Charles Nyende
14 November 2007
Nairobi — Robert Cheruiyot is the holder of the inaugural World Marathon Majors title, a back to back winner of the Boston Marathon, and the first man ever to win Chicago and Boston in the same year. But he is not satisfied with these achievements.
Returning from New York this week where he had gone to collect the $500,000 (Sh33 million) World Marathon Majors winners' purse, Cheruiyot said his mind was now focused on clinching the Olympic gold at next year's Beijing Games.
"I plan to run a spring marathon next year and then prepare for the Olympics, if I will be selected. Winning the Majors is very difficult and it gives you great honour. But that is incomparable to the Olympics which comes every four years and which every runner dreams of winning," the slim, six footed Cheruiyot said.
Getting selected to the Kenya team may very well be Cheruiyot's more difficult hurdle considering the complicated way Athletics Kenya pick the national marathon team for major events.
Former barber
AK is expected to name the team for the Beijing Olympics in April after the Boston Marathon. But with a such a loud title in the name of the 2006-2007 Majors and a current second placed position in the on going 2007-2008 season of the same series, it will be difficult to imagine AK failing to pick the former barber who once eked out a living in the streets of Mosop town. The 29-year-old Cheruiyot said he was not even thinking about his half million dollar prize but on continuing to blaze the marathon trail.
"Since I started running professionally I have done a lot for me and my family. I have built my own house. So, I do not want to think about the prize money.
"I am thinking of what I am going to win next. I want to be the best that I can be. My thoughts now are on whether I will run the Olympics and when I will run my best time. I am thinking of a time of 2 hours 05 minutes and even the world record," Cheruiyot said.
Named the top-ranked marathon runner of 2006 by Race Results Weekly, the news wire service of distance running, Cheruiyot holds a personal best time of 2:07:14 achieved when he set the Boston Marathon course record last year.
Been working hard
Speaking for the first time about his strategy for the Majors, Cheruiyot, who trains in Ngong said: "I have been working hard, training hard. I always tried to win each race while improving my time and planned with that in mind. I never thought about the series. It was only after winning Boston and Chicago (in 2006) and people started telling me 'you are leading in the Marathon Majors' that I started thinking I could actually win."
The Majors were started last year and include the marathons of Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York together with the IAAF World Championship and the Olympics.
Cheruiyot won Boston back to back, Chicago (2006) and finished fourth in the same city this year to garner his winning 80 points. The women's title was won by Gete Wami of Ethiopia.
Because of the overlapping scoring system of two years Cheruiyot is still in the leader board lying second with 30 points. Compatriot Martin Lel, winner of the recent New York marathon, holds the first position with 50 points. Abderahhim Gourmi of Morocco is third with 25 points. The World Marathon Major series will for the first include the Olympic Games making for an interesting 2007-2008 season.
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