The Other Lagat
Posted May 29th, 2008 at 3:30 PM by Stephanie Lowe
Section: News & Results, Motivation, Success Stories, Track & Field, Olympics, Interviews, College, Road Racing
It may seem odd that a city in west Texas is similar to an east African country, but that is why Haron Lagat, from Eldoret, Kenya, lives and trains in Lubbock. Lagat, 24, said the stable weather and friendly community remind him of home, but with more opportunities.
“I think I’ll live here for a while,” Lagat said. “If there’s a place where you can make your life better, why not go there?”
The former Texas Tech athlete-turned-volunteer assistant coach runs for the AmeriKenyan Running Club, based in Santa Fe, N.M. His manager, Scott Robinson, convinced Lagat to forgo his last year of NCAA eligibility to run professionally in 2006, despite never winning a national title. Lagat mentioned that most people had never heard of him while he ran in college.
Since he turned pro, Lagat is getting the recognition he deserves. He has run personal best times in the mile (3:53), 5K (13:36), 4 miles (18:00), 8K (22:33), 6 miles (28:05) and 10K (29:02) within the past year. In February, Lagat ran a 3:58.48 indoor mile at Texas Tech University. He ran a 4:09 road mile on May 8th, 2008 at the Minneapolis Medtronic TC 1 Mile, good for a close second place finish against 17-year-old Josephet Kithi’s 4:08.50. His favorite distance to race, however, is 8000 meters. Lagat placed second at this year’s Borden Uptown Run in Dallas.
The race that garnered the most attention was the 2008 Carlsbad 5000 on April 6th, 2008, mostly due to Alan Webb’s DNF. Lagat’s third place finish and new PR was only 2 seconds behind winner Terefe Maregu Zewdie of Ethiopia, but it was a bittersweet performance for him since he’d hoped Webb would have led him to a faster time.
“What happened in Carlsbad was that Alan Webb was going for 13:20. I thought I’d stay with him and get a PR of 13:25 or better,” Lagat explained. “After the first mile we realized this guy wasn’t going for the record. The second mile was the toughest part as we tried to make up what we lost.”
Lagat is not just here for the prize money though. He enjoys coaching the TTU cross country and track team alongside his own coach, Jon Murray. Lagat said he likes to help his friends train because they are always supportive of his running.
“I love to run with [the team] and make them better,” he said. “I need to show them I’ll never let them down in this sport.”
Lagat knew Murray when the latter coached at Abilene Christian University. Murray tried to recruit him to run at ACU before he finally decided to attend TTU. Murray left ACU for TTU in 2005 and began coaching Lagat.
Before Lagat came to the United States, he attended Tambach Teacher’s Training College, a junior college in Kenya, where he was involved with both basketball and track. He also played basketball and volleyball in elementary school and St. Patrick’s High School in Iten.
Growing up, Lagat ran out of necessity more than for sport. He lived about 7 miles away from his school, but had no means of transportation. Carrying his books and water, Lagat had to run to school.
“Everything you have to walk [or run] for,” he described. “You endure without knowing it.”
Running was an escape from school and chores on his farm at home. He ran to school in the morning, home for lunch, back to school in the afternoon, and home again after school. If he was late anywhere, he was whipped.
Although Lagat grew up running everyday, he said his training lacked structure. Since there are not as many coaches in Kenya, Lagat said most runners there do not train properly. They often lack proper nutrition and run hard workouts everyday, which leads to injury.
“The talent is not fully exhausted,” Lagat said.
He said the reasons why Kenyans dominate distance running are not only genetic, but also because of the large amount of Kenyans who run. While some athletes get injured, there are others to replace them.
Lagat wants to make the Kenyan team within the next two years. His biggest goal is to make the 2012 Olympic team in the steeplechase, the track event for which Kenya is best known. Lagat is grateful to live in the U.S. for now, where he says it is much easier to get an education and find a job. He graduated from TTU with a degree in human development and family studies, but wants to continue his education and eventually become a college coach.
“I want to give back to the community,” he said. “I took this opportunity and I don’t take it for granted.”
Photos courtesy of AmerikenyaRunningclub.org.
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Tags: amerikenyan running club, carlsbad 5000, foreign born athlete, foreign born runner, Haron Lagat, jon murray, kenya, lubbock, medtronic tc mile, motivation, scott robinson, Success Story, texas, Texas Tech
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The Final Sprint
Stephanie,
June 4th, 2008 at 3:46 pmGreat article about Haron.
He’s such a great athlete and person. I’m glad you took the time to highlight him and the Amerikenyan team.
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