Henry Rono, born in Kapsabet, Kenya, set multiple world records for running. After retiring, much of his life was darkened by addiction, but he has no regrets When he was a runner, he participated in various long-distance runs in the Olympics. During the course of 81 days, 26-year-old Rono set world records in four events – the 3,000 meters, 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters and 3,000-meter steeplechase. This had never been accomplished before, and the fact that he had enough stamina to run twenty-five laps continuously is truly mind-blowing.
Decades later, Rono does not register the feat as significant. Instead, his proudest moment in his life is when he enrolled in a community college and masted something he had always wanted to do – learning English. “Running to me was second nature,” he said. “Education was my weakness.” Rono sees running as something he is good at, but he wants to improve in other areas of his life – such as education.
Today, after more than three decades of his running career, Rono is back in Kenya, in his homeland. After Rono came back, he expected a job like coaching, but the local authorities told him there was no room in the budget. He was also separated from his wife and two children, who still live on the properties purchased by Rono at the peak of his job.
Rono’s early life was tragic – a bicycle accident left unable to walk until he was six. His father died due to a tractor accident at a time when their family was struggling. Rono’s education started faltering, and his mother barely gathered the money to pay for his schooling. When he completed seventh grade at age 19, he was inspired by Kipchoge Keino from a neighboring village to start running.
His talent shone when he was accepted into the army, where most of his duties were to train. When he entered the Olympics in 1976, had been expecting to be taken as major threat. However, before the race, Kenya’s government suddenly announced that there would be an 11th-hour boycott, with most of the African countries joining the protest. The protest was about the inclusion of New Zealand, whose national rugby team was apartheid South Africa. After the boycott, Rono found himself in Pullman, Washington, where their coach, John Chaplin was training a group of Kenyan runners.
After breaking the records and running in multiple worldwide events, his period of addiction and personal troubles began. He was in and out of rooms lent by friends, drinking with increasing regularity, careless with money, and did all sorts of jobs to earn cash. But there were also uplifting periods. When he settled in New Mexico in the 1990’s, he spent time coaching college athletes in the Navajo Nation and other talented individuals in Albuquerque.
Henry Rono may have taken an unexpected road back home, but running, to him, opened a path beyond his hometown.
Decades later, Rono does not register the feat as significant. Instead, his proudest moment in his life is when he enrolled in a community college and masted something he had always wanted to do – learning English. “Running to me was second nature,” he said. “Education was my weakness.” Rono sees running as something he is good at, but he wants to improve in other areas of his life – such as education.
Today, after more than three decades of his running career, Rono is back in Kenya, in his homeland. After Rono came back, he expected a job like coaching, but the local authorities told him there was no room in the budget. He was also separated from his wife and two children, who still live on the properties purchased by Rono at the peak of his job.
Rono’s early life was tragic – a bicycle accident left unable to walk until he was six. His father died due to a tractor accident at a time when their family was struggling. Rono’s education started faltering, and his mother barely gathered the money to pay for his schooling. When he completed seventh grade at age 19, he was inspired by Kipchoge Keino from a neighboring village to start running.
His talent shone when he was accepted into the army, where most of his duties were to train. When he entered the Olympics in 1976, had been expecting to be taken as major threat. However, before the race, Kenya’s government suddenly announced that there would be an 11th-hour boycott, with most of the African countries joining the protest. The protest was about the inclusion of New Zealand, whose national rugby team was apartheid South Africa. After the boycott, Rono found himself in Pullman, Washington, where their coach, John Chaplin was training a group of Kenyan runners.
After breaking the records and running in multiple worldwide events, his period of addiction and personal troubles began. He was in and out of rooms lent by friends, drinking with increasing regularity, careless with money, and did all sorts of jobs to earn cash. But there were also uplifting periods. When he settled in New Mexico in the 1990’s, he spent time coaching college athletes in the Navajo Nation and other talented individuals in Albuquerque.
Henry Rono may have taken an unexpected road back home, but running, to him, opened a path beyond his hometown.
