Swiss born long distance running athlete Julien Wanders has set a new world record in Monaco (pending the usual ratification procedures) finishing at 13:29 at the first 5kHerculis,a 5km road race.
The 21-year-old was also quick to appreciate the role the East-African country (Kenya) played in making him accomplish the feat in the long distance race.
“I got two European records and now a world record, I hope it will never stop. I was confident today. In Kenya, my team pushes me everyday to go further and faster” he said.
According to NN Running Team, Julien first got interested in the accomplishments made by Kenya athletes in the race, before he wrote a school paper on “Why Kenyans are so good at distance running”.
In the bid to further explore and back his paper findings with facts, the Swiss travelled to Iten in Kenya in 2014 where he spent a month living and training in Kenya.
Although his stay in Kenya was short and he suffered illness due to the fact that he was not used to eating Kenyan food, he spent a week in bed and he found much of the training beyond his limit.
A determined Julien was never discouraged by his first experience in the East Africa hilly Iten, he returned again in 2015 where he stayed longer and later adopted a six-month training programme on a yearly basis.
The outcome of the six-month training programme which went on a yearly basis paid off in Monaco, where the Swiss set a record courtesy of a well planned training programme in Iten, Kenya.
Iten is a hilly town in Elgeyo-Marakwet County in the republic of Kenya. It also serve as the capital and is largest town in County
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