Patrick Kipngeno revealed that familiarity with the course led to his victory at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Innsbruck-Stubai on Wednesday.
Victory allowed Kipngeno to successfully defend the title he won last year as Kenya took the team event ahead of Germany and the United Kingdom.
“I thank God because I retained my title,” said Kipngeno, who trains in Nakuru County.
“The course was very nice, very difficult. I started going hard at 5km. I did the course before so when I was running, I was very confident because I knew all of it. I used to train in Austria. I have a lot of friends in Europe, it’s my second home. I trained very well so I knew I was going to win.”
He shot to the front right from the start, running like a man with little to fear from the inclines ahead. When he got to them, it was clear why.
Kipngeno, who spends much of the year based in Austria, was a class apart and built a considerable advantage, which had grown to 29 seconds at the 3.9km checkpoint, with Uganda’s Levi Kiprotich and Kenya’s Josphat Kiprotich giving chase.
He built a 49-second advantage by 5.9km and by the time he approached the final incline, he had time to have a seat, grab a drink and admire the stunning Alpine views
He hit the line in 40:18, a whopping 1:33 clear of Kiprotich in second, and 1:46 clear of the bronze medallist, Kiprotich.
Kipngeno predicted that Kenya will be a force to reckon with in Mountain Running.
“Every year we are getting better,” he said. “In Thailand we were three (on the Kenyan team), now we are coming with seven and every year we are increasing the number of athletes" Kipngeno finalised.
