Ever since sweeping the three international marathons in 2009, namely, the Smart International Marathon, Philippine International Marathon and the Quezon City International Marathon, Kenyan runners have continued their participation in local races. Stamping their class, they have won but one race, the Century Tuna Run, where local hero, Eduardo Buenavista, showed them the stuff that gave him the gold medal in the men’s marathon at the Laos SEA Games in 2009.
We can only second guess the reason that made these Kenyans decide to campaign here. However, several things worth noting may lead us to their motives. First, they only zero in on big-ticket races, where prizes are expectedly much higher. Second, sensing the low-caliber competition, they may have found here a perfect place to train while earning bucks simultaneously to finance their participation in more prestigious races abroad. Although this strategy may backfire on them, owing to the weakness of the local field, the lure of easy money presents a bargain that is hard for them to ignore. Thus, these Kenyans may not be actually training here but only just raking in the money supposed to be won by Filipino runners. We can never really be sure, however. We may be proven wrong if one of these Kenyans win a higher caliber race abroad.
This situation, however, opens a window of opportunity for Filipino runners. This is an avenue for them to experience competing against these running machines. Of course, we cannot let Buenavista solely handle the Kenyan challenge. Others have to step up. They have to use this to hone their skills against much better opposition without having to go abroad. Although these Kenyans may not really rank that high in the world of elite runners, we definitely have everything to gain from running against them. We should not take their presence here for granted. As to what extent they are worth their stay, we will never know. Only time will tell, when the equilibrium will be reached. As they say, running with slow guys makes you slower as adaptation sets in. Let’s just hope that we can stage more international marathons in the future to attract new, faster Kenyan talents to our country. We must sustain the momentum that 2009 had generated. For now, let’s just make the best out of the situation and milk these Kenyans dry as they continue their stay here. The balance must shift in our favor. It must be tit for tat.
