For Kenyans, it's a long road
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New Delhi: India’s assured medal tally swelled to eight on a bitter- sweet day which saw former World Championship silver medallist N Usha suffering a shock quarterfinal defeat in the Asian Women’s Boxing Championship in Astana, Kaza- khstan. Priyanka Chaudhary (54kg) clinched it by the smallest of mar- gins against Minova Ayako of Japan after fighting out a tense quarter-fi- nal bout. Priyanka was tied 1-1 with Ayako in the opening round. She nosed ahead to 2-1 in the second round but Ayako fought back to make it 3-3 at the end of the regulation four rounds. The Indian was declared winner after accepted individual scores put her 7-5 ahead of her rival. Pavitra (57kg), on the other hand, had no trouble getting past another Japanese Kugimiya Tomoko 11-2. The Indian led all through the bout and was never troubled by her rival. But there was disappointment to follow in the light weight 60kg cate- gory in which Usha was knocked out. Usha was expected to have it easy against Chorieva of Tajikistan, a country which is participating for the first time in the event. After the opening two minutes ended 0-0, Usha was on the backfoot in the second round with Chorieva taking a 2-0 lead. She came back to make it 3-3 in the third round and the two were tied 4-4 for most part of the final round as well. But with 20 seconds left on the clock, Chorieva landed a scoring punch to leave the Indian camp stunned. “It was not expected. Usha was the hands down favourite but just a few seconds before the end, she lost the bout. It’s very disappointing,” said Indian Boxing Federation Secretary General P K Muralidharan Raja, who is in Astana as a technical delegate. Earlier, four-time world champion M C Mary Kom (46kg), L Sarita Devi (51kg), Sonam Yadav (75kg) fought their way to the semis, while Kavita Goyat (69kg), Aswathi Mol (81kg) and Kavita Chahal (+81kg) got byes into the last-four stage. India has sent an 11-strong team for the event, which has 16 countries in participation. Mary Kom (46kg), L Sarita Devi (51kg), Sonam Yadav (75kg) fight their way to the semis WOMEN’S BOXING India in line for eight medals at Asian Boxing Championship M ahima, Ashwini win doubles title in State ranking badminton Mahima Agarwal and Ashwini Bhat defeated Apeksha Nayak and Archana Pai to lift the under-13 girls doubles final title in the second five star state ranking junior badminton tour- nament being held at KBA. Mahima and Ashwini looked in great touch as they won the match 21-16, 21-12. In the under-10 girls doubles final, it was once again a straight sets affair as the duo of Driti Yateesh and Keerthana got the better of Sahana R and Sparsha 21-7, 21-9. Meanwhile, in the under-10 singles semifinals for the girls, Nikita Ramesh beat Keerthana 21-1, 21-2 to enter the final, where she will be facing Driti Yateesh. Driti beat Richa Mukthibodh 21-11, 21-13 to book her place in the final. Results: Girls: Under-13 (Doubles Final): Mahima Agarwal & Ashwini Bhat bt Apeksha Nayak & Archana Pai 21- 16, 21-12. Under-10 (Doubles Final): Driti Yateesh & Keerthana bt Sahana R & Sparsha 21-7, 21-9. Under-16 (Singles Q/F): Devika Ravindran bt Chinmayi MS 21-13,21-10; Mahima Agarwal bt Parvathy SK 21-13, 21-11; Sindhu Bhardwaj bt Syeda Sadhat 21-12, 21-7; Priya Prakash bt Maanya Shekar 21-10, 21-9. Under-13 (Singles Q/F): Mahima Agarwal bt Tanvee SK 21-14, 21-5; Archana Pai bt Anisha Krishna 21-13, 21-10; Apeksha Nayak bt Mithula UK 21-6, 21-13; Ashwini Bhat bt Savitha RN 21-11, 21-13. Under-10 (Singles S/F): Nikita Ramesh bt Keerthana 21-1, 21-2; Driti Yateesh bt Richa Muktibodh 21-14, 21-11. Boys: Under-16 (Singles Q/F): Siddarth.S bt Mithun Manjunath 16-21, 21-13, 21-5; Rakshith KV bt Sudeep Suresh 18-21, 21-17, 21-16; Daniel Farid bt Yuvraj Shinde 21-10, 19-21, 26-24; Harshith Agarwal bt Vishwanath Kiran 21-13, 21-18. Under-13 (Singles Q/F): Mithun Manjunath bt Abi Amudan 21-17, 21-9; Raghu M bt Rahul Bharadwaj 21-17, 21-13; Abhishek R bt Nikhil Sriram 21-17, 