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Sub Hub Stories : Get to know Team run2gether

If you have listened to our podcast, you will know that we are long-time fans of team run2gether, which includes great runners such as 3-time Sierre Zinal winner Lucy Murigi and current mountain running powerhouse Patrick Kipngeno. However, there is an even more prominent surge of Kenyan talent from this camaraderie-focused team, with new names such as Richard Omaya Atuya and Michael Saoli winning top-tier European races in their European debuts. With that in mind, we reached out to their team manager, Thomas Krejci, to learn more about the team and what to expect from them in the season and years to come.

What inspired you to create this mountain running team?

Everything started in 2008, when I met Geoffrey Gikuni Ndungu during my training in Kenya. A close friendship started, I invited him (and some of his friends) to Austria and in July 2009 he took part in his first mountain race (Großglockner Mountain Run). Fortunately he was winning in a new course record and beating reigning world champion Jonathan Wyatt. From that time we started to focus on mountain running instead of track and eoad. All of our athletes start their running career by taking part in cross country races, followed by track and road and at the same time checking their talents on mountains. Those being interested and talented then focus on mountain races and are coached and advised by Geoffrey and our coach Ibrahim in our run2gether camp.

What criteria do you use to select athletes for your mountain running team, and how do you identify potential talent in Kenya?

As we have several athletes who have done very well in mountain races in the past (since 2009) and are now still part of the team, they are able to give advice on upcoming athletes and identify talents in training. But also trials, which we organize 3-4 times per year on very challenging mountain running courses around our camp. Even me, as having been an orienteer for 20 years and also taking part in mountain running races, try to check talents of our young runners with our run2gether Athletics Academy. In this academy we train 30 kids (12-18 years), who still go to school but train every day twice with our coaches. This year one girl from our academy became World Champion in XC School-World championships U16 years.

What kind of support/resources do you provide to your athletes to help them perform at their best?

Our athletes can stay for free in our camp and are offered professional coaching by our 2 coaches Ibrahim Kinurthia Wanuma and Peter Ndegwa Nyambura. The run2gether Sports & Recreation Centre Mt. Longonot was announced as official Athletics Kenya mountain running camp already 10 years ago and since then has produced several World Champions and winners of the biggest mountain races. The camp offers beside accomodation/food (for up to 50 athletes and 30 guests) a nearby 400m murram track, well equipped gym and a physiotherapist. The surrounding area offers perfect trails and training conditions for mountain and trail running.

During competition period (June to September) our athletes can stay for free (even flight, accomodation, food and all expenses covered by run2gether) in our Austrian high altitude camp in Osttirol. We take care of their competition planning (I am registered World Athletics Athletes Representative) and take them to all races within Europe (mainly by car) or organize their trip by plane or train.

During their time in Europe all Kenyan athletes take care of european runners (as their coaches), who join us for training. Each summer more than 200 runners spend one week with us and benefit from training together with the best athletes.

run2gether is a registered athletics club and non profit organization in Austria as well as an NGO in Kenya. All our members are working voluntarily and are runners themselves.

How do the cultural and environmental conditions in Kenya contribute to the success of your athletes in mountain running?

Training conditions in Kenya are excellent, even for mountain running. Up to few years ago there was no tradition in that kind of races but within the last 5 years more races were organized and media reports about successes of Kenyan athletes in European or US races increased the interest of Kenyan athletes in mountain running. The altitude of 2400m (7874 feet) in our camp helps to prepare very well. Due to lack of roads, 90% of training sessions are done on rough roads or small paths. In 2020 run2gether organized the first Kenyan Mountain Running Championships in cooperation with Athletics Kenya (the winner was Patrick Kipngeno, who became one of the most successsful mountain running athletes at the moment) and on November 16th 2024 the first ever World Ranking event will be organized just 5km from our camp at National Park Mt. Longonot.

https://www.run2gether.com/mount-longonot-trail-challenge/

What challenges have you faced in establishing and maintaining this team?

As you can imagine there are always challenges when working with a big group of athletes. The main motivation for Kenyan athletes to start and focus on running are financially driven. For many it is the only option to earn some money and this motivation makes the challenges to be different to European and US teams I think. Therefore the amount of prize money in races is nearly the most important factor to decide which discipline athletes are focusing. Fortunately there was a big change concerning that in mountain- and trail running in the past years and therefore it becomes more and more attractive for athletes to take part in such races. In the past 16 years we have lost many strong athletes to “big“ managements (sponsored by Nike or adidas), when they had reached a certain level and became interesting for these managers (who are focusing on track and road only). Thats sometimes very painful to train an athlete from early ages for 5 or more years and then lose him/her.

