Last week we posted the story about Wesley Korir and his dream to set up a foundation. So, you might ask, where did he end up at the marathon?He actually finished sixth. These guys have more to tell about the great runner:
He loves eating Subway sandwiches, adores the movies of Chuck Norris and has even discussed the importance of education with boxing legend Muhammad Ali – meet Kenyan marathoner Wesley Korir, the athlete who wants to make a difference.
Glance down the results of the 2009 Bank of America Chicago Marathon and the name Wesley Korir crops up in sixth in a time 2:10:38.
Nothing totally remarkable there you might think. Just another good Kenyan marathon runner from the battalion of supreme athletes churned out by the East African nation.
Yet dig a bit deeper and Korir emerges as far more than just another faceless Kenyan athlete from the pack.
For starters, he is not based in Kenya but the USA. He has a biology degree for the University of Louisville and regular visits hostels and schools in his adopted home city to lecture about the importance of education.
He has also earned a little media attention for his insistence on eating a six-inch tuna sandwich from the popular Subway franchise before every race and entered the wider public consciousness for the first time when finishing fourth at the 2008 Chicago Marathon in 2:13:53.
A race he started not with the elite athletes but five minutes further back with the mass field.
“I was disappointed, but I took it positively,” said Wesley modestly of being denied a place in the elite field in his marathon debut. “I’m glad they did it because I don’t think I was ready (to run with the elite field) I was able to control my pace, I was giving the crowd high fives, it was fun.”
In his next marathon – where he was firmly part of the elite field – he won in a course record of 2:08:24 in Los Angeles – and his career had truly arrived.
Now, those sport buffs among you will also note Wesley is based in Louisville – the birthplace of former World heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali.
So is he aware of Ali’s legacy?
“I’ve actually met Muhammad Ali two times,” Wesley says with pride. “He is a really amazing guy. It was an honour to talk to him and his wife. We talked about education.”
Whichever way you look at it has been some journey for Wesley to emerge from the poor Kenyan village of Kitale near Eldoret to be shooting the breeze with one of the world’s greatest sporting icons.
Yet from an early age he recognized there was an escape route from poverty and he was determined to pursue it.
“I was lucky in that I wasn’t only good at running, but I was also good at school," he explains. “Running, I knew, could help me get a scholarship in America. It was hard to run professionally and go to school [in Kenya] you either do one or the other.”
But in the US you could do both and with the help of 1988 Olympic 800m champion Paul Ereng, Wesley landed that scholarship.
His athletic success at the University of Louisville was respectable more than spectacular. He ran a best of 13:40 to finish third in the 5000m at the NCAA Championships and clocked 29:06 for the 10,000m.
His main focus, however, was on his education and it was only after completing his degree has he concentrated 100% on athletics. A move which has gleaned some impressive results.
Yet besides the hours of hard work on the road, on the track and in the gym he has one other little secret to he success – Subway sandwiches. Specifically, a six-inch tuna sandwich with cucumber, tomatoes and lettuce covered in ranch salad dressing all wolfed down some two hours before each race.
“I started this tradition at college and ran a personal best of 13:52 [for 5000m],” he says. “I like the taste and it doesn’t affect my stomach at all,” he explains. “I try to eat something else and I find it gives me a cramp.”
Besides his passion for sandwiches, Wesley, who has lived for five years in the USA, has immersed himself in Western culture in other ways too. He is a passionate fan of English Premier League champions Man United and loves the movies of martial arts actor Chuck Norris. “I like the fact he has this superpower where he saves people,” he adds of the star of Walker, Texas Ranger.
But Wesley never forgets where he is from. He is a fiercely proud Kenyan and he was deeply saddened by his last trip to his homeland after he was caught up in the civil war that swept the country in late 2007 and early 2008.
“I would like to go back soon but I felt very scared,” he explained. “It shocked me and showed how dangerous life could be there. The worst thing I