21-18; Syed Saadali bt Vignesh HS 21-14, 21-12. Under-10 (Singles Q/F): Rohit M bt Sahith MA 21-4, 21-7; Vikas Gowda bt Rakshith Roy 18-21, 21-10, 21-15; Tejas Kollalkar bt Rohith Krishna 21-17, 21-14; Shivadeep Jayanth bt Yash Patil 11-21, 21-10, 21-7. J awans beat Jawahar in inter-club cricket tournament Jawans cricket club got the better of Jawahar Sports Club (2) by 25 runs in the KSCA under-16 Inter club tournament. Batting first Jawans scored 186 runs in 48.2 overs, with Harmon and Abhishek scoring 42 runs each. For Jawahar SC (2), Shivasharan picked up five wickets. In reply, despite a fighting 58 by Zafaruddin, Jawahar SC (2) were bowled out for just 161 runs in 44.3 overs. Brief Scores Jawans Cricket Club: 186 all out in 48.2 overs (Harmon 42, Saif S 24, Abhishek 42, Vishwanth 2/50, Shivasharan 5/31) beat Jawahar Sports Club (2): 161 all out in 44.3 overs (Zafaruddin 58, Harshith AK 21, Vikram 2/29, Zunaid 2/28, Saif 2/24, Shashank 2/32) by 25 runs. Malleswaram Gymkhana: 116 all out in 37.5 overs (Bhavesh Jain 26, Ricky Singh 23, Sandeep 2/11, Adityha 3/13, Rohith 3/21) lost to Herons Cricket Club: 118 for 2 in 21.5 overs (Rakshith 40, Sharath 29*) by 8 wick- ets. Sir Syed Cricketers: 244 for 9 in 50 overs (Lagan 51, Vishal 62, Anirudh 29, Vishwas 23, Jai Vittal 3/54, Tejas 2/44) lost to Bangalore United C C (1): 245 for 7in 49.3 overs (Tejas Gowda 53, Akshay Tiwari 39, Kunal 45, Krishna 21*, Jayesh 2/46, Vishwas 2/37, Samanth 3/40) by 3 wickets. C atholic Club, Indian Gymkhana in snooker quarters Catholic Club and Indian Gymkhana ‘A’team entered the quarterfinals of the Inter Club Handicap Snooker tournament for Koramangla Club Rolling Trophy.The quarterfinal fray also includes Malleswaram Club ‘A’,HSR Club, Malleswaram Club ‘B’, KSBA ‘B’, Koramangala Club ‘C’ and Bangalore Club. In the league stage, Supreeth stunned junior state champions Amit Bhushan and Mundir Sherazi 78-44 and 100-43 respectively. Results: Malleswaram B team bt KSBA B team 5-3; Malleswaram A team bt Indian Gymkhana A 5-0; Bangalore Club bt Koramangala Club ‘C’ 5- 4; Catholic Club bt HSR Club 5-1 K SHA to host Travancore Cup hockey in June The Karnataka State Hockey Association (KSHA) will conduct its annual State Level Travancore Cup Hockey Tournament from June 23 to July 10. The tournament is open to all the affiliated units of the Karnataka State Hockey Association. Last date for receipt of entries from the participating teams is June 12. For further details contact K Krishnamurthy, Secretary - 080 22277007/ 42443701/ 22277373. G autham to ride in Malaysian Super Series Moto-Rev India signed up Gautham Mayilvagnan for the 2010 Malaysian Super Series (MSS) Supersport events. Gautham will race in the 600 cc class. All races will be held at the Sepang F1 circuit in Malaysia. Riders use MSS as a stepping stone for major events like the Asia Road Racing Championship. Gautham Mayilvagnan, aged 17, stood 3rd overall in the MRF Road Racing Championship, in 600cc, despite his crash in Round 1 in 2008. The MSS consists of 5 rounds and the 2010 calendar is Round 1: May 29 to 30. Round 2: July 31 to August 1. Round 3: September 18 to 19. Round 4: November 27 to 28. Round 5: October 8 to 10 (MOTO GP Support Race) LOCAL WATCH Astral Flash best bet SHOWING THE WAY: Mary Kom led a strong Indian charge into the semifinals JOE WILLIAMS Astral Flash, one of the youngest in the field of eight runners, looks the best for the Dharmaprakasha LS Venkaji Rao Memorial Cup Div I, the feature event on the fifth day of the Banga- lore meeting to be held at the Bangalore Turf Club on Saturday. This four-year-old filly from Pesi Shroff ’s stable has been impressive in the last nine outings but for the 10th start in Mumbai, wherein she finished seventh, she has been impressive in the morning workouts. Rimpuche and Einstein should be the other con- tenders in this seven-furlong race. BANGALORE MAY 29 2010 17 www.dnaindia.com epaper.dnaindia.com SPORT Will be challenged by Rimpuche, Einstein in this seven-furlong event The world might marvel at