At the moment many of our athletes, whom we started run2gether with in 2008, have reached an age which forces them to retire of professional running but fortunately we have focused on the youth already for 6-8 years and are able to have new upcoming athletes in our team.

The financial situation is also very demanding of course as it is not easy to offer a lot for free for such a big number of athletes and especially COVID caused a lot of problems for us. To maintain the camp with 14 Kenyan full time employees and 50 Kenyan athletes needs more than 10.000€/month. Fortunately our main Sponsor ON (we have a close cooperation since they launched their first pair of shoes in 2010!) nowadays is able to support us a lot financially. Nevertheless we try to earn money by our own activities of organizing training camps in Austria and offering guesthouses and training opportunities in our camp in Kenya.

What are your long-term goals for the team, and how do you plan to sustain and build upon your current success?

The main goal of run2gether remains the idea of “mutual benefit” by bringing different cultures together and learning from each other by run2gether, train2gether, play2gether or just spend time 2gether.

In Austria we want to establish our high altitude camp for as many interested western athletes as possible, who are willing to learn from our Kenyan athletes. It doesnt matter if they are focusing on track, road or mountain and trail races. In Kenya the run2gether Sports & Recreation Centre Mt. Longonot hopefully will remain the “Home of Champions in Mountain Running“, like Iten is known for road running, and will be able to welcome many western athletes to spend their training camp or running holiday with us.

Recent successes are a big motivation for our team but we know that it will be always an up and down, we try to be prepared for periods with less success as well as for even bigger wins in the coming years. If we are able to bring members of our youth academy to professional sport and being succesful in what they are doing (and by that being able to finance their lives), we will be happy and satisfied. Nevertheless, it also fills me with satisfaction and great joy when guests who train with us benefit from a one-week (or longer) stay with our Kenyan athletes and report that this time has changed their life in a very positive way.

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Follow @run2gether.austria to learn more and follow along with the team’s journey! You can catch a handful of run2gether members racing at Sierre-Zinal on August 10th.

