National athletics coach Julius Kirwa has blamed road races for Kenya’s dip in the 10,000m performance in the the country.
Kirwa spoke as Kenya athletes failed to live up to expectations in the 25-lap race here in Rabat. Edwin Soi was placed fourth after clocking 27:56.81 in a race won by Ethiopian Berehanu Tsegu in 27:05.70
Kirwa said most athletes had switched to the road races and only opt to run the 10,000m when it best suits them. He said kids as young as 20 years had been lured into road races due to money factor.“ The fact that the 25-lap race is never featured in Diamond League has prompted most runners to shift to the road races for the sake of the money,” he said
The tactician said the future of the country in road races is a risk if this trend has to continue. “Kids must gradually mature into road races. Engaging the roads at the age of 20 years is tantamount to killing your career,” he noted.
He said the 10,000m had become a sprint and there was no way one can combine the roads and the event.
He said as the coach, he is very concerned with the rate at which athletes are shifting to the roads. “It’s one thing to look for money and it is quite another to safeguard your career,” he warned the young athletes venturing into the road at an early age.
He asked them to borrow a leaf from the likes of Eliud Kipchoge who underwent full cycle on track before switching to the roads and now he is a successful marathoner who is not only running but seeking to make history.
He said moving forward, the trend will have to change or ‘we pay heavily as a country.’He said Kenyans can not compare themselves to the Ethiopians who have been in camp for the past two months. “ I know some of the Ethiopian runners are going straight back in camp from here to prepare for the World Championships.
We need to control the races our athletes are partaking if we are to save the event as a country.He said a clinic to discuss the 25 lap race would go a long way in saving the situation.
