Kenya Defence Forces' Purity Komen admits she did not expect an easy time on her way to clinching the women's 10,000m at Friday's third leg of Athletics Kenya Track and Field Weekend Meeting at Nyayo Stadium.
The Corrida de Villejuif 10km champion took control of the race at the midway point and held on to the lead despite the best efforts of Southern's Agnes Mumbua to catch up.
Komen timed 32:33.81 as Mumbua — who won 5,000m at the first leg of the weekend meeting — and Emily Chebet finished second and third in 33:10.43 and 33:26.69.
"That (taking control of the race halfway) was not the tactic I had in mind. I saw there was nobody strong enough and the pace was quite slow so I decided to spice things up. It's great considering this was my first local race this year," Komen, who boasts a personal best of 16:44.26, said.
Coming almost a month after she won the Mitja Marató de Granollers Half Marathon in Granollers, Spain, Komen believes the time is ripe for her to represent the country at major international assignments.
The 24-year-old has her eyes trained on this year's Commonwealth Games and the World Championships in Birmingham and Oregon respectively.
"I am now waiting for the KDF championships in April where I will be competing in the 5,000m. I also want to compete at the trials so I can fight for a ticket to either the Commonwealth or the World Championships. I would appreciate a chance to represent my country in either of the two," Komen, who trains in Iten, said.
At the same time, National Police Service's Eglay Nalyanya feels bullish heading into the World Indoor Championship in Belgrade, Serbia on March 18-20 after working on her endurance.
The Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais 800m runner-up was competing in the women's 400m at Nyayo Stadium and admits she has never been in better shape.
"Today's race went well...so far, so good. My objective here was not the results but to test my endurance and speed. That's why I deviated from the usual 800m and ran in 400m," Nalyanya said.
The 25-year-old has now set her sights on improving on her speedwork in the two-lap race, which she says has cost her a lot in past events.
The two-day weekend meeting, initially scheduled for Embu, continues on Saturday with more finals on the cards.
