Dennis Kimetto is the fastest person to ever run a marathon. He wanted to be a farmer.
At 31 years old, Dennis Kimetto might be the youngest living person I profile this Black History Month. Kimetto comes from a town in western Kenya. He trains in a running group outside of his hometown alongside two other elite distance runners, Geoffrey Mutai and Wilson Kipsang. Both Mutai and Kipsang have held the world record in the marathon and are members of an elite club even amongst elite runners: those who have run 2:03 in the marathon. For the record, that’s about 13mph or 4min 41sec for 26.2 miles.
At the 2014 Berlin Marathon, Dennis Kimetto ran 2:02:57, breaking Mutai’s marathon world record and making him the first and only man to ever run under 2:03.
Two years before that, Kimetto 25 kilometers in 1:11:18, setting a new world record for the distance (about 15.5 miles).
Kimetto’s career has been very impressive so far. His career started in earnest in 2011, when he won the Nairobi Half-Marathon. That career, however, almost never happened.
In 2008, three years before he won in Nairobi, Dennis Kimetto was a farmer. He was running from his farm to town when the already-elite runner, Geoffrey Mutai, noticed the farmer running by the side of the road. Mutai was struck by how gracefully Kimetto ran. He convinced the 25-year old (older than most people who start training seriously) to take up the sport. The risk was great — becoming a full-time runner is basically taking on a full-time job for no pay. The elites like Kimetto and Mutai can take home $150,000 for winning one race. The guy who finishes thirty seconds behind them goes home empty-handed. In fact, the job is so risky that his wife fainted when he beat the world record.
TL;DR
- In 2008, Dennis Kimetto was a farmer in a small town in Kenya. In 2014, Dennis Kimetto became the fastest man in the world.
- To realize his dream, Kimetto had to risk everything to devote himself to a risky, often thankless profession.
What You Should Do Now:
- Take a risk — it doesn’t matter how small. Just think of something that you find a little bit scary and go do it.
- Get outside. Walk, run, sit on your front porch, whatever. Just take in some fresh air.
28 Days of Inspirational Black People:
