Nairobi — Kenyan mountain runner Philaries Kisang' is angling for her first-ever win on home soil when she competes at Saturday's Mt Longonot Trail Challenge in Naivasha.
Kisang says a win in Kenya will be a perfect addition to her glittering resume of achievements.
"I have run in the Mount Kenya championships and finished second, in Iten and finished fourth while in Nandi, Tinderet, I got lost in the trail. But I am confident that this Saturday, I will run well. My prayer to God is that everything works out well and that I am able to finish," the 2023 Grossglockner Mountain Race champion said.
The Run2Gether Training Camp athlete has further encouraged her fellow runners to sign up for the event and spice up the competition.
"I want to call upon all athletes in Iten as well as all the running camps in Kenya to sign up and join us on Saturday in Naivasha. In particular, I am encouraging my fellow female athletes to take up mountain running," the Iten-born athlete said.
Kisang' has made the podium of various international races ever since she transitioned into mountain running in 2022.
She won silver in the 2023 World Mountain Running Championships - uphill in Innsbruck and the Stubaital in Austria before clinching the women's 13.4km at the Grossglockner Mountain Race in the same year.
She also won Chiavenna-Lagunc 3.3km race in October last year, which remains her last victory to date.
Her latest performance is a second-place finish at Italy's Val Bregaglia Trail 23km race on October 13.
The podium finishes notwithstanding, Kisang' says mountain running is the best decision she has ever made in her life.
"It has been of great help to me compared to the normal races I used to compete in. Thanks to the proceeds I have made from this career, I have succeeded in building a house for myself back in Iten," she said.
The athlete is hopeful mountain running will become popular in Kenya although she believes there is need to train as many coaches in the sport as possible to tap talent.
Saturday's event will feature the men and women's 11.54km race, up and down Mt Longonot, as well as a fun run.
The competition will be a World Mountain Running ranking event and will be graced by World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) president Tomo Sarf.
