Since we have been here there have been two deaths of high profile runners. The night before Easter Peter Cherus drove off the road a few kilometers from Iten. Then, last Sunday, Samuel Wanjiru fell from his balcony. Both deaths illustrate a darker side of Kenyan running.
Peter Cherus was a world class runner who was best known for pacing two world record marathons (run by Paul Tergat and Haile Gebrselassie). He was about 30, with three young children. He was drinking with some friends in Tambach, about 10 km down a windy road from Iten. He left alone and drove off the road.
Samuel Wanjiru was the 2008 Olympic gold medalist and one of the top names in modern running. His death was reported all over the world. Wanjiru had two young children. Wanjiru reportedly lived a decadent lifestyle, picking up the tab for many of his drinking buddies and sometimes spending over $500 an evening. His coaches reported that he was always up early and working hard in training. He had reportedly wrecked several cars.
The circumstances surrounding Wanjiru’s death are still under investigation, but many Kenyans feel that the investigation will be corrupt. The media reported that Wanjiru was at home at his house with a “lady friend.” His wife returned home unexpectedly and locked Wanjiru and the lady friend in the bedroom. Wanjiru then fell from the balcony, which was about 10 feet above a concrete patio, sustaining fatal internal injuries.
I wrote previously that for Kenyans, running is like the lottery. When a person wins the lottery, he or she is rich beyond any of their peers. Kenyan runners who have had to manage on only a dollar or two a day suddenly have hundreds times that. Many runners who have made it internationally have abused alcohol and ended up in poverty. This is not a recent phenomenon. Henry Rono broke 4 world records in the spring of 1978 while at Washington State University. He became alcoholic and homeless. He recently made a comeback, training to break the age group world record for the mile.
A recent editorial in Kenya’s Daily Nation argued that athletics coaches and managers need to teach athletes how to manage their wealth. There are plenty of positive role models. Many runners use their winnings to found schools and charities.
I asked Peter Langerhorst, who is a former manager living in Kenya, if Wanjiru’s death would change anything. He was skeptical. He argued that all the young guys still want to make it. They don’t believe it will happen to them, and once they are rich they won’t necessarily listen. In many ways the situation isn’t different than with American professional athletes in major sports like football, baseball, and basketball. These athletes are ridiculously rich, and some don’t handle it well. American runners aren’t ridiculously rich by American standards. But an international runner is rich by Kenyan standards.
For now, we can hope for the best for the runners’ families as they deal with their losses.
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