Philemon Ombogo Kiriago of Kenya is simply 22 years outdated, and already he’s one among path operating and mountain operating’s high performers, having lately pushed Kilian Jornet to a dash end on the 2024 Sierre-Zinal, the place he completed second, having gained the 2023 version.

He’s approaching the shut of a busy season, the place he contested concurrently the World Mountain Working Affiliation World Cup and the Golden Path World Sequence. We caught up with him to search out out a little bit about his coaching and background, and his plans for an enormous future within the sport.

Philemon Ombogo Kiriago, the 2023 Sierre-Zinal males’s winner. Photograph: World Mountain Working Affiliation/Marco Gulberti

Philemon Ombogo Kiriago grew up within the city of Kisii, about 70 miles from Kericho, in Western Kenya. His first foray into sport as a teen was enjoying handball. He mentioned, “I used to be attempting to see the place my expertise was. I performed handball at school, however I didn’t do very properly at it, so I began operating 800 meters and 5,000 meters.”

Ombogo Kiriago discovered his area of interest in cross-country operating for a time, earlier than answering the decision of the mountains. He mentioned, “After becoming a member of Run2gether, I heard that there’s something that folks name mountain operating. I attempted it in Kenya at our camp and I discovered I used to be doing higher at it. Our coaches gave me good motivation, so I began to give attention to mountain operating.”

Run2gether is a cross-cultural operating membership that was began in 2007, when an Austrian athletics group from Fürstenfeld and a Kenyan operating membership, Bushtrekkers Kenya, determined to kind a partnership. They fashioned an change system, the place runners from Austria would journey to Kenya to stay and practice with native runners — and vice versa. By way of the partnership, runners from each side have had the chance to study and turn out to be immersed within the different’s tradition, and profit from their totally different types of coaching and racing.

Kenyan and Austrian athletes at a Run2gether coaching camp. Photograph: Run2gether

At the moment a number of of Kenya’s high mountain runners practice below the Run2gether umbrella, with a coaching camp in Austria the place they’ll stay and practice to organize for the summer time season, whereas coaching over the winter at house in Kenya. In addition to Ombogo Kiriago, the athlete roster additionally consists of Patrick Kipngeno, Josphat Kiprotich, Gloria Chebet, and Philaries Jeruto Kisang. The not-for-profit group additionally has an academy for promising younger runners, to nurture the operating expertise of tomorrow.

After becoming a member of Run2gether in 2021, Ombogo Kiriago was taken below the wing of Austrian coach Thomas Krejci, who launched him to European mountain operating, and the next 12 months he was able to dive straight into competing on the highest stage.

He started his 2022 racing marketing campaign by contesting the Grossglockner Berglauf mountain race in Austria, the place he positioned second behind his teammate and compatriot, Kipngeno. The pair repeated their first and second placings at each the Montée du Nid d’Aigle and Giir Di Mont Uphill races that 12 months, with Kipngeno popping out on high on every event.

The 2022 Grossglockner Berglauf males’s podium: (l-to-r) 3. Petro Mamu, 1. Patrick Kipngeno, 2. Philemon Ombogo Kiriago. Photograph: World Mountain Working Affiliation/Marco Gulberti

Subsequent for Ombogo Kiriago, he positioned fifth in his Sierre-Zinal debut, on the 2022 version of the race that will go on to be a defining a part of his story. After taking two extra podium spots on the 2022 Canfranc-Canfranc Traditional and Vertical Kilometer, Ombogo Kirago closed out a stellar 12 months by taking a well-recognized second place behind Kipngeno on the 2022 World Mountain Working Championships Uphill race in Thailand.

On the 2023 World Mountain Working Championships in Austria, simply seven months later, he once more took second within the Up and Down race, this time to Leonard Chemutai of Uganda.

Philemon Ombogo Kiriago of Kenya finishes the 2023 World Mountain Working Championships Up and Down race in second place Photograph: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks

After so many runner-up finishes, Ombogo Kiriago’s breakthrough win was an enormous one — and fittingly happened on his twenty first birthday — the 2023 Sierre-Zinal. An untouchable climber, Kipngeno led the race to its excessive level, however Ombogo Kiriago put time on him as soon as the course flattened out, and on the descent. Ombogo Kiriago finally completed first in 2:27:27, three minutes and 20 seconds away from Kipngeno in second.

