From the Deck to the Podium: The Rise and Rise of Long Distance Runner Waithaka Mburu
By Mukurima Muriuki
Kenya is known for its picturesque landscapes, diverse wildlife, Maasai tribes, exclusive coffee, and amazing beaches, but Kenya is also known for producing world class runners. Two months ago, Kenya sent a team to the World Athletics Championships in Oregon, USA which included the youthful Waithaka Mburu who is based in Japan. He was competing in the 10,000 meters, a race so competitive that people believe oxygen gives out before the athletes.
The 10,000 meters race requires athletes to lap the track 25 times. This is a repetitive and relentless exercise that either leads to joy when one wins or misery upon losing. From Kenenisa Bekele’s “Bang from the gun” scorched-earth tactics that burned off most of the world's best, to Paul Tergat’s “let’s slow it down a bit” diplomatic running that duped the world’s best, the history of the 10,000 meters race either at the Olympics or World Championships is fascinating.
A few months ago, in Eugene, Oregon, Kenya’s Waithaka Mburu led a pack of athletes eager to win the coveted world title. As the race went on, Mburu looked strong enough to overtake the others, but there was still a considerable distance to cover. Then, disaster struck. Mburu took a tumble and hit the deck. The collective groans and sighs from the stadium summed it all. Given the punitive nature of the race, most assumed it was all over for the youthful Kenyan sensation. He however, lifted himself up with sheer determination and continued to run his race. He knew that this was his race to win or lose. The capacity crowd in the sunny Eugene Stadium roared as Mburu surged his way towards the leading runners. He was back! This wasn’t new for him — all of his life Mburu had mastered the art of rising from the deck! His painful bloodied knee spurred him on and only amplified his determination. In the penultimate lap, Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei, who was also defending his title, took over the lead which he never relinquished. Mburu finished second to secure Kenya a deserved Silver medal.
Mburu was born in Nyandarua county, in a small village called Raichiri. Born seventh into a family of eleven siblings, life was challenging. He spent most days tending to his father’s livestock. When he wasn’t working for his father, he was cultivating the land for his mother.
It was his older sister who introduced him to running. Mburu was inspired by her as he watched her travel to compete in various parts of the country.
As the youngest and smallest boy in his village, Mburu would think of his sister’s running ability and mimic her as he poached rabbits in the forests. He would then slaughter them and share them with the other boys. He recalled, “Being so young and skinny, I had to work extra hard to keep up with the older boys in order to survive in those thick forests. Sometimes, we would end up trespassing on other people’s land, and the owners would chase us away. By the time I was around 8 years old, I was the fastest among the boys in the neighborhood.”
Destined to compete, Mburu began running in the inter-primary school athletics competition. At the age of 12, he represented his school in the Nyandarua County finals of the 10,000 meters. His goal was to compete and win at the national level. Up to this point, he had no formal training and was running barefoot. As soon as his parents recognized his talent, they made him stop doing his chores and sent him to training camps.
With acuity of hindsight, Mburu reflects on how lack of tactics and equipment made him use unorthodox methods of running and training. For example, he did not know the difference between the cleats worn by soccer players and the spikes used by athletes! It wasn’t strange therefore that on a number of events he competed while wearing soccer shoes. Yet, Mburu is not without company here. In his book “Olympic Hero” one of Kenya’s revered long distance runner Henry Rono narrates how he used to train in military boots, which aggravated a childhoold injury on his ankle, keeping him away from the track for almost a year.
Mburu’s abilities are reminiscent of Nyandarua and Samuel Kamau Wanjiru. The two seem to be cut from the same cloth. Wanjiru went on to win multiple medals including the 2008 Marathon Olympic gold medal in China. At that time, Wanjiru and Jamaican Usain Bolt were the only two athletes in the entire world who were able to command a hefty fee for making an appearance at an athletics meet. Mburu was just a young boy when Wanjiru dominated the marathon. He explained how he met Wanjiru, “I traveled 17 kilometers to Nyahururu town to see Samuel when he had a grand home-coming. He was not just our hero, he had changed people’s perception about making a career out of athletics. People in the village used to talk negatively about running because many of their sons and daughters had tried and failed. With Wanjiru’s star rising, he was someone we could look up to and emulate. “
The English poet, John Donne, once quipped, “No man is an island, entire of itself.” He went on to explain that we are all part of the continent. True to these words, it was the chief in Mburu’s village who recognized his talents and connected him to a man named Kamau, who became his coach. Through that network, Mburu met Mr. Njenga who planned for his journey to Japan where he is currently based.
While In Japan, Mburu related how he “encountered a different world.” “Everything shocked me. It was like I was in a different universe — the food, the language, the infrastructure, the people. I never imagined myself traveling outside of Kenya. So, it was also a mental challenge. Being away from my parents and siblings made me sad, and I struggled for quite a bit. Eventually, I had to adapt and now I am like a “mwenyeji.”
Now that he is based in a country where discipline is emphasized over everything else, Mburu wants to bring glory from the 10,000M race back to Kenya. “I want my name to be stenciled in athletics history books. Right now, we have Eliud Kipchoge whose name is immortalized because of what he has achieved in the marathon. I hope that when I am done with my athletics career, there will be something for which people will remember me.”
Mburu’s journey has not been without challenges. When he falls, he finds a way of getting back up. In 2019, he thought his career was over due to problems with his tonsils. He had to stop running after failing to finish a race. Afterwards, his body temperature was high, and he became extremely weak. He could not stand on his own for 5 minutes. While the doctors were able to heal him, Mburu was not ready for the psychological torture he experienced when his friends abandoned him. “People trashed my career. All of my friends left me because they thought I would never run again. But God did not abandon me. I later went through surgery to remove the tonsils, and I have been working hard since then to chart my own destiny,” he explained.
Mburu’s main focus is on the World Athletics Championships which will be held next year in Budapest, Hungary. The young village boy, with the skinny legs who mimicked his sister while chasing rabbits, is now strong enough to fulfill the hopes of close to 50 million Kenyans by obtaining that elusive gold medal.
