KELVIN KIPTUM

BORN TO RUN (1999-2024)

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He was born to run… and so was she. But who is she? You must be wondering. You will discover this, shortly.? As a Nation collectively mourns a fallen hero, Kelvin Kiptum Cheruiyot is with is no more. His bell has finally rung its last… “TUM! TUM! TUM!” Kelvin will rise no more in the wee hours of the morning to chase his unending dreams.? He died young, at 24 years most people haven’t even begun to live.? Many are just marking time trying to figure life out and yet Kiptum had lived his life a hundred times over.? Pounding the hills of Chepkorio with Gervais Hakizimana his Rwandese Coach who also lost his life in the same tragic accident that dimmed Kiptum’s rising star. He was a man on a mission.?

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Kiptum’s death has hit the running fraternity hard.? He was the future King in waiting, but now we are left wondering what next.? Kelvin leaves behind a widow and 2 young children. What shocking news this must be for them.? One moment Daddy was all set to conquer the world by attempting to run below 2 hours at the Rotterdam Marathon and yet now we stare discombobulated at the magnitude of this loss.? His Olympic dream debut was scattered to ashes… what is this life? How does one navigate such tragedy? I struggle to imagine what manner of comfort I would issue to ease her pain or soothe the grieving children who will never see their father again.? I pray for their peace.?

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My nephew Eugene is 24 having just graduated as a chef, he is trying to figure out life. My son Andrew is 18 a budding young man ready to fulfill a music career. University beckons for him; he wants to go to Berkley School of Music in Boston. I cannot for the life of me imagine having to bury any of them. But since we all must meet our maker… at some point, all parents wish that they never suffer the pain of having to bury their children.? Kiptum is now survived by his wife, his two children, and his parents.? Cheruiyot his father has had to contemplate his FINAL Goodbye. His Mother could not handle the news and immediately passed out on hearing that her son was no more.? The morning of the 12th of February, 2024 was a dark day in their lives.? His wife Asenath Jeruto remains inconsolable.? What words would ease the pain of that gaping wound?? Of such joy and hope removed from this earth in a flash? I do not have the consoling words to ease her pain but I pray that The Lord My God who is Father to the Fatherless and Husband to the Widows, will show himself faithful during this difficult time.? May His grace be sufficient for the Cheruiyot family.?

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TUM! TUM! TUM! Like the beat of a hollow drum, his name rings empty for there is no answer to our last call.? Kiptum lies in repose and will rise no more.? But we are here… we are now his kin. Especially those that were his running family.? A fraternity, a brotherhood born and bred on the track and now struggling with the magnitude of this tragic event There are many of that grouping for whom this story will feel like a nightmare without end.? I on the other hand may be grieved by this unfortunate loss but I choose life over death even as I recognize that we all must die. Our mortality is not in doubt. We will all have to dance our last when our bell tolls.? But in the meantime, I ask, “How will we live?”

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In the year 2000, a young Asian lady returned home to Kenya after a time abroad.? She barely knew anyone anymore; people had moved on while she had been away doing her life.? And right there, a new marathon journey for Avani Patel began.? I went to school with this remarkable woman over 30 years ago. She is now a wife, a mother of two girls, and a dedicated distance runner with the Urban Swaras Running Club (USRC) She is “kin” to Kelvin Kiptum, through a running brotherhood. That new family forged on the roads of Chepkorio, Kaptagat, and Nairobi, pounding tarmac in a bid to achieve a new PB. Or just merely to have some fun.? She must survive him, they all must. This running crew for whom this loss cuts very deep.? Kiptum may have been on this earth for a short period but he lived a full and vibrant life. At 13 years old he had run his first half marathon. There were stars in his eyes.? He was single-minded and passionate about his journey to be great.? For a long time, he ran his training regime, without a coaching repertoire.? He only engaged his late coach Gervais in 2020. He wasn’t asking permission, he wasn’t sitting and waiting for anyone to usher him in. He had reached in and claimed his birthright with lightning feet, flying across the earth… even seeming to fly.?

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Avani is no different. She mourns Kiptum as her cohort of runners across Kenya and the world do the same.? In her own words, she says that his passing has made her ask questions about her life. Why would God take such a young soul? This feels like a bad dream. But alas it is not.? Avani’s plight is similar to many of our own, we question life when the math doesn’t add up or the logic problem will not resolve as it should.? This seems like one of those, why him and why now?? Could not the Good Lord have used Kelvin Kiptum to showcase the exceptional greatness of his divine creation? We are left to wonder what could have been.? Had he run in Rotterdam, would he have broken the 2-hour barrier? What about his Olympic journey, where a juicy head-to-head with “King Eliud Kipchoge” was a highly anticipated and mouth-watering matchup?? I suppose, we will now never know.? But what is not in question is this; Kiptum’s exploits have inspired many and like Avani, they are still out here running.?

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Avani has been running since 2007 when she ventured out on a 5 km run in Parklands, which then graduated to a 10 km at the Dettol Heart Run and soon after her first Half Marathon in the blazing sun of the Sotokoto Marathon. Her story then takes grandiose proportions when she is introduced to the Urban Swaras by Jael Amara – At USRC she found a running family of peers.? She moved up to the full marathon distance in 2013 by running one of the hardest marathons around; Safaricom’s Lewa. The dry dusty track in Laikipia is no joke. After 22km out there and running on her own, all she can remember now is how surreal it was to be at one with nature.? The little “Mhindi” girl as she likes to call herself had made it with her Jua Kali training.? She chalks this down to her mother having been born in Eldoret.? And there it is, the magic secret sauce. She has the correct bloodlines… ???

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In 2 years from April 2017 to April 2019, Avani completed the 6 Marathon Majors making her the 1st Kenyan-Indian, 3rd female, and 8th overall Kenyan to achieve this. Approximately 6,100 people in the world have completed the Majors. She lives in fine company.? Kelvin Kiptum was doing the same, burning up the tracks in Portugal, Valencia, and France as he set personal PBs over and over. She was in London last year when Kelvin Kiptum officially put the world on notice and then In Chicago when he smashed Eliud Kipchoge’s World Marathon Record. Not spectating, but running, running, running to the beat of her drum, just like Kiptum did.?

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So, the question about our mortality isn’t if we are ready to die. No one will tell you they ever are. This continuous dance with death haunts us all but it must not stop us from living in the meantime.? Live fully, live freely. Just like Kelvin Kiptum did.? When I played rugby in my youthful days, my coach would say to me. Leave it all out there. Because, even if you lose, it will be ok… for you will have done your utmost for the mostest.? Forgive my Kenyanese parlance… after all, it is my story to write as I see fit ??

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As we bid farewell to Kelvin Kiptum, our fallen brother; our son; our friend, and commiserate with his widow and grieving parents.? We are squarely reminded of our mortality. But to you I say this; find your rhythm and run your race at your own pace fully giving yourself to your purpose and I kid you not, everything will be just fine when the final bell tolls.? Kiptum has run his race, he has kept the faith and finished well.? We may not be ready to let him go, but God is ready to receive him.?

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TUM! TUM! TUM! Go well champ! We, your running kin will continue to carry your light out into the world.? For we are all “BORN TO RUN!”? So run my good friends… and let your light shine.? ?

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PS. Story credits go to Kelvin Kiptum, who inspired this article (RIP) Avani Patel, The Urban Swaras Running Club (USRC), and my vivid imagination. Editorial support was provided by my learned friend Hannah Gitonga-Mwangi and Ciiru Chesaina who acted as my sounding board for this piece.?