On a rainy May day, one of the most skilled runners in History, Henry Rono, visited his brother’s rural house in Kiptaragon, Kenya.
He was an icon in long distance to running fans. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to participate in the 1976 and 1980 summer Olympics games because of the Kenyan boycott, but his accomplishments in the 1978 season are considered the most impressive in history.
When he was 26, he set 4 new records (the 3,000 meters, 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters, and 3,000-meter steeplechase) in just three months during the 1978 games. His accomplishments are still impressive today, considering it is not easy to have the stamina to run 25 laps quickly at once.
Instead of his astonishing accomplishments as a runner, he was most proud of himself when he went to a community college and “mastered English”. According to himself, running was his second nature, while his education has always been his weakness.
Today, after nearly a half-century, he is finally back in Kenya, walking among the flowers and avocado trees from his childhood. Yet he did not want to just retire; he was expecting a job as a track coach in his homeland, yet the officials told him there was no room in the budget.
Rono’s childhood was full of catastrophe. A bicycle accident left him unable to walk until the age of 6. His family also struggled after his father’s death in a tractor accident: Rono was in and out of school for years because he had to earn money for the family. This is why he yearned for education later in his life.
He was obsessed with running when he turned 19, motivated by Kipchoge Keino, who came from a neighboring village.
His talent was discovered when he enrolled in the army. He was on Kenya’s track team, and people considered him the “black horse. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to participate in the game because of the Kenyan boycott.
“I thought this man would come home with two golds,” said Keino, who had inspired Rono to become a runner and had been coaching the Kenyan team.
There was a turning point; after a 1973 court ruling stirred an N.C.A.A. rule that held limits on foreign countries’ “over-aged” athletes, American university coaches accepted more Africans, especially in running sports. Two months after missing the Montreal Games, a teenager who did not even attend high school began training in Pullman, Washington, by Coach John Chaplin.
He had to adapt to the life and school of the United States, but it was not easy. Meanwhile, running became his relief from his new and difficult life.
He was on the top of the summit when he set the four records, but his popularity and success soon began to end. Later, he had set a new record for 5,000 meters, but it still did not help him regain his success.
He was in a bundle of personal struggles, even though he had a college degree and a contract with Nike. He began to drink excessively after being desperate about the problems between him and the local athletes. He soon had another struggle, which was paying his bills. Rono, just like many other Kenyan athletes, was “wild” with money. He lost track of his band accounts, got robbed on plane flights, and lost a lot of money after a failed art investment.
Ultimately, as Rono aged and money became a larger struggle, Kenya began reaching out to him. In 2019, for the first time since the 1980s, he finally walked on the land of Kenya. He later lived in his brother’s home in the same place as the old hut where he lived as a child.
Yet not everything was going that well. Conflicts with his family over his possessions, including a farm and a home in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, left him dissatisfied. He yearned to return to coaching young athletes.
He hardly ever went out of his house other than a trip to the church and the sauna. After all, he always loved the feeling of sweating.
When he narrates his astonishing accomplishments and life, he is always humble and content. He also appreciated what running gave him; he said running opened a path for him to the world beyond his village and an extraordinary route back home decades later.
He was an icon in long distance to running fans. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to participate in the 1976 and 1980 summer Olympics games because of the Kenyan boycott, but his accomplishments in the 1978 season are considered the most impressive in history.
When he was 26, he set 4 new records (the 3,000 meters, 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters, and 3,000-meter steeplechase) in just three months during the 1978 games. His accomplishments are still impressive today, considering it is not easy to have the stamina to run 25 laps quickly at once.
Instead of his astonishing accomplishments as a runner, he was most proud of himself when he went to a community college and “mastered English”. According to himself, running was his second nature, while his education has always been his weakness.
Today, after nearly a half-century, he is finally back in Kenya, walking among the flowers and avocado trees from his childhood. Yet he did not want to just retire; he was expecting a job as a track coach in his homeland, yet the officials told him there was no room in the budget.
Rono’s childhood was full of catastrophe. A bicycle accident left him unable to walk until the age of 6. His family also struggled after his father’s death in a tractor accident: Rono was in and out of school for years because he had to earn money for the family. This is why he yearned for education later in his life.
He was obsessed with running when he turned 19, motivated by Kipchoge Keino, who came from a neighboring village.
His talent was discovered when he enrolled in the army. He was on Kenya’s track team, and people considered him the “black horse. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to participate in the game because of the Kenyan boycott.
“I thought this man would come home with two golds,” said Keino, who had inspired Rono to become a runner and had been coaching the Kenyan team.
There was a turning point; after a 1973 court ruling stirred an N.C.A.A. rule that held limits on foreign countries’ “over-aged” athletes, American university coaches accepted more Africans, especially in running sports. Two months after missing the Montreal Games, a teenager who did not even attend high school began training in Pullman, Washington, by Coach John Chaplin.
He had to adapt to the life and school of the United States, but it was not easy. Meanwhile, running became his relief from his new and difficult life.
He was on the top of the summit when he set the four records, but his popularity and success soon began to end. Later, he had set a new record for 5,000 meters, but it still did not help him regain his success.
He was in a bundle of personal struggles, even though he had a college degree and a contract with Nike. He began to drink excessively after being desperate about the problems between him and the local athletes. He soon had another struggle, which was paying his bills. Rono, just like many other Kenyan athletes, was “wild” with money. He lost track of his band accounts, got robbed on plane flights, and lost a lot of money after a failed art investment.
Ultimately, as Rono aged and money became a larger struggle, Kenya began reaching out to him. In 2019, for the first time since the 1980s, he finally walked on the land of Kenya. He later lived in his brother’s home in the same place as the old hut where he lived as a child.
Yet not everything was going that well. Conflicts with his family over his possessions, including a farm and a home in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, left him dissatisfied. He yearned to return to coaching young athletes.
He hardly ever went out of his house other than a trip to the church and the sauna. After all, he always loved the feeling of sweating.
When he narrates his astonishing accomplishments and life, he is always humble and content. He also appreciated what running gave him; he said running opened a path for him to the world beyond his village and an extraordinary route back home decades later.