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Cross-country
athlete runs ‘cross the world’ Coming to America from Kenya was something senior Glady’s Keitany never considered doing. But the way she got here was even more surprising. Figuratively speaking, she ran. When Keitany was 13 years old, she participated in Kenya’s national 3,000-meter race for all eighth graders. She won first place. “I had never run before, so I had no idea that I would do so well,” Keitany said. Keitany’s first-place honors not only helped her discover a passion for running, but also financed her high school education. Following the meet, she said, the Kenyan government paid for her to attend Kipsoen Secondary School in her hometown of Iten.
Keitany said most Kenyans don’t aspire to continue into high school because it is too expensive, and it’s not a big part of the culture. “Running is a way of life for most Kenyans,” she said. “Most people do not go to high school. They just go on to run for their country in international events and get money for it.” In 1994, Keitany received a silver medal in the World Junior Cross Country Competition in Durham, England. She then traveled to Lisbon, Portugal, in 1996 for the World Junior Track and Field Competition and received a bronze medal in the 5,000 meters.
Keitany said she was born third in line after two older brothers,
one who currently runs competitively for Kenya. Born into a polygamous family of nine children, Keitany is third behind her mother’s two older sons and sixth to her father behind three other brothers from her father’s first wife. Keitany said although her experiences were different, they are a part of who she is. “My father has been my inspiration because he has always shown such an interest in my life,” Keitany said. “One day, I asked him to wake me up at six the next morning so I could run, and ever since that day, he continued to wake me up at six to run because he was excited for me and wanted me to do well.” Even though her father has been her inspiration, it is hard for Keitany to contact her family.
She said she has to schedule a time to call her family every couple
of months because they do not have a phone. Keitany has not seen her family since December 1999, but she said she wants to try to visit every two years. She came from a poor farming community, where families divide their lands between the products the family will use and the products to be sold. “My parents have always been unemployed, but we used what we farmed on our land -- it’s a way of life in our community,” Keitany said. Dan Waters, head coach of the TCU cross country team, contacted Keitany in 1998 and offered her an athletic scholarship.
Although Keitany was offered a scholarship to attend TCU and she always wanted an education, she said leaving Africa was difficult. “It was very hard to get a visa and a ticket, but I arrived here three months after he contacted me,” Keitany said. She didn’t know how she would pay for a flight to Texas, so she contacted a couple from Kenya that she had been friends with since her international running competitions. “I just called them on Friday and said I had to be in Texas on Sunday, and they bought a ticket for me,” she said. Keitany said the culture shock she experienced set her back the first semester. But after the summer passed, things began to fall into place. Friends were made, and she felt more comfortable and was ready to run. “It was so different, but I got involved in a group for international students, and they became the people I spent time with,” Keitany said. “ Things got better with that.” Waters said her work ethic and the confidence she exudes has been a great advantage for the team. “She came over here with a goal, and it’s apparent because the team always counts on her to be a first-, second-, or third-place setter at the meets,” Waters said. “She’s the backbone of the team, as far as confidence goes, and she’s also the pace-setter. At practice, she’s always up at the front, and everyone is trying to catch up.” Fellow distance runner and friend Herbert Mwangi, also from Kenya, said they train together, and when they are not training, they are studying and researching for their premed classes. When asked for his opinion about Keitany’s life, particularly her running and studying habits, Mwangi laughed and said she needs to concentrate more. Keitany doesn’t discount the importance of her education in relation to being an athlete. “Running and going to school have always been so important to me,” Keitany said. “I couldn’t have one without the other -- it’s my balance.” Keitany plans to go to medical school after she graduates next May. Even
though she didn’t plan to come to America, Keitany wants to
use the education she gained here back in Kenya.
Jennifer Koesling |
