Why US-based Kenyan runner chose to train in Kenya for New York City Marathon debut

US-based Kenyan runner Edward Cheserek was eagerly waiting to make his marathon debut at the New York City Marathon and he chose to sharpen his talons in Kenya.

Cheserek, a 17-time National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) champion, observed that training in Kenya would be perfect for him since he will get a chance to train with great marathoners. He revealed that in the US, he would train alone and there would be no morale for him to keep going.

The 29-year-old disclosed that he trained with the current world marathon record holder Kelvin Kiptum among other great marathoners and he was able to enjoy the sessions.

“I had a lot of people to run with in Kenya unlike when I was in Flagstar and there was no one I could train with. There were different people and everyone was going in their own direction.

"Marathon training requires a lot of workouts that I couldn’t handle by myself so I chose to go to Kenya because I had a lot of people whom I could ask to join me during my workouts.

"Marathon training is fun when you run with marathoners but when training alone it’s not easy. I trained with a lot of marathoners including Kelvin Kiptum,” he explained.

Cheserek went ahead and finished eighth in 2:11:07 at the New York City Marathon, an impressive finish for a debut.

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He added that they spent most of their time training at the Kipchoge Keino Stadium since it was close to where he stays in Kenya. Cheserek explained that he was still working remotely with his long-term Coach Andy Powell.

“Working remotely with him has been going on well because I’m an easy athlete and as long as I have my workout plan, I can just do everything. We check in a couple of days a week,” he explained.