Kenya will enter only three athletes for the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships starting Thursday this week in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
The team will be led by Mountain Running World Cup defending champions Patrick Kipng’eno and Joyce Njeru to the event which ends on November 6.
Philemon Kiriago, who finished second in the just concluded Mountain Running World Cup, has also been included in the Thailand-bound team. Kipng’eno and Njeru won six out of six races with Kiriago finishing second.
According to Athletics Kenya (AK) mountain running coordinator, Peter Angwenyi, the team departed for Thailand on Monday and they are expected back to the country on November 8.
AK president Jack Tuwei challenged the athletes to give it their best and wished them the best. Tuwei said AK will continue developing mountain running.
Kipng’eno, Njeru, and Kiriago assured Tuwei that they will be targeting a podium finish during the four-day event. “We are ready to represent Kenya and our target is to finish within the medal bracket,” said Kiriago.
According to Angwenyi, the three have been entered into two events each. On Friday, they will compete in the 8km vertical uphill while on Sunday, they will take part in the 11km classic up and down for senior athletes.
Angwenyi further said they plan to send a bigger team for next year’s championships planned for June 6-10 in Innsbruck -Stubai, Austria.
He noted that AK plans to have a series of mountain running events in Tinderet, Nandi County, Longonot, and the Mount Kenya Mountain Running championship before the June event.
More than 3,000 athletes from 46 member federations are expected to take part in the four-day festival. It will be the first-ever joint World Mountain and Trail Running Championships.
The biennial action-packed event will feature six categories including vertical uphill race, classic up and down for seniors, classic up and down for juniors, short trail for seniors, and long trail race (75-80kms) for seniors.
The event is organised by the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA), the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU), and the International Trail Running Association (ITRA), supported by World Athletics.