He mentioned, “At Sierre-Zinal, I ran the very best races of my life. It made me identified all around the world. This race actually exhibits how sturdy you might be in mountain operating.”

For 2024, Ombogo Kiriago has been busy, contesting each the World Mountain Working Affiliation (WMRA) World Cup and the Golden Path World Sequence. He’s at present ranked second in WMRA World Cup standings, with Run2gether athletes accounting for 5 of the highest six positions within the males’s WMRA World Cup ranks. He credit the group and the crew environment along with his success, saying, “I practice with them each time … you want a bunch to assist you.”

Athletes high-five on the finish of a Run2gether coaching session. Photograph: Run2gether

In coaching, Ombogo Kiriago racks up 180 to 200 kilometers per week. Maybe in distinction to a variety of European and American mountain runners, for Ombogo Kiriago and his teammates, mountain runners and street runners practice side-by-side. Through the early a part of the 12 months, whereas laying the muse for the season forward, he follows the identical coaching because the street runners. Simply two months out from racing, he switches up his coaching to be extra mountain-specific, however added, “I do one sturdy pace session with the street runners each week.”

He mentioned there was “no time for restoration from after we begin racing, solely after the tip of the season. After finals we may have one race in Kenya, then restoration till subsequent June.” Nonetheless, throughout his restoration interval, he’ll proceed to run as much as 20 kilometers per day, however at a decrease depth.

Ombogo Kiriago’s 2024 season began with Siguniang Mountain Yunjianhuajing 22k in China in late April, the place he positioned fourth; adopted by second within the Montemuro Vertical Run, as a part of the WMRA World Cup; and fifth within the 2024 Montée du Nid d’Aigle.

Then as soon as once more, Sierre-Zinal positioned him again within the highlight, when he made a memorable late-stage problem on Jornet, narrowly dropping out on the win, however coming in only one second over Jornet’s prior course file for the third quickest Sierre-Zinal end of all time.

He mentioned, “This 12 months it was nice. I had taken my time coaching in Europe. Our camp in Austria is an efficient place to coach earlier than going to run Sierre-Zinal, it could possibly get you in good condition. I wasn’t anticipating to run that properly, however solely good coaching could make good operating.” Ombogo Kiriago additionally locations significance on “a powerful mindset in each run and each race.”

Kilian Jornet and Philemon Ombogo Kiriago embrace on the end of the 2024 Sierre-Zinal, the place they took first and second. Photograph: World Mountain Working Affiliation/Marco Gulberti

Following Sierre-Zinal, the Golden Path World Sequence took Ombogo Kiriago to the U.S., the place he contested each the Headlands 27k and the Mammoth Path Fest 26k. At Headlands, Ombogo Kiriago once more discovered himself in a dash end, this time contesting Elhousine Elazzaoui of Morocco, having left each Kipngeno and Swiss runner Rémi Bonnet behind. Ultimately, Elazzaoui gained by the narrowest of margins.

Ombogo Kiriago mentioned after, “The race was very quick. I had a very good tempo and led the group from the beginning till the final downhill when Elhousine overtook me. He was the strongest and I’m very completely happy to complete on the rostrum of this loopy race.”

At Mammoth, Elazzaoui once more took the win, whereas Ombogo Kiriago took third, whereas appearing as pacemaker for Kipngeno, who completed second. He mentioned after, “I needed to set a blistering tempo on the flat to exhaust the others in order that Patrick may push within the climb. That was as we speak’s plan, even when I needed to stand apart afterward. It virtually labored, however we’ll must push even tougher within the last if we wish to win!”

Maybe it’s, to some extent, the ingredient of teamwork that Run2gether athletes convey to an in any other case particular person sport that offers them a aggressive edge.

Wanting forward, once I requested Ombogo Kiriago if he could be enthusiastic about stepping as much as extremely distances in some unspecified time in the future, he mentioned, “I do look ahead to operating longer distances within the coming years, as a result of I really feel I’m higher at longer distances.”

However extra instantly, he’ll conclude his 2024 season with the WMRA World Cup Remaining, in Italy in mid-October; adopted by the 2024 Golden Path World Sequence Grand Remaining, to be held within the Swiss area of Ascona-Locarno in late October. We are able to’t watch for the following a part of his story.

Name for Feedback

• Have you ever been following Philemon Ombogo Kiriago’s ascendant profession?
• Would you wish to see him run an extremely sometime?