After a 40-minute flight from Nairobi to Eldoret and a 30-minute taxi to Iten, I arrived at my home for the next week, the mecca of long-distance training facilities, the High Altitude Training Centre owned and operated by world record holder and distance running legend Lornah Kiplagat.

As I get out of my taxi, I see a steady stream of athletes filing out of the gym, sweat dripping off their toned muscles after just completing a one-hour abdominal workout.

As a casual runner, who hasn’t finished a race in over a year, I immediately start questioning my decision to travel to this small Kenyan town near the Ugandan border, perched high above the Great Rift Valley, believed by many scientists to be the cradle of humankind.

The feeling of inadequacy swept through me quickly, after all my personal best marathon time is 3 hours and 20 minutes, a full 1 hour slower than the majority of athletes here.

But just as fast as that feeling came, it left after a cheerful “Karibu!” This is Swahili for welcome, and was belted at me by the centre’s security guard and a firm handshake and big smile was directed my way by the centre’s administrator, Edwin.

After fuelling up for the next day’s training with a supper of foods full of carbohydrates, I retired to my simple bedroom. It was only 7:30pm but a quiet silence, except for a few crickets chirping, had already set over the centre. It was immediately clear to me that this is a place where the belief that "the early bird gets the worm" rings true and I fell asleep immediately, ready to hit the running trails.

My routine

Attendees at the training centre represent all levels of athletes. Some weeks world champions like Sir Mo Farah and rising stars like Emile Cairess are flying through the trails and dirt roads around town. Other weeks, the majority of the attendees at the facility are casual runners or “weekend warriors” like your correspondent.

Everyone follows their own routine, but for the most part runners rise early and get a run in before breakfast is served from 7:30am to 9am. After breakfast many athletes like to hit the centre’s weightroom. Following lunch, runners typically put in some more miles either on the abundance of trails around town or at one of the two tracks for speed work. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays killer strength and conditioning sessions are held in the gym before dinner.

Recovery from workouts is prioritised, as massages can be arranged at the centre and access is also provided to a sauna.

There’s also ample time throughout the day to squeeze in some work if you need to in the facility’s library. Your correspondent had some of his most productive hours of the year working in the centre’s well-equipped library.

  

Things I learned in Iten:

1.  The importance of routine

Consensus among all athletes at the centre was the necessity of sticking to your routine. I saw the same number of athletes on the trails each day whether it was sunny or raining. There was no shortage of great discussions held during breakfast, lunch or dinner in the cafeteria. But everyone is on a schedule and when it was time to get ready to run, work out or get to sleep the discipline was always there, no matter how deep we were into a debate or how great the belly laughs were.

2. Listen to your body

In the “City of Champions” arguably the most incredible personality in Iten is actually not one of the many world-champions or record holders. It’s legendary coach Brother Colm O’Connell. The Irish missionary came to Kenya in 1976 at the age of 28 to teach geography at St Patrick’s High School. He had planned to stay only three months but has remained in Iten ever since, all the while coaching 25 World Champions, including the likes of David Rudisha and Wilson Kipketer. Arguably Brother Colm’s best attribute as a coach has been his ability to listen to each athlete’s needs and how their body is responding to training and recovery. Borther Colm uses an athlete-centred approach and this is a lesson we can also take – not to try to apply a one-size fits all approach but instead listen to our bodies and rest and recover when it’s clear we need to, rather than plough ahead with keeping to mileage commitments.

3. Back to the basics approach

Sports science has been all the rage in recent years. But distance running in Kenya, arguably the most successful country at this sport in the world, has bucked this trend. Emile Cairess uses merely a Casio watch as he times his runs. The Kamariny track is a dirt track with no lane lines drawn and a stadium that has remained unfinished for years. No sports drinks full of electrolytes (and lots of sugar) are sold in Kenya; instead, athletes in Iten rely more on massages to assist with recovery. And while running shops selling gear are all around Iten, you won’t see any athletes sporting Nike Vaporfly shoes. Indeed, there is no direct correlation between flashy equipment and facilities and performance. In Iten it rings true that it’s the feet in the shoes, not the shoes on the feet, that determine results.

Iten is located at an elevation of 2,400m. Athletes are advised to go easy on their first day as they acclimatise to the altitude. Around a dozen flights per day connect Nairobi with Eldoret, which is 35 km from Iten. A single room with full board costs $64 per night, a shared double room is $48 per night per person. The centre is open year round. As the High Altitude Training Centre attracts elite athletes from around the world, neither alcohol nor cigarettes are allowed on the premises.