One day, when I was in class three, I woke up just like any other day, prepared and went to school. That would be the last day I walked out of my parent’s house, and for the next five years, I became a street boy.

We lived in abject poverty, and my parents couldn’t afford to feed 12 children, so paying school fees was a tall order. When I left home, no one bothered to look for me; they told people I got lost.  I guess I was one less mouth to try and feed. But life on the streets was too tough, so I went back home in 2016.

I started running in 2018. I was fascinated by it. I loved it. But I never thought that I could be a runner, not in my wildest imagination. In primary school, when the other kids were running, I would follow them during their training sessions and run with them.

Now that I look back, I guess I was preparing myself because, in class 8, I participated in the Kapsabet Regionals competitions, won, and got a high school sports scholarship. It wasn’t until I got to Form 1 in 2020 that I started taking running seriously and joined other runners in group training.

I wasn’t always confident in myself or my ability, not even when I won a gold medal in the 2021 World Under-20 Championships. Even now, I still think mine was just raw talent. But the strange thing is, other people believed in me.

But setting a good time, 1:43.76, made me start believing in myself. It made me realise that if I trained well, I could make it as a senior athlete.

Back when I was still in Form 1, I didn’t know much about athletics training. I would just run. I remember clocking in at 1.49, my best time. It was then that coach Lelei approached me and told me about a training camp I could join.

Coach Lelei and former 800m women’s world champion Janeth Jepkosgei introduced me to Claudio Berardelli. Claudio has coached and moulded seasoned athletes like Janeth, Eunice Sum, Wilfred Bungei, and Alfred Kirwa. So, I believed that if he trained them and they became champions and won gold in the Olympics, he could do the same for me.

The naysayers

When I started running, there were so many people who said I wouldn’t make it as an athlete. But instead of listening to the naysayers, I focused on myself. People in my village thought I had lost my mind, but I knew what I was doing. Had I listened to those negative comments, who knows where I would be today? People are good at trolling and discouraging you from following your dreams, but I just kept training. Now everyone at home sees that I made it. I have motivated many young people to see that athletics is not just for a particular tribe. Everyone can run; you just need to train if you have the talent.

It feels good to be an inspiration. I now feel good about my self-drive, my hard work and how far God has brought me because I grew up in poverty. There was barely enough food in our home to feed all 12 of us, so I used to run as an escape to literally get away from problems at home.

Going back to primary school was tough because I had been away for five years and didn’t know where to start. So, I joined class seven and immediately made training part of my routine. I would train early in the morning before classes began, and in the evening, I would rush home, change, and go back to train.

I was so committed and disciplined that I stayed in school to train, even during school holidays. Part of the reason was that I didn’t want to stress my mother about pocket money or any of the basics I needed. People at home thought I was working as a herder, but I was in school.

I kept training all through high school. I was lucky enough to get support from my high school principal: He made sure I had food to eat and paid my fees so that I could focus on training. My aim was to make the World Under 20 team and the Kenyan team.

In the end, I won gold, made the team, moved to the senior level, and I got the best coach.

I have achieved significant success because of athletics, and I’m thankful for this God-given talent because it allows me to take care of my family. Because of that success, I made sure my mum came back home (she left when I was in class seven). I bought her a shamba and built a house, and she now lives comfortably with my siblings. The younger ones are back at school, and they don’t have to worry about school fees.

I just wish my dad was here to see the man I’ve become today and all I’ve accomplished. One of my fondest memories of him was when I was in class 7, in the third term. My dad, who had never come to my primary school, showed up and gave me KSh300 to buy running shoes over the fence.

Unfortunately, it’s also a bittersweet memory because that was the day he was attacked and murdered. If he was still alive, I do not even know what I could do for him. When he was alive, he did not have much to give me, but he was happy that I was passionate about running.

I haven’t been running for long, but my life has changed because of athletics, though I haven’t changed. I am still the same. I doubt that even if I had gotten a good formal education and a job, I would have gotten to where I am now, supporting my family and helping the community. I think it was God’s plan.

I used to tell my friends that I would one day represent Kenya at the World Under–20 Championships.

Now, I’m confident, I’m no longer scared of challenges, and I never make excuses when it comes to training. I’m motivated by my friends Marco Arop, who started running way before I did, and Algeria’s Simane Moula. I have great respect for David Rudisha, who has flown the Kenyan flag high and demonstrated great discipline and focus in his training. Breaking a world record to get to his level is not easy.

I’m so happy, and life is good now.