allAfrica.com: Kenya: Athletics - Squad's Training Peaks in Mt Kenya (Page 1 of 2)

The windy, hot and dusty Siakago hills provide ideal training conditions for cross country running, which explains why for the last 14 years, Kenyan athletes have preferred this serene wilderness as a launching pad for the World Cross Country Championships.

Since 1994, Athletics Kenya has kept faith with the conditions in Embu where the athletes alternate from speed training on the slopes of Siakago to endurance drills on the base of the Mt Kenya, which is just a few kilometres from their base at the Kigari Teachers' Training College.

When the national team, which is preparing for the 36th edition of the World Cross Country Championships to be held in Edinburgh on March 30, launched its final training programme in Embu early this month, many had feared that the usual schedule would be disrupted by the political tension that followed December's controversial General Election.

With another alternative venue having been found at Ngong - where the team trained ahead of the 1996 World Cross Country Championships in Cape Town - the squad opted for Embu after assurances of increased security from no lesser a person than the police commissioner effectively implemented by Eastern provincial police chief, Jonathan Kosgei.

We spent some time with the team of 34 that is undergoing a strict training programme under a technical bench that has veteran coaches Julius Kirwa, David Leting and Johnstone 'warm up' Mwithiga.

Early in the morning, a cold wind sweeps through the Kigari college compound leaving behind a chilling sensation in the face causing the nose to itch as the final squad of 27 athletes emerges from their respective rooms to start their day training.

Assistant coach Mwithiga is up and about in high spirits urging the yawning and sleepy athletes to start the warm up routine.

Final programme

On this day, the runners must go an extra mile in search of speed.

After weeks of endurance, teamwork and light stretches, the coaches are now embarking on the final programme to secure the perfect speed required to trounce their opponents in Scotland.

Despite Kenya's firm grip on cross country running (Kenya is the only country to have clinched the overall title a record 23 times in the last 36 years), stiff competition from other countries is threatening to push local runners to the periphery and, not wanting to be caught up by time, the Kenyan coaches have decided to take the training a notch up focusing on their weakest point - the finishing kick.

"For long, our grip in cross country running has been well protected. However, there is increasing opposition and we must change with the times. We have lost ground in the senior races specifically in the men's 12 kilometres race because our runners have been weak in the finishing kick," Kirwa told us.

As the sky clears about 6 pm, all runners are now awake and having warmed up, they board a bus and leave in a small convoy of six cars with a lead police outrider, constable Salama Mwadama, clearing the way.

Their motorcade snakes through Embu town towards Siakago, about 17 kilometres away, the public acknowledging the stars' presence with waves and cheers.

"We have to clear the road for the runners. The dust on the road does not make our job any easier. We must regulate the speed at which the vehicles will approach the runners so that they do not leave behind a cloud of dust that might affect their breathing or knock them down all together," Mwadama tells our team.

The security detail around the Kenya team is comprehensive with eight police officers assigned to the runners.

Assistant coach Leting shouts out instructions to the athletes to start a slow jog following his car which is also carrying the team's physiotherapist Peter Nduhiu.

For about 20 minutes, the small dust raised by the pounding feet of the athletes keeps the coaches behind busy as they assess each runner's steps and fitness.

Satisfied with the athletes' level of fitness, Kirwa takes charge.

"After an interval of three minutes, you must sprint for about three kilometres. Run in front of the cars and have your eyes fixed on the road to avoid the rocks," he shouts from the top of a pick-up.

For the next hour, the Kirwa monitors the athletes more closely.

After about 35km, the athletes get a deserved rest as they wait for one or two who might have failed to match up with the pace, quenching their thirst with cold glasses of fruit juice supplied in the team bus.

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