Kenyan XC - this is where it all starts
The first steps of the long road to stardom started for many up-and-coming Kenyan athletes this weekend. On Saturday the Eastern Kenya town of Machakos staged Meet 1 of the AK XC Series, and the link-report from Elias Makori on IAAF.org is a reminder that the future of Kenyan cross country is in very good hands.
What is interesting here is that the athletes have to compete in at least 4 of the 6 round series to be even considered for the World XC Champs Kenyan national team.
AK’s secretary general, David Okeyo, states, “To maintain Kenya’s good results abroad, even athletes invited for top cross country races abroad will have to observe the rule of competing in at least four races of the national cross country series.” He goes on to say, “We are doing this to make sure that only athletes with proven form in Kenya will be released for competitions abroad. We need this discipline if our ambition to win all the individual titles in Jordan next March is to be fulfilled. We don’t want to spoil Kenya’s name by having athletes who end up being lapped…”
This will instill competitive racing, nurture homegrown talent and showcase cross country to the Kenyan people – a great policy in our book, and will, no doubt, ensure that the this great East African country continues (along with Ethiopia) to dominate global XC racing for the foreseeable future.
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Mud, Sweat and Tears was dreamt up some time ago. I had returned to the sport of running (competitively) after around a 15 year layoff due to injury.
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