It is 11 O’clock in the morning and Vincent Kipsang Rono is relaxing outside his newly built house in the outskirts of Litein town after a routine exercise.

From the looks of things, athletics has transformed his life – from living complete penury a few years ago to one of comfort today.

Yet for Rono, luck was at play. Despite the fact that he had passion for athletics since childhood, he did not understand its value in one’s life. It was just for fun for him and his friends.  

But when he realised that he had talent, he plunged into it like never before.

He now basks in glory after his fortunes changed and  vows not to look back so long as he is still reaping benefits.

Rono was twice forced to drop out of school in Standard Eight due to lack of school fees but he has no regrets.

He is full of praise for his parents who, after realizing that their son loved sports,  encouraged him to perfect it.

“Since I was young I always loved athletics. I was active in sports and later I identified and pursued the talent. But first I had no idea that sports is a gainful activity like any other but now I know it,” Rono states.

Whenever there were major athletics events across the world, he would go to neighbours’ homes just to catch the events live on television because his parents did not have one.

Rono reveals he was inspired by 3,000m steeplechase champions Ezekiel Kemboi, Brimin Kipruto and Paul Kipsiele Koech who swept the 2004 Athens Olympics. 

With the encouragement of his parents, he started training on his own and this bore results as he used to win middle and long distance races while in primary school up to the then provincial level.

He sat for his KCPE examination in 2000 but could not join secondary school due to lack of school fees.

He once again sat for KCPE in 2005 but still could not get a well-wisher to sponsor him to pursue his education.

However, his teachers at Mombwo and Cheplanget primary schools in Bureti who had discovered Rono was a talented athlete also encouraged him to pursue the sport.

Life was not a bed of roses for Rono between 2004 and 2006 as he  turned to casual labour to get a few coins to support him, and to some extent, his parents.

He would split wood for firewood besides being employed at a small brick making business where he used to earn about Sh100 per day.

As 2006 was ending, he heard of Tamason Athletics Training camp in Litein town and decided to visit the camp to learn a few things concerning the sport, just for fun. 

“I woke up one morning and just gathered courage and walked close to 10km to the camp from my village, Cheribo, to see what was taking place there,” he reveals.

The then camp coach Geoffrey Chumo welcomed the young man and after a few days, discovered that he was a talented athlete and started helping him hone his skills. He is still Rono’s coach to date.

Spread investment

The athlete says he would beat some athletes who had competed in big events outside the country yet he had not trained well saying this catapulted him to move to the next level in his nascent career.

 Rono, 30, would later participate in his first ever major athletics event at the Nyahururu cross country championships in 2008 where he won the 8km junior men’s race, earning Sh20,000, his first ever prize money.

“I used the event as my launching pad in serious athletics and I vowed to take it as my career ,” he says.

The father of three has served as pacemaker for a number of elite athletes including the fastest man to run a marathon in less than two hours, Eliud Kipchoge, United Kingdom’s Mo Farah and American Bernard Lang’at between 2010 and 2016. He has also competed in many marathons around the globe. 

He saved the money he earned and invested in real estate in Litein town from which he currently pockets over Sh100,000 monthly. He plans to spread his investments to other major towns.