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Rono makes his return to racing at Carlsbad 5000

Posted March 27th, 2007 at 3:14 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results

Henry_Rono With his four world records in 81 days (still one of the greatest feats in distance running history), Henry Rono will celebrate and even greater achievement when he lines up for the Carlsbad 5000 road race on Sunday: his return to sobriety.

Rono, 55, who now lives in Albuquerque, N.M., was brought low by his dependence on alcohol, and slipped quietly off of the world stage into poverty. He moved throughout the U.S. from city to city between 1986 and 1996, at times living in homeless shelters, before settling in Albuquerque.

Contributing to his downfall was Kenya’s boycotts of both the 1976 and 1980 Olympic Games, meaning one of the greatest figures in Kenyan athletics never represented his nation on the biggest stage in the sport. He also said, in a statement on his website, that he was taken advantage of by “greedy agents and meet directors as well as the corrupt Kenyan athletic officials…”

“My running was way too high,” Rono told the Carlsbad organizers, Elite Racing, by telephone from Albuquerque. “And my disability was not knowing how to handle things socially.”

In 1978, while still a student at Washington State University, Rono broke the world records for 5000m (13:08.4), the 3000m steeplechase (8:05.4), the 10,000m (27:22.5), and the 3000m (7:32.1). Even while drinking he was able to lower his own world record at 5000m in 1981 (13:06.20), but had to sweat out the previous night’s drinking to do it.

Rono now coaches and is running again. He’s decided to attempt to break the world record for men 55-59 for the mile, 4:40.4, set by Australian Jack Ryan in 1977. The Carlsbad race will be part of his preparation for the mile.

“I want to alert the public that I am back into running,” said Rono. “And this time I am doing it in the right way with both eyes open. I want to teach people that you can come back from the streets and being homeless and recover your life again.”