Kenyans as ‘natural’ runners, but the Kenyans themselves have no illusions about how hard it is to maintain their world-class performances DEV S SUKUMAR. Bangalore B ack in Kenya where he trains with his team, a group of elite runners, Wilson Kipsang in- dulges in the little tricks of his trade. Some days he takes his car out for a long drive, away from the camp, and trains by himself for an hour or two, before showering and changing into regular clothes. Hopefully, they won’t know. It’s his secret training, his means of ensuring he’s ahead of the pack. After all, they too are fighting for the same piece of cake. “It’s part of life, you know,” he chuckles. Kipsang, one of several accomplished Kenyan runners, was here in Bangalore for the World 10K. As expected, African runners dominated the event, with Kenyans winning five places in the top ten. “You train with the group, but sometimes you train alone. Just to give you something extra. You’re aware of what the others are up to. It’s very important to know your own form, and what the others are up to. Very important.” In a country that’s famous mostly for its distance runners, Kipsang, and others like him, have to be constantly on their toes. Other countries might marvel at their run- ning expertise and even believe that they are endowed with some mysterious ‘natu- ral gift’, but the Kenyans themselves un- derstand how much hard work and dili- gence goes into maintaining that kind of running ability. Even a day’s training missed means the athlete falls back by a few rungs. Kenyan runners mostly prefer to train in groups, living in camps outside cities to avoid distraction. “When you are alone, it’s not easy to main- tain discipline,” says Bernard Kosgei, an- other Kenyan runner who ran the World 10K. “But when you are with others, and you are late getting up, your friend pulls you up.” Like Kipsang, Kos- gei and a small group have rented a house outside their hometown of Eldoret – home of several legendary runners – and train six days a week; the only time they meet family and friends is on Sundays. “You switch off your mobile phone, because your concentration level must very high,” says Kosgei. “You explain to your family that the camp’s your office. If they have to meet you, they have to come to office. You don’t meet them, they have to meet you. You are answerable to yourself – you stand to lose or gain by whatever you do. “You have to bring the mind to zero. You have to focus the mind to that special day, raceday. It’s something that you don’t want to lose, because you have worked very hard for it. When you’re training you are not paid at the end of the day, you’re just spending on fuel, for food, for rent. For three months you’re earning nothing. You don’t want to waste all that hard work.” Kosgei participates in no more than four races in a year, with each race requir- ing three months of preparation. Race or- ganisers keep track of their performance, and invite them depending on their form and timing. Sometimes they have to nego- tiate with agents and organisers, and con- vince them that they are running competi- tive timings. With plenty of their country- men running world-class timings, few Kenyans can take their invitations for granted. “You need a race to motivate you,” says Kosgei. “Otherwise you’ll just go down. If you don’t have a race lined up, you tend to get demotivated.” It’s all for the money, of course. For Kos- gei, who has no major accomplishments yet, even the 1,000 or 2,000 USD he makes out of a race will help his ten-member family for six months. Both he and Kip- sang are aware of how many dangers lurk, how easily they can go off the rails, even if they manage to stay injury-free. “It’s very hard,” says Kipsang. “You’ve got to get up early every morning… and maybe you have somebody with you, maybe you’re tired, maybe it’s cold out- side. You have to control yourself. It’s all psychological… A lot of Kenyan runners are talented but they go down, they blow up their money and indulge in women, and they have nothing left