Elkanah Kibet KWIK-E

Auburn junior Elkanah Kibet recently took seventh at NCAA Indoor Nationals in the 5,000-meter run. He's going for a fast time at the Stanford Meet this weekend in the 10K.

Have you taken any off days since NCAAs?

No, no, no, no. I haven't taken any days off because I'm getting ready for Stanford. I'm going to run the 10K at Stanford.

How do you feel about your performance at NCAAs?

I feel good. I feel happy because I got All-American. I think I can do better than that next time. I was hoping to be among the five. I wanted to be top-five. The pace didn't go the way I was expecting. I thought they were going to take a very hard pace, but I was surprised that they took that pace.

What are your goals for the 10K at Stanford?

I want to run the automatic qualification in the 10K at Stanford. Then I will start really training for the 10K at Nationals.

How did you get into the sport of running back in Kenya?

In Kenya, when you're the man in the family, you're sent. So, all the time I used to run. Every time in the evening, I was sent to go to the shopping center, where you can buy things for your families. They used to send me and say “run, go and come back.” I used to run with a guy who was in the military a long time ago. He had a bicycle and used to follow me all the time. We used to compete with him. Him on the bike and I used to run...every evening. He said, “you can run!” And he was going to take me to a meet to run against some people. I went there and I ran real good. They were giving giving t-shirts. I got one and I was really excited. Then...I just liked running from then. I used to watch the Olympics back in Kenya. We'd say, “I want to be like this athlete.” Daniel Komen was one of my role models. I used to say that I want to be like Daniel Komen.

You'd run to the shopping centers at night?

At 6 p.m. or 5 p.m. probably. You'd go in the late afternoon, early evening so the dark didn't get you on the way back.

How far would you actually run?

I would go five kilometers or six kilometers. That was my run at night. Then going to school we'd run. On the lunch hour we'd run. That was fun because we'd compete with other kids like that. With the bells ringing for the lunch hour...run and run and run. Down the road and back home. We were running all the time.

You got good at running while carrying things.

Yeah, we'd wear a backpack with the straps across our shoulders. Then you'd just run. We'd have the school uniforms with dress shoes and a sweater.

How did you like the change in competition when going from Rend Lake Community College to the NCAA Division I system?

It's good to run at the NCAA. It's very competitive. It's a good place to prepare. When I get done school, I want to be a professional runner. This is the right place where you can compete. At Rend Lake, we used to run...but not good times. Over here you improve the times you run and you are happy about the times. It's changing too, because the people running are getting better and when you're good, you're good and it motivates me to train harder.

For the 5K, do you have a certain time you would like to hit?

I wanted to run sub-13:30 indoor and 13:20 outdoor. I haven't got that, but I'm really working for that 13:20 outdoor. I would like to run 28:30 in the 10K.

What kind of mileage do you put in?

We have been doing 100 miles, 110 way before the race, but when it gets towards the race we reduce the mileage. For the normal time...it's 100-110 miles a week.

How does your body respond to that kind of mileage?

I tried to do a lot when I was doing XC. Now I went back down and came back up slowly and it went better. I think I can run...I don't know (laughs). But I've hit 110. I might try to do more. I'll see what the other guys are doing. I try to do stuff that doesn't affect me. I go down a little bit then come back up. It's good.

You've got two of three All-American status' this year. Is that another one of your goals, to get a third?

That's big for me. In junior (college) you can get those, but now you have to work for them.

What is the hardest workout you've ever done?

So far I haven't had a hardest workout. When I train, I feel pain. When I race...I don't get tired easily. Mile repeats sometimes though. I never did mile repeats. When I came to America, I was introduced to mile repeats. I was not used to doing them back in Kenya.

How fast will you run them?

We will hit 4:20, 4:30.

Can you give me a crazy story?

(Laughs) Okay. One day my friend from Kenya and I went to Dairy Queen to get shakes. We give my friend a strawberry milkshake. When he drinks it he starts shaking the milkshake all over the place. (Laughs)

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#12	Coolmax Peter Sigilai   March 29 at 11:48am Elkanah, we gonna shake it today with a sandwich dude, ya comin? reply
#11	Chuck   March 28 at 7:55pm His freshman teammate, Girma Mecheso, isn't too shabby either. 28:26 in the Stanford 10k just ahead of Kibet. reply
#10	I Love Him!   March 27 at 4:07pm Get over the story part, this guy is an incredible, amazing human being. He will make it in life in whatever he chooses. He is intense. His entire life is studying, running, and God. Modeling his behavior would serve many of us well. reply
#9	Anonymous Coward   March 27 at 4:03pm Actually, I was with Elkanah when this "story" occured. His friend, Peter Sigilai, had just come to the U.S. from Kenya. We went to the Dairy Queen for shakes. When we handed Sigilai the shake, he thought he was supposed to shake it--and he did....big time. Now, every time a Kenyan guy comes to Rend Lake, we get him a shake--just to see what he will do with it. It was one of those, "You had to be there" kind of stories. reply
#8	AAhh   March 27 at 11:18am Exactly what Coach Jack Danies talks about. As kids you gotta be more active, run everywhere. reply
#7	Michael Hicks   March 27 at 11:02am what a great story ha ha. reply
#6	Awesome Interview   March 27 at 8:32am Love this guy, and his crazy story :) reply
#5	Martha   March 27 at 7:33am Mmmm, strawberry milkshake! reply
#4	Tony Casey   March 27 at 6:56am Haha, no, that was it. It was his crazy story. Elkanah was just about the most friendly person I've ever interviewed. Watch for him at Stanford tonight (I think they run the 10K tonight)! reply
#3	David Flynn   March 27 at 5:17am Haha i think he forgot to finish the story reply
#2	Anonymous Coward   March 27 at 4:35am Nick Higgins said: “That story was so CRAZY!” yeah i know!!!!1 what a crazy story reply
#1	Nick Higgins   March 27 at 2:09am That story was so CRAZY! reply