Results Recap

⛰️Mount Marathon - July 4

1. Klaire Rhodes - 49:49

2. Kendall Kramer - 51:20

3. Meg Inokuma - 51:59

1. David Norris - 40:37

2. Max King - 42:52

3. Jessie McAuley - 44:02

🇵🇪Cordillera Blanca Skyrace - July 7

1. Karina Carsolio - 2:37:19

2. Emma Cook-Clarke - 2:38:17

3. Hillary Girardi - 2:43:11

1. Jose Manuel Quispe - 2:03:58

2. Luca Del Pero - 2:06:22

3. Joseph Mamani - 2:06:59

🇦🇹Grossglockner Mountain Run (Mountain Running World Cup) - July 7

1. Richard Omaya Atuya - 1:10:04

2. Josphat Kiprotich - 1:10:25

3. Michael Selelo Saoli - 1:12:42

1. Nina Engelhard - 1:22:09

2. Philaries Jeruto Kisang - 1:23:45

3. Gloria Chebet - 1:23:58

🇺🇸USATF Uphill Championships - Loon Mountain - July 7

1. Lauren Gregory - 53:18

2. Rachel Tomajczyk - 54:58

3. Amber Zimmerman - 56:02

1. Joseph Gray - 49:27

2. Tyler McCandless - 49:41

3. Jonathan Aziz - 50:17

🇺🇸USATF Mountain Running Championships - Cirque Series Snowbird - July 13

1. Grayson Murphy - 1:36:17

2. Rachel Tomajczyk - 1:40:23

3. Laurel Moyer - 1:40:35

1. Christian Allen - 1:18:17

2. Hawk Call - 1:19:05

3. Zachary Erikson - 1:21:07

🇵🇹Montemuro Vertical Run (Mountain Running World Cup)- July 14

1. Scout Adkin - 1:03:20

2. Gloria Chebet - 1:03:35

3. Philaries Jeruto Kisang - 1:03:40

1. Lukas Ehrle - 52:31

2. Philemon Kiriago - 53:29

3. Andrea Elia - 53:40

🐐Speedgoat 28k - July 19

1. Robyn Lesh - 3:34:28

2. Sarah Carter - 3:35:59

3. Jaycie Thomsen - 3:54:27

1. Hawk Call - 3:13:08

2. Cole Besser - 3:19:56

3. Blaise Miller - 3:22:54

🐐Speedgoat 50k - July 20

1. Jazmine Lowther - 6:15:05

2. Mali Noyes - 6:22:31

3. Kodi Kleven - 6:24:12

1. David Sinclair - 4:57:35

2. Sam Hendry - 5:24:57

3. Scott Patterson - 5:32:26

 🇫🇷La Montee Du Nid D’Aigle (Mountain Running World Cup) - July 20

1. Scout Adkin - 2:08:09

2. Gloria Chebet - 2:12:09

3. Philares Jeruto Kisang - 2:14:03

1. Richard Omaya Atuya - 1:46:55

2. Josphat Kiprotich - 1:47:40

3. Michael Selelo Saoli - 1:48:48

⛰️Barr Trail Mountain Race - July 21

1. Ashley Brasovan - 1:54:52

2. Sarah Guhl - 1:56:31

3. Amanda Koslosky - 2:01:19

1. Joseph Gray - 1:33:10

2. Jonathan Aziz - 1:33:10

3. Cale O’Day - 1:41:50

🗻Wyeast Trailfest 28K (Golden Trail National Series) - July 21

1. Jade Belzberg - 2:41:12

2. Caroline Alcorta - 2:44:46

3. Mariah Bredal - 2:45:26

1. Liam Meirow - 2:13:48

2. Darren Thomas - 2:14:43

3. Max King - 2:16:19

Current Series Rankings

World Mountain Running Ranking Top 10 - The current rankings for the Valsir World Mountain Cup highlight the dominance of athletes from Kenya, with Joyce Muthoni Njeru and Patrick Kipngeno leading the way. Notable athletes from other countries, including the UK's Scout Adkin and Joe Steward, and the USA's Christian Allen, are also making their mark.

Merrell Skyrunner® World Series Top 10 - With just one race in July and the website finally working, the Skyrunner rankings have seen significant shifts. Naiara Irigoyen from Spain and Roberto Delorenzi from Switzerland are among the top contenders. With plenty of races still to come before the Skyrunner Championship, we are thrilled to see how the competition unfolds and who will emerge on top.

Golden Trail World Series Top 10 - The Golden Trail World Series Top 10 rankings remain unchanged for July, but with Sierre Zinal and Tatra Skymarathon coming up in August, we anticipate significant shifts. Leading athletes like Spain's Rosa Lara Feliu and Morocco's Elhousine Elazzaoui will have to defend their positions in what promises to be an exciting month of competition. We're eagerly awaiting the action and the potential shake-ups in the standings!

Trail Training Tip

A helpful acronym to improve your downhill skill is F.L.A.S.H:

FUN - Be in a playful mindset. Having the right attitude is most important; this should be fun, not traumatizing.

LOOK - Look ahead and plan your line.

ARMS - Use your arms for balance and controlling speed.

SMOOTH - Focusing on feeling and ‘looking’ smooth. This will enable more even footing and well distributed energy.

HIPS - Hips go under the body. This increases balance and stability.

Sub-Ultra Athletes of the Month

As we waved goodbye to 2023, we cooked up a plan for future years: ending the year with a bang by handpicking our top ten Sub-Ultra athletes. But hey, why wait until December to start the celebration? Every month, we're spotlighting athletes whose performances have dazzled, impressed, or just put a big grin on our faces. So while it might not be a perfect match for our 2024 list, it's sure to sprinkle some fun along the way!

Our picks for performances in July 2024.

Joe Gray

With his 25th national title and fifth win at Loon Mountain, our Athlete of the Month is none other than the legend himself, Joe Gray.

Since his first win back in 2011 at age 27, Joe has been crushing it in the sub-ultra scene, and at 40, he’s still going strong, dominating the US for nearly two decades.

The men’s race at Loon Mountain was intense, with Joe Gray being closely challenged by Tyler McCandless from Fort Collins and Jonathan Aziz from Colorado Springs. The podium was super tight, with Gray finishing at 49:27, McCandless at 49:41, and Aziz at 50:17. Andy Wacker from Boulder took fourth at 52:12, followed by Garrett Corcoran from Salt Lake City in fifth at 52:57. This win just proves Joe’s still at the top of his game.

The top two men and top two women earned automatic spots on the USATF Vertical Mountain Running Team that will compete in Chiavenna, Italy at the World Cup Vertical finale on October 12.

Joe Gray’s career is a true inspiration, setting the bar high in mountain running. Congrats, Joe!

Rachel Tomajczyk

Rachel placed second in back-to-back US championships during a double-header weekend, including a stellar performance at Loon Mountain, which earned her a spot on Team USA. She also claimed second place at the Cirque Series in Snowbird, Utah, making her the only person to podium in both championships! Her second place at Loon also secured her an automatic spot on the USATF Vertical Mountain Running Team, set to compete in Chiavenna, Italy, at the World Cup Vertical finale on October 12.

At this point, Rachel is a Team USA veteran, and we love how committed she is to making these teams even stronger.

Looking Forward

It’s beginning to feel like crunch time in the trail and mountain world. As championship season begins at the end of this month in Chamonix, everyone is starting to feel the heat of training through the summer to get ready to rip.