for training. I’ve seen many like that. “It’s very painful, very challenging. Should I leave, should I continue? Is it pos- sible to make money? So many questions can arise in the mind. You just have to keep working.” [email protected] Bernard Kosgei DEV S SUKUMAR Bernard Kosgei’s tips for marathon training You count the months you’re going to run. Normally, the training is for three months. The first month, you have to be ‘loaded’, that involves running for 2-1/2 hours. It’s not about distance, it’s about time. You balance speed with endurance. In the second month, you reduce the distance and improve speed. In the third month you aim for 1.42 or 1.48 hours for 30 km. It’s like a programme. You mess up in the beginning, it will affect you later. If you think the group is too slow in the beginning and speed up to drop them off, that will show up at 40km. Don’t disobey the pace of the group. Because a group has more power than an individual. So try to be in a group that suits you. You check the previous times, you look at the course record of that race, and split the distance. If you’re tempted to go to a movie with friends, you need to ask your- self — how much is it worth? Is it necessary to be with friends to watch the movie, or can you watch in your room? So you have to plan. There’s no training on Sundays, so you can go to church. But on Sunday evening you have to sleep at the camp. If friends call three or four times a week, you should avoid those calls. If you miss Monday training, you are attracting injury. If you miss three sessions, you do your own work at camp on the fourth day. Not with the group, because in a group you don’t know what speed you’re doing. Train, listen to your body. Marathon is about you, yourself. You’re in a group, but at the end, it’s you and you alone, with the 42 km. not your friend. You don’t copy, you listen to yourself. And when you get infor- mation from someone, you apply, but you modify according to your condition. For Kosgei, who has no major wins yet, even the 1,000 or 2,000 USD he makes out of a race will help his 10-member family for six months A lot of runners are talented but they go down after they taste success. They indulge in women and blow their money. They have nothing left for training. WILSON KIPSANG Third at Marathon de Paris in 2010 RUNNERS FOR LIFE For Kenyans, it’s a long road Selections The Glorious Colours Plate (Div II, 1400m): 1. Work Force (1), 2. Arya Veer (3), 3. Cowboy Cal (5). The Glorious Colours Plate (Div I, 1400m): 1. Elite Land (3), 2. Gluteus Maximus (3), 3. Hard To Pin Down (4). The Bishma Plate (Div II, 1200m): 1. Amber Star (4), 2. Gampu (1), 3. Art Connoisseur (2). The Dharmaprakasha LS Venkaji Rao Memorial Cup (Div I, 1400m): 1. Astral Flash (2), 2. Rimpuche (3), 3. Einstein (4). The Speaker’s Cup (1400m): 1. Angelfire (4), 2. Topkapi (2), 3. Star Assembly (1). The Dharmaprakasha LS Venkaji Rao Memorial Cup (Div II, 1400m): 1. Star Wave (6), 2. Corbett (4), 3. Sparklingadventure (1). The Bhishma Plate (Div I, 1200m): 1. Couleur Rouge (1), 2. Spark Of Napoleon (8), 3. Moves Goodenough (2). The Divine Light Plate (1200m): 1. Carla (11), 2. Foswell (2), 3. Mark Of Genius (7). FIRST RACE: 2.00pm. DAY’S BEST: Astral Flash (4-1) DAY’S UPSET: Couleur Rouge (7-1) JACKPOT: 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8. MINI JACKPOT: 2, 4, 6 & 8. TREBLE: 6, 7 & 8. Nikita Ramesh 28Saturday Bangalore-pg17-0.qxd 5/28/2010 10:33 PM Page 1
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The world assumes that long distance running comes 'naturally' to the Kenyans. A few elite Kenyan runners dispel that myth
Transcript of For Kenyans, it's a long road
New Delhi: India’s assured medaltally swelled to eight on a bitter-sweet day which saw former WorldChampionship silver medallist NUsha suffering a shock quarterfinaldefeat in the Asian Women’s BoxingChampionship in Astana, Kaza-khstan. Priyanka Chaudhary (54kg)clinched it by the smallest of mar-gins against Minova Ayako of Japanafter fighting out a tense quarter-fi-nal bout.
