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Sam Chelanga Ready To Compete For Liberty Flames

Posted August 5th, 2008 at 9:00 AM by Cheryl Lowe

Section: News & Results, Cross Country, Track & Field, Special Features, Interviews, College

Sam Chelanga Liberty University Track & Field Cross Country Fairleigh Dickinson Sam Chelanga can easily be described in two words: light and fast. Chelanga, a native of Nairobi, Kenya, is bound to run extremely well as he competes as a sophomore for the Liberty Flames cross country and track teams starting this fall.

Some might say that Chelanga is the epitome of the next level of distance runner, and one that has loads of untapped potential in the near future. He has had recent success in both the 5,000 and 10,000-meter distances on the track, clocking personal records of 13:24.73 and 28:15.99 respectively.

Chelanga started competing in the United States when he spent the 2006-07 school year running cross country and track for Farleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey.

After winning the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional and Northeast Conference cross country titles at Farleigh Dickinson, Chelanga was ready to make a change.

“[Farleigh Dickinson] didn’t have a closely connected team, even though it was small. I didn’t feel team spirit in it, like I do feel the team spirit at Liberty,” said Chelanga.

Sam Chelanga first visited Liberty University’s campus in August 2007, and decided from there that Lynchburg, VA was the place for him. His good friend and fellow Liberty Flames athlete Josh McDougal probably felt the same vibe, as did Liberty alum and professional marathoner Josh Cox.

Unfortunately when Chelanga decided to transfer schools, he had to sit out of collegiate competition for a year because he could not get a release from the NCAA. However, he still trained with Josh McDougal and David Cheromei during that time. McDougal, then a senior at Liberty, won the 2007 NCAA National Cross Country Championship race. Cheromei won the 2006 NAIA National Cross Country Championship meet. McDougal will be helping out at Liberty this fall as a volunteer coach and training partner.

Greg Jimmerson, the Assistant Coach for the track team at the time, could see potential in Chelanga. “I’m excited to see what Sam’s got in store in the future. He’s a talented kid,” said Jimmerson. “I’m confident that he’ll continue to run well.”

Even though Jimmerson will not be coaching at Liberty University this fall, Chelanga thought that he had an immediate impact as a coach and good person. “He’s one of the best coaches I’ve ever met,” stated Chelanga. “He knew that [competition] was about more than just running.”

Jimmerson could tell that Josh McDougal and Sam Chelanga were the right match for training partners. “They work together and complement each other well. Josh has more speed, but Sam is a strong runner–they push each other from different aspects of their training,” said Jimmerson.

The younger brother of world-class marathoner Joshua Chelanga, Sam Chelanga started running four years ago in Kenya. Unknown to the rest of the world, Chelanga spent the early part of his career in Kenya training with the long distance running greats Paul Tergat and Robert Cheruiyot.

“[Paul Tergat] is one of my role models. He trained with my father, and he’s the one that introduced me to running,” said Chelanga. Tergat is still a mentor for Chelanga today.

To prepare for the upcoming cross country season ahead of him, Chelanga, who will be studying Law at Liberty, has spent the majority of the summer months training at altitude in Leadville, Colorado with friends Jordan Whitlock and Michael Hayden.

“I’ve never really trained at altitude like this before,” said Chelanga in regard to the 14,440-foot training run up the side of Mt. Elbert he accomplished in a little over an hour. “It was hard to breathe for the first few days, but it usually takes about a month for my body to get used to [the altitude].”

While out for the same training run, Chelanga and his friends spotted an unfamiliar-looking brown animal in the wild. “It was a weird creature. It stood up and looked right at me,” said Chelanga. “It had a little tail and made weird noises.”

Even if the strange creature was indeed Big Foot, Chelanga is definitely swift enough to out-run and escape him.

To keep his fitness level in check, Chelanga recently entered himself in the Strawberry Shortcut 10K in Glenwood Springs, CO, where he almost effortlessly won the race in 34:45.

As far as long-term career goals are concerned, Chelanga would like to one day maybe move up to the marathon distance–but he is in no hurry to get there just yet. “Paul [Tergat] always told me it’s good to build up with small races,” said Chelanga. “I think maybe when I’m 26 or 27 that it would be a good time to think about the marathon.”

Chelanga advises aspiring collegiate runners to be patient and consistent in their training. “It doesn’t matter where you stand right now–what matters is that you love running. Just be patient,” Chelanga said. “It’s one step at a time up the ladder.”

Sam Chelanga is looking forward to what is up ahead. “I’m really optimistic. I’m stronger than I have ever been before,” said Chelanga.

So is Greg Jimmerson. “[Chelanga] is so light and small that when he runs, it looks like it’s effortless. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him run 27:40 or better in the 10K next year,” said Jimmerson.