debut in Valencia last December.
Unlike his marathon peers who started on track before transitioning to the roads, the 23-year-old started straight away on the roads and has become the man to beat after running 2:01:53 on his debut in Valencia, 2:01:25 in London before the world record of 2:00:35 in Chicago this year.
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ATHLETICS Kelvin Kiptum delivers acceptance speech in Swahili after clinching World Athlete of the Year award [VIDEO]
Kiptum achieved his world record in Chicago back in October which boosted his chances of winning the maiden World Athlete of the Year Outside Stadia award.
“It was difficult to train in track. I had no track to train on,” Kiptum told World Athletics.
Kiptum has previously spoken of how he struggled early in his career while growing up in Chepkorio, Elgeyo Marakwet County.
A humble herdsman of the family's cattle, Kiptum began to take to the trails and roads where he saw others running, getting accustomed to road races in the process.
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“I got into road running, half marathon, 10km,” he added. “And always I was training with a group of marathon runners. So, I ended up running marathons.”
After the astonishing start to his marathon career, Kiptum has also revealed how he prepared for each of his three races.
“Going for my marathon debut in Valencia, I was prepared. I was ready for any results,” he said. “My target there was to run 2:04 or 2:03, because I was in good shape. I found myself running 2:01.”
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“I then trained for four months before this year’s London Marathon and then I had a month-and-a-half’s break before preparations began for Chicago. I ran 2:01:25 in London and I was very satisfied with that time.”
Asked what made the difference between that time and the world record he produced six months later, he replied: “London is a bit more of a hard course. Chicago is more flat. That’s where I found the extra time.”
Kiptum’s next race will be the Rotterdam Marathon in April 2024 before he embarks on his Olympics preparations.
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