Priyanka was tied 1-1 with Ayakoin the opening round. She nosedahead to 2-1 in the second round butAyako fought back to make it 3-3 atthe end of the regulation fourrounds. The Indian was declaredwinner after accepted individualscores put her 7-5 ahead of her rival.
Pavitra (57kg), on the other hand,had no trouble getting past anotherJapanese Kugimiya Tomoko 11-2.The Indian led all through the boutand was never troubled by her rival.
But there was disappointment tofollow in the light weight 60kg cate-gory in which Usha was knockedout. Usha was expected to have iteasy against Chorieva of Tajikistan,a country which is participating forthe first time in the event.
After the opening two minutesended 0-0, Usha was on the backfootin the second round with Chorievataking a 2-0 lead.
She came back to make it 3-3 inthe third round and the two weretied 4-4 for most part of the final
round as well. But with 20 secondsleft on the clock, Chorieva landed ascoring punch to leave the Indiancamp stunned.
“It was not expected. Usha was thehands down favourite but just a fewseconds before the end, she lost thebout. It’s very disappointing,” saidIndian Boxing Federation SecretaryGeneral P K Muralidharan Raja,who is in Astana as a technical
delegate.Earlier, four-time world champion
M C Mary Kom (46kg), L Sarita Devi(51kg), Sonam Yadav (75kg) foughttheir way to the semis, while KavitaGoyat (69kg), Aswathi Mol (81kg)and Kavita Chahal (+81kg) got byesinto the last-four stage.
India has sent an 11-strong teamfor the event, which has 16 countriesin participation.
Mary Kom (46kg), L Sarita Devi (51kg), SonamYadav (75kg) fight their way to the semis
WOMEN’SBOXING
India in line for eight medals atAsian Boxing Championship
Mahima, Ashwini win doubles titlein State ranking badminton
Mahima Agarwaland Ashwini Bhatdefeated ApekshaNayak andArchana Pai tolift the under-13girls doubles finaltitle in the secondfive star stateranking juniorbadminton tour-nament beingheld at KBA.Mahima andAshwini lookedin great touch asthey won thematch 21-16, 21-12.In the under-10girls doublesfinal, it was onceagain a straightsets affair as the
duo of Driti Yateesh and Keerthana got the betterof Sahana R and Sparsha 21-7, 21-9.Meanwhile, in the under-10 singles semifinals forthe girls, Nikita Ramesh beat Keerthana 21-1, 21-2to enter the final, where she will be facing DritiYateesh. Driti beat Richa Mukthibodh 21-11, 21-13 tobook her place in the final.
Results: Girls: Under-13 (Doubles Final): Mahima Agarwal &Ashwini Bhat bt Apeksha Nayak & Archana Pai 21-16, 21-12. Under-10 (Doubles Final): Driti Yateesh &Keerthana bt Sahana R & Sparsha 21-7, 21-9.Under-16 (Singles Q/F): Devika Ravindran btChinmayi MS 21-13,21-10; Mahima Agarwal btParvathy SK 21-13, 21-11; Sindhu Bhardwaj btSyeda Sadhat 21-12, 21-7; Priya Prakash bt MaanyaShekar 21-10, 21-9. Under-13 (Singles Q/F): MahimaAgarwal bt Tanvee SK 21-14, 21-5; Archana Pai btAnisha Krishna 21-13, 21-10; Apeksha Nayak btMithula UK 21-6, 21-13; Ashwini Bhat bt Savitha RN21-11, 21-13. Under-10 (Singles S/F): Nikita Rameshbt Keerthana 21-1, 21-2; Driti Yateesh bt RichaMuktibodh 21-14, 21-11.Boys: Under-16 (Singles Q/F): Siddarth.S bt MithunManjunath 16-21, 21-13, 21-5; Rakshith KV btSudeep Suresh 18-21, 21-17, 21-16; Daniel Farid btYuvraj Shinde 21-10, 19-21, 26-24; Harshith Agarwalbt Vishwanath Kiran 21-13, 21-18. Under-13 (SinglesQ/F): Mithun Manjunath bt Abi Amudan 21-17, 21-9;Raghu M bt Rahul Bharadwaj 21-17, 21-13;Abhishek R bt Nikhil Sriram 21-17, 21-18; SyedSaadali bt Vignesh HS 21-14, 21-12. Under-10(Singles Q/F): Rohit M bt Sahith MA 21-4, 21-7;Vikas Gowda bt Rakshith Roy 18-21, 21-10, 21-15;Tejas Kollalkar bt Rohith Krishna 21-17, 21-14;Shivadeep Jayanth bt Yash Patil 11-21, 21-10, 21-7.
