The 77 Percent: Running to a brighter future

Iten is 2,400 meters above sea level in Kenya's Great Rift Valley. This beautiful area breathes running. Early in the morning athletes are everywhere, warming up their muscles for another day's training. Just outside the town is the running camp where it all started for many of Kenya's top athletes: the St. Patrick's Athletics Youth Program.

Ian, one of the coaches watches as the runners pound the roads around Iten. 800 meter Olympic champion, David Rudisha, and 5,000 meter world champion, Vivian Cheruiyot, learnt their craft here. St Patricks is the oldest training camp for young athletes in Kenya. "They tell me that when training they think about all those greats who made it to the top," explains Ian.

Young people at the training camp live and breath running. They stay in the camp's dormitories and train, eat, wash and pray in the camp. St Patricks was set up by Irish priest, Colm O'Donnell, also known as 'the godfather of Kenyan running,' because of everything he has done to put athletics on the map in Kenya. He established the camp after leaving Ireland over 40 years ago.

Purity Jepchirchir is 17. She realized she was good at running at the age of 12. She hopes to be a 1,500 meter runner like Viola Kibiwot, who comes from her village. Like all the runners here, Purity was selected for the camp during school competitions. "I like training, you become fit and you feel capable of everything," confides Purity.

Laban Kipkemboi is also 17. He believes his parents bestowed him with his running talent; they too are runners. "Training hard brings you discipline. It is hard work and I avoid taking drugs or having relationships with girls in order to become a successful athlete. If I win, I will improve the lives of my brothers and sisters and pay for their school fees."

Like Purity and Laban, most of the young athletes come from poor rural backgrounds. Many see running as a way of improving their own lives and that of their families. Besides running sessions, the program includes yoga, pilates, core strength and plenty of rest and recovery. Brother Colm wants to teach them a bigger lesson than just winning.

"They learn how to focus, how to concentrate, how to be a team member, how to fit into society," explains Brother Colm. Every morning the whole group get together for morning prayers. "I would like to think that the young people at the training camp are not only learning how to become successful atheletes, we also get them to understand how to be realistic about what they can become."

Three times a day the group gathers in the church for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Very necessary fuel. Western athletes follow precise and complex diets set by their own dieticians. But the Kenyan diet is quite adequate for a runner, says Brother Colm. "A rural family diet for Kenyans is ugali [maize porridge], sukuma wiki, a type of spinach, a small amount of meat, fruit, vegetables and milk."

After each training session the young people have time to wash their clothes, take a bath and splash each other with water. They chat, giggle and play, just like any other teenager. The training program in the camp is not just about making people successful athletes but also successful people too. They work through setbacks and disappointments and become stronger.

In 1988, Brother Colm's first athlete became an Olympic champion. Many followed. It assured him that he must be doing something right as a coach, even though he doesn't come from a sporting background himself. "Some coaches, when they have a level of success they move up and concentrate on the professional side but I always kept my interest in working with young people."

While the sun sets behind Iten's rolling green hills, Purity, Laban and the others finish off the last kilometers of the day. Their dreams seem to hover in the air. Their coaches know though that what is important is that their talent and dedication help them in whatever their future career might be. For them, they are all winners, irrespective of success on the track.