The difficult arrival of Kenyans to mountain races: "Racism, I don't know; suspicion for sure"

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Behind

, four men.

The four with the same uniform, short black mesh and red tank top.

All four with the same build, very, very thin, something unusual in the mountains.

And the four from Kenya.

They were

, members of Sky Runners Kenya, some pioneers.

In the best marathon in the world, the Zegama-Aizkorri, held last Sunday in Guipúzcoa, the four Kenyans broke the wall that historically separated them from mountain races.

Despite the technical terrain and despite competing against the best in history, they were ahead in the first climbs, finishing fifth, ninth and twelfth -Narry retired- and they pointed the way.

They will end up ruling in the mountains as they rule on the asphalt.

The only question is when.

Because for African runners to take to the mountains, one thing is needed, money, and at the moment it does not appear.

The Spanish coach

, his trainer, his representative and his patron: "This week the team has signed its first sponsor, Crown, a sports supplement, but right now none of the four athletes has a main sponsor. Casa Africa has helped us with the flights and some brands They have given us material, like Salomon, but for the next races I still have to put in my savings".

The lack of proposals for the four Kenyans, despite their results, has even sparked a debate about racism in trail running that is difficult to conclude.

"Racism, I don't know. Mistrust, for sure," says Pérez, from whom the idea of ​​attracting African runners to a booming specialty like trail running came from.

"In 2020, during the lockdown, Kilian Jornet tried several road races, asphalt races, and the opposite question occurred to me: How could Kenyan athletes adapt to mountain races? Pulling my money, I set up a campus in Iten, the town of so many Olympic champions, and from it came several athletes interested in being trained, in being helped. Today a dozen make up the team. Most are young, who have marks of 1:03 hours or 1: 04 hours in a half marathon; marks that in Spain could be of great use to them, but in Kenya they are of no use", recalls Pérez, who saw his project take off last year.

"neither drink nor eat"

Kimtai, one of those present last Sunday in Zegama, then debuted with a second place in the Transgrancanaria marathon and then also climbed to the podium of the Gorbeia Suzien and the Ultra Pirineu marathon.

It was a splendid start, although in those races the defects that this year have been confirmed by the rest of the African athletes were already discovered.

"The main handicap they have in the mountains is that they neither drink nor eat. They are used to distances up to the asphalt marathon, which they do in just over two hours, and on the trail they must run more or less twice as long. It is very difficult to follow the hydration and nutrition plan: I would say that in the Zegama they drank at most half a liter of water in almost four hours of testing," explains Pérez, who also admits that few tactics.

In all the tests they have contested, the four Kenyans have come out to win from the first kilometer, not counting if they are ahead, for example, more than 3,000 of positive gradient.

"Then they also lack technique in the descents, of course, although they are not as bad as people think. They must learn, but to finish fifth in the Zegama you have to know how to descend," Pérez analyzes.

These days the Kenyans have stayed between the Basque Country and Navarra, where they attended an Osasuna match, got to know the sea at La Concha beach in San Sebastián and were invited to various gastronomic societies and will soon be running again.

Two of them, Pkemboi and Kiptanui, will be this Sunday at the T3T, the Tolosa mountain marathon, and next Sunday the 26th at the Marathon du Mont-Blanc.

If they manage to finish in the top 10, they will probably continue to compete for Europe this summer.

If they fail and cannot find a sponsor, they will have to return to coaching their country.

His future in mountain racing is still uncertain, but his legacy is already indelible.

The Kenyans will end up ruling in the mountains as they rule on the asphalt.

The only question is when.

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