Jawans beat Jawahar in inter-clubcricket tournament
Jawans cricket club got the better of JawaharSports Club (2) by 25 runs in the KSCA under-16Inter club tournament. Batting first Jawans scored186 runs in 48.2 overs, with Harmon and Abhishekscoring 42 runs each. For Jawahar SC (2),Shivasharan picked up five wickets. In reply,despite a fighting 58 by Zafaruddin, Jawahar SC (2)were bowled out for just 161 runs in 44.3 overs.Brief ScoresJawans Cricket Club: 186 all out in 48.2 overs(Harmon 42, Saif S 24, Abhishek 42, Vishwanth2/50, Shivasharan 5/31) beat Jawahar Sports Club(2): 161 all out in 44.3 overs (Zafaruddin 58,Harshith AK 21, Vikram 2/29, Zunaid 2/28, Saif2/24, Shashank 2/32) by 25 runs. MalleswaramGymkhana: 116 all out in 37.5 overs (Bhavesh Jain26, Ricky Singh 23, Sandeep 2/11, Adityha 3/13,Rohith 3/21) lost to Herons Cricket Club: 118 for 2in 21.5 overs (Rakshith 40, Sharath 29*) by 8 wick-ets. Sir Syed Cricketers: 244 for 9 in 50 overs(Lagan 51, Vishal 62, Anirudh 29, Vishwas 23, JaiVittal 3/54, Tejas 2/44) lost to Bangalore United C C(1): 245 for 7in 49.3 overs (Tejas Gowda 53, AkshayTiwari 39, Kunal 45, Krishna 21*, Jayesh 2/46,Vishwas 2/37, Samanth 3/40) by 3 wickets.
Catholic Club, Indian Gymkhana insnooker quarters
Catholic Club and Indian Gymkhana ‘A’ teamentered the quarterfinals of the Inter ClubHandicap Snooker tournament for KoramanglaClub Rolling Trophy. The quarterfinal fray alsoincludes Malleswaram Club ‘A’, HSR Club,Malleswaram Club ‘B’, KSBA ‘B’, KoramangalaClub ‘C’ and Bangalore Club. In the league stage,Supreeth stunned junior state champions AmitBhushan and Mundir Sherazi 78-44 and 100-43respectively.
Results: Malleswaram B team bt KSBA B team 5-3;Malleswaram A team bt Indian Gymkhana A 5-0;Bangalore Club bt Koramangala Club ‘C’ 5- 4;Catholic Club bt HSR Club 5-1
KSHA to host Travancore Cuphockey in June
The Karnataka State Hockey Association (KSHA)will conduct its annual State Level Travancore CupHockey Tournament from June 23 to July 10. Thetournament is open to all the affiliated units of theKarnataka State Hockey Association. Last date forreceipt of entries from the participating teams isJune 12. For further details contact K Krishnamurthy, Secretary - 080 22277007/42443701/ 22277373.
Gautham to ride in MalaysianSuper Series
Moto-Rev India signed up Gautham Mayilvagnanfor the 2010 Malaysian Super Series (MSS)Supersport events. Gautham will race in the 600 ccclass. All races will be held at the Sepang F1 circuitin Malaysia. Riders use MSS as a stepping stone formajor events like the Asia Road RacingChampionship. Gautham Mayilvagnan, aged 17,stood 3rd overall in the MRF Road RacingChampionship, in 600cc, despite his crash in Round1 in 2008. The MSS consists of 5 rounds and the2010 calendar is Round 1: May 29 to 30. Round 2:July 31 to August 1. Round 3: September 18 to 19.Round 4: November 27 to 28. Round 5: October 8 to10 (MOTO GP Support Race)
LOCAL WATCH
Astral Flash best bet
SHOWING THE WAY: Mary Kom led a strong Indian charge into the semifinals
JOE WILLIAMS
Astral Flash, one of theyoungest in the field of eightrunners, looks the best forthe Dharmaprakasha LSVenkaji Rao Memorial CupDiv I, the feature event onthe fifth day of the Banga-lore meeting to be held atthe Bangalore Turf Club onSaturday.
This four-year-old fillyfrom Pesi Shroff ’s stable hasbeen impressive in the lastnine outings but for the 10thstart in Mumbai, whereinshe finished seventh, shehas been impressive in themorning workouts.
Rimpuche and Einsteinshould be the other con-tenders in this seven-furlongrace.
BANGALORE MAY 29
201017www.dnaindia.com � epaper.dnaindia.comSPORT
Will be challenged by Rimpuche, Einsteinin this seven-furlong event
The world might marvel at Kenyans as ‘natural’ runners, but the Kenyans themselves have no illusions about how hard it is tomaintain their world-class performances
DEV S SUKUMAR. Bangalore
Back in Kenya where he trainswith his team, a group of eliterunners, Wilson Kipsang in-dulges in the little tricks of histrade. Some days he takes his
car out for a long drive, away from thecamp, and trains by himself for an hour ortwo, before showering and changing intoregular clothes. Hopefully, they won’tknow. It’s his secret training, his means ofensuring he’s ahead of the pack. After all, they too are fighting for the samepiece of cake.
“It’s part of life, you know,” he chuckles.Kipsang, one of several accomplishedKenyan runners, was here in Bangalorefor the World 10K. As expected, Africanrunners dominated the event, withKenyans winning five places in the top ten.“You train with the group, but sometimesyou train alone. Just to give you somethingextra. You’re aware of what the others areup to. It’s very important to know yourown form, and what the others are up to.Very important.”
In a country that’s famous mostly for itsdistance runners, Kipsang, and others likehim, have to be constantly on their toes.Other countries might marvel at their run-ning expertise and even believe that theyare endowed with some mysterious ‘natu-ral gift’, but the Kenyans themselves un-derstand how much hard work and dili-gence goes into maintaining that kind ofrunning ability. Even a day’s trainingmissed means the athlete falls back by afew rungs.
Kenyan runnersmostly prefer to trainin groups, living incamps outside citiesto avoid distraction.“When you are alone,it’s not easy to main-tain discipline,” saysBernard Kosgei, an-other Kenyan runnerwho ran the World10K. “But when youare with others, andyou are late gettingup, your friend pullsyou up.”
Like Kipsang, Kos-gei and a small group have rented a houseoutside their hometown of Eldoret – homeof several legendary runners – and trainsix days a week; the only time they meetfamily and friends is on Sundays. “Youswitch off your mobile phone, becauseyour concentration level must very high,”says Kosgei. “You explain to your familythat the camp’s your office. If they have tomeet you, they have to come to office. Youdon’t meet them, they have to meet you.You are answerable to yourself – you standto lose or gain by whatever you do.
“You have to bring the mind to zero. Youhave to focus the mind to that special day,raceday. It’s something that you don’t wantto lose, because you have worked veryhard for it. When you’re training you arenot paid at the end of the day, you’re justspending on fuel, for food, for rent. Forthree months you’re earning nothing. Youdon’t want to waste all that hard work.”
Kosgei participates in no more thanfour races in a year, with each race requir-ing three months of preparation. Race or-ganisers keep track of their performance,and invite them depending on their formand timing. Sometimes they have to nego-tiate with agents and organisers, and con-vince them that they are running competi-tive timings. With plenty of their country-men running world-class timings, fewKenyans can take their invitations for
granted. “You need a race to motivateyou,” says Kosgei. “Otherwise you’ll justgo down. If you don’t have a race lined up,you tend to get demotivated.”
It’s all for the money, of course. For Kos-gei, who has no major accomplishmentsyet, even the 1,000 or 2,000 USD he makesout of a race will help his ten-memberfamily for six months. Both he and Kip-sang are aware of how many dangers lurk,how easily they can go off the rails, even ifthey manage to stay injury-free.
“It’s very hard,” says Kipsang. “You’vegot to get up early every morning… andmaybe you have somebody with you,maybe you’re tired, maybe it’s cold out-side. You have to control yourself. It’s allpsychological… A lot of Kenyan runnersare talented but they go down, they blowup their money and indulge in women,and they have nothing left for training.I’ve seen many like that.
“It’s very painful, very challenging.Should I leave, should I continue? Is it pos-sible to make money? So many questionscan arise in the mind. You just have tokeep working.” [email protected]
Bernard Kosgei �DEV S SUKUMAR
Bernard Kosgei’s tips formarathon training
You count the months you’re goingto run. Normally, the training is forthree months. The first month, youhave to be ‘loaded’, that involvesrunning for 2-1/2 hours. It’s notabout distance, it’s about time. Youbalance speed with endurance.
In the second month, you reducethe distance and improve speed. Inthe third month you aim for 1.42 or1.48 hours for 30 km.
It’s like a programme. You mess upin the beginning, it will affect youlater. If you think the group is tooslow in the beginning and speed upto drop them off, that will show upat 40km. Don’t disobey the pace ofthe group. Because a group hasmore power than an individual. Sotry to be in a group that suits you.You check the previous times, youlook at the course record of thatrace, and split the distance.
If you’re tempted to go to a moviewith friends, you need to ask your-self — how much is it worth? Is itnecessary to be with friends towatch the movie, or can you watchin your room? So you have to plan.There’s no training on Sundays, soyou can go to church. But onSunday evening you have to sleepat the camp. If friends call three orfour times a week, you should avoidthose calls.
If you miss Monday training, youare attracting injury. If you missthree sessions, you do your ownwork at camp on the fourth day. Not with the group, because in agroup you don’t know what speedyou’re doing.
Train, listen to your body. Marathonis about you, yourself. You’re in agroup, but at the end, it’s you andyou alone, with the 42 km. not yourfriend. You don’t copy, you listen toyourself. And when you get infor-mation from someone, you apply,but you modify according to yourcondition.
For Kosgei,who has nomajor wins
yet, eventhe 1,000or 2,000USD he
makes outof a race
will help his10-member
family forsix months
A lot of runners aretalented but they go downafter they taste success.They indulge in women andblow their money. Theyhave nothing left fortraining.
WILSON KIPSANGThird at Marathon de Paris in 2010
RUNNERSFOR LIFE
For Kenyans, it’s a long road
Selections
The Glorious Colours Plate (Div II, 1400m): 1. WorkForce (1), 2. Arya Veer (3), 3. Cowboy Cal (5).
The Glorious Colours Plate (Div I, 1400m): 1. EliteLand (3), 2. Gluteus Maximus (3), 3. Hard To PinDown (4).
The Bishma Plate (Div II, 1200m): 1. Amber Star(4), 2. Gampu (1), 3. Art Connoisseur (2).
The Dharmaprakasha LS Venkaji Rao Memorial Cup(Div I, 1400m): 1. Astral Flash (2), 2. Rimpuche (3),3. Einstein (4).
The Speaker’s Cup (1400m): 1. Angelfire (4), 2.Topkapi (2), 3. Star Assembly (1).
The Dharmaprakasha LS Venkaji Rao Memorial Cup(Div II, 1400m): 1. Star Wave (6), 2. Corbett (4), 3.Sparklingadventure (1).
The Bhishma Plate (Div I, 1200m): 1. Couleur Rouge(1), 2. Spark Of Napoleon (8), 3. MovesGoodenough (2).
The Divine Light Plate (1200m): 1. Carla (11), 2.Foswell (2), 3. Mark Of Genius (7).
FIRST RACE: 2.00pm. DAY’S BEST: Astral Flash (4-1)
DAY’S UPSET: Couleur Rouge (7-1)JACKPOT: 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8. MINI JACKPOT: 2, 4, 6 & 8.
TREBLE: 6, 7 & 8.
NNiikkiittaa RRaammeesshh
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