Kenyan counties select their teams ahead of national cross country championships next month

1. Josphat Meli dominating the men’s junior race, photo by Justin Lagat / Kenyan athlete

2. The women’s race, photo by Justin Lagat / Kenyan athlete

This is Justin Lagat’s weekly column via Kenya, and it is on cross country….

The two had exchanged the lead for the better part of the race until about the last 1,500m when one of them tried to play a mind game and asked the other to just relax and settle for the second position. A long sprint followed after that. One wanted to prove to the other that he meant business when he asked him to relax and give up while the other wanted to prove that he also had what it takes to win the race!

3. The two protagonists in the senior men’s race, Jacob Kipkorir in Orange and Erick Kiplagat in black, photo by Justin Lagat / Kenyan athlete

4. The two protagonists in the senior men’s race, Jacob Kipkorir in Orange and Erick Kiplagat in black, photo by Justin Lagat / Kenyan athlete

Complete Sports’ Erick Kiplagat was the first to sprint as Jacob Kipkorir reacted and followed in hot pursuit without letting any gap to develop between them. Kipkorir managed to pull up beside his opponent on the home stretch and just edged him at the finish line.

It was one race that turned a poorly attended meeting due to a short notice into an exciting day.

The women’s categories had very few entrants and the senior and junior races started simultaneously. The junior women would finish their race at the 6km point while the senior women would run two more 2km loops to finish it at the 10km point.

Milicent Jepkogei led the race almost from the beginning to win the junior race while Irene Chepchirchir remained patient behind the junior runners and easily won the senior race once the others had finished their race and she was alone at the lead.

Another one from the Complete Sports team, Josphat Meli took an early lead in the junior men’s race and no one could ever come close to him until he won the 8km race well clear ahead of his next challenger.

All the counties across the country were scheduled to do their championships this weekend in order to form teams that will go through the regional championships and eventually to the national cross country championships and national trials next month. A national team will be selected at the trials to represent the country at the 6^th African Cross Country Championships in Lome, Togo in March.

The National Police Service, the Kenya Prisons, and Kenya Defense Forces will also be using this time to do their own championships and select their teams to participate at the national trials on 13^th February in Kisii.