A record run on Mount Kenya

Three Kenyan athletes attempt to clock the fastest time up Africa’s second tallest mountain.

Kenyan athletes have dominated distance running for over 50 years, since Naftali Temu won the six-mile gold at the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Jamaica. But this dominance is still chiefly on the track and on the road, and not within elite trail and ultra running circles. The global popularity of competitive trail running has skyrocketed in recent decades, but the sport hasn’t had the same kind of influx of East African runners as we saw with road racing in the ‘90s and 2000s. A simple reason for this is that it doesn’t have a big enough financial draw, with many major events offering no prize money at all. There has also been a broad recognition of the need for greater diversity and inclusivity in the trail and ultra scene.

Over the last few years, though, there have been encouraging signs in Kenya of a growing local interest in trail running. In addition to the long-running Lewa Safari Marathon, held within the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and regarded as one of the toughest marathons on the planet, we have also seen the establishment of a number of ultramarathons (with routes longer than the traditional 42 km). In 2018, the For Rangers Ultra was launched — a gruelling 230 km race across five wildlife conservancies in Laikipia. And in 2020, also to raise funds for the For Rangers Charity, the inaugural UltraMARAthon was held, a 50 km race across wildlife conservancies in the Maasai Mara. The primary objective of all three of these events is to raise funds for conservation and community development, but they have also widened the region’s interest in extreme off-road running, and demonstrated Kenya’s suitability as a host of unique ultras.

Runners in the 2019 Lewa Safari Marathon, in Kenya’s Lewa Wildlife Conservancy. Photo by Jan Fox

Another ongoing event aimed at raising the country’s trail running profile is a series of fastest known time (FKT) attempts up Mount Kenya — Africa’s second highest peak. The event has been organised by a Nairobi-based company called Enda, manufacturers of the first Kenyan-made running shoe. As well as a novel way of promoting their brand, Enda came up with the idea to support a few of their sponsored athletes — Kenneth Kemboi, Sussy Chebet and Alfred Moindi. These talented Kenyan runners usually rely on earnings from city marathons all over the world, but most races have been delayed or cancelled because of the coronavirus outbreak. So they turned to Enda for help, who recruited several co-sponsors for the Mount Kenya FKT attempts — apparel maker Janji, GPS watch brand Coros, and athletic hydration and lighting company UltrAspire.

Left to right: Enda Athletes Sussy Chebet and Kenneth Kemboi during a recce for their FKT attempt up Mount Kenya; Kemboi preparing for a practice run. Photos by Enda

If you head to fastestknowntime.com, you’ll see a world map with thousands of logged FKT routes, but the vast majority of these are in North America or in Europe. Only two are in East Africa: on Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya. The first attempt at an FKT on Mount Kenya was actually in April 1995, when a Fila-sponsored International Skyrunning Federation (ISF) race was held. During that race, Italian ‘skyrunner’, Fabio Meraldi, logged an out-and-back time of 5h 2m 22s for a 42 km trek from the Sirimon Park Gate to Point Lenana —the mountain’s third highest peak, and the only one accessible without a multi-pitch, roped climb. That run is listed as the official, supported record on the FKT site for the Sirimon route, but its validity has since been challenged. There appears to be no GPS data to back it up, and the actual out-and-back distance from the Sirimon Gate to Point Lenana is 48.2 km. When queried, the ISF team confirmed that the 1995 route was 42 km to mirror the classic marathon distance, and that the competitors stopped short of the gate on the way down.

So the Enda FKT attempt, which was held on the morning of 20 November 2020, was the first of the full Sirimon route. Having struggled my way up to Point Lenana myself along this route, I appreciate how challenging a task this was for Kemboi, Chebet and Moindi. Most climbers spend four or five days summiting, and include a full day of rest to acclimatise. From the Sirimon Gate, it’s an elevation gain of 2,335 m to Point Lenana (4,985 m), through a long stretch of alpine heather and moorland, and with a final ascent up a steep slope of scree and rock. November is usually a miserable time to climb the mountain, too, as it’s in the middle of Kenya’s short rainy season. 

A view from Mount Kenya’s Sirimon route. Photo by Enda

Incredibly, Kemboi clocked an unsupported out-and-back time of 7h 0m 40s, for a distance of 49.2 km. Both he and Moindi — who managed an equally impressive time of 7h 35m 23s — ran an extra kilometre because they got lost in the snow. Chebet now holds the women’s record for the Sirimon route, having completed a distance of 48.7 km in 7h 50m 8s. In his post-run report on the FKT website, Kemboi describes trudging through an unforeseen knee-high layer of snow, and slipping a few times on wet grass. Chebet and Moindi give their own accounts of the day on the Enda website. While Chebet said that she hoped it would inspire others in what had been a terrible year, Moindi didn’t give much away about his run at all. He said that if he spoke about some of the ‘tough moments’ on the way down, his wife may not let him take part in any future challenges.

Left to right: Kemboi running through the moorlands along Mount Kenya’s Sirimon route; Climbing down from Point Lenana. Photos by Enda

The Sirimon FKT attempt was the first of three that Enda have organised on Mount Kenya. Over the next few months, the same athletes will attempt out-and-back FKTs of two shorter, but steeper, routes. It may be a while before we see Kenyans runners on the elite ultra circuit, but events like these will undoubtedly inspire many to swap the tarmac for the trails, and to take on new challenges.