Upcoming athletes training in Keringet, Nakuru County struggle to meet their daily needs, with hard economic times forcing many to abandon the sport.
This is among the challenges that emerged during a joint consultative forum between Athletics Kenya officials and runners from the region on Thursday.
Upcoming athletes who spoke during the forum said most of them have been training on their own because they don’t have coaches, with many struggling to feed themselves.
Former 3,000 metres steeplechase Commonwealth Games champion, Richard Mateelong, said that many promising athletes have been forced to abandon the sport because they struggle to meet their basic needs.
“This region has promising athletics talent but the upcoming athletes get lost along the way because they lack training facilities and basic things like food which is key for good training. We are happy that the federation is going round to meet athletes and we hope some of these challenges will be addressed,” said Mateeelong.
He urged upcoming athletes to seek advice from their seniors and to exercise self discipline so as to remain in the sport for a long period.
World Under-20 Championships 5,000m champion Benson Kiplang’at said he was happy that the federation met athletes at the grass root level, adding that it presents a good opportunity for officials to listen to and solve problems young athletes face.
Road runner Nickson Koech said athletes at the grassroots struggle with little things like fare and registration fee for races.
“We normally ask friends and relatives for monetary support to enable us travel to various regions for competitions. Sometimes it takes a long time to pay back the borrowed money,” said Koech.
Former World Youth 3,000m steeplechase champion Rosefline Chepng’etich also said that there is a need for proper guidance if athletes are to make a smooth transition from the junior category to the senior ranks.
Keringet was the last stop for officials in the second round of Athletics Kenya National Consultative Forums. The third round starts on Monday in Eldama Ravine, Baringo County.
