As the world enjoyed the festive season and welcomed the new year, athletes in Nyahururu continued to adhere to their training programme without a break.
Tuesday, the last day of 2024, saw a number of athletes training at the Nyahururu stadium, anticipating to perform well in coming competitions like the counties’ cross-country championships scheduled for January 11, 2025, as well as the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) cross-country competition set for January 10 at the Ulinzi grounds in Langata, Nairobi.
A battalion of athletes from the National Police Service (NPS) are training hard for their cross-country championships, which will take place on January 17 at the NPS Leadership Academy in Ngong.
According to the current Athletics Kenya (AK) calendar of events, athletes who are set to hold their cross-country championships between January 10 and 25 are the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), Kenya Forest Service (KFS), National Youth Service (NYS), and Prisons.
Among those training at the stadium were a medallist at last year’s Africa Senior Championships, Rebecca Njeri, and KWS’s Collins Kipruto with his colleagues from Nyahururu Athletics Club.
The national cross-country championships season will also act as the season of selecting a team to represent the country at this year’s Africa Cross Country Championships, whose date and host country are yet to be announced.
“Apart from the forthcoming competitions that have made athletes to continue training during the Christmas period, the runners have discovered that remaining in top form throughout the season has advantages,” said Coach Francis Kamau of Nyahururu’s Esmi Athletics Club.
The counties’ cross-country will be followed by regional championships set for January 25, after which national championships will be held on February 8 at the Prisons Staff Training College in Ruiru, Kiambu.
A large team of Japan-based athletes who are at home for the end-of-year holiday are also taking advantage of the high-altitude stadium to exercise in readiness for the new season.
This time of the season sees Nyahururu hosting a large number of foreign athletes who regularly visit the town for training at the stadium.
Celebrated long-distance runner from Estonia, Tiidrek Nurme, who is a frequent visitor here, is among the foreign athletes who are training in Nyahururu.
By Kimani Tirus
