Former Africa Cross Country champion Alice Aprot is targeting a spot in national cross country team to represent the country at the Africa Cross Country Championship in Lome, Togo in May.
Aprot, who has been on a six-month maternity leave, will be making a comeback at this Saturday's Kenya Prisons Cross Country Championship at the Prisons Staff Training College in Ruiru.
“I can’t say much now because I have been on maternity leave for long and my return to the scene won’t be easy. My comeback will obviously be tested since majority of my competitors have been training for long,” said the 2015 All Africa Games 5,000m bronze medalist.
The Kericho-based prison warden admitted she has struggled to cut her weight after a significant period of inactivity.
“It has not been easy for me to cut weight. But I have to run for my employer because competing for Prison Service is the best thing ever,” added the 2016 Africa 10,000m champion.
Aprot, a sibling to former world cross country champion Joseph Ebuya, won the Kenya Prison Service cross country titles in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
She will competing alongside Celliphine Chespol, Loice Chemining, Sandra Chebet, Lilian Kasait, Rosemary Wanjiru and Abigael Chelangat among others.
Also targeting a place in the national cross country team is the 2016 Africa 10,000m silver medalist Wilfred Kimitei.
“Right now, I am travelling to Nairobi to try and I hope to give it my best shot. My target right now is to run well and represent the country at the world stage. I have only won the track events and I want to try out cross country," he said.
He will be up against former Africa cross country champion Charles Yosei Mneria, Emmanuel Ngatuny, Peter Emase, Thomas Longosiwa and Mangata Ndiwa among others.
Meanwhile, Kenya Prisons athletics coach Gideon Chirchir hopes that his athletes will form the bulk of the team that will represent the country in Lome.
Chirchir said this Saturday's meet affords him the chance to assess athletes' preparedness for the national cross country championships to be held in Kisii.
"We have prepared well despite the challenges posed by Covid-19. This Saturday is an opportunity for us to identify any areas that we still need to polish ahead of the national championship," Chirchir said.
He exalted the various cross country events that have been held last year as the perfect tonic for athletes' preparations for the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics.
"Somehow, the pandemic was a blessing for many athletes because it gave them the chance to improve on their fitness and endurance. I expect that by the time the team to the Olympics will be selected, most athletes will be in peak condition and the competition for places will be tough," he said.
The cross country event on Saturday brings together ten regions, which will be vying to wrestle the overall prisons title from the Prisons Staff Training College who clinched the title last year.
The meet also brings together who-is-who in Kenyan athletics including World 1500m champion Timothy Cheruiyot, World under-17 800m champion Jackline Wambui, former World marathon champion Luke Kibet and the 2016 Olympics 800m bronze medalist Margaret Nyairera.
These athletes — and many others — will be competing for top honours across three main race categories: 10km seniors (men and women) and the 4x2km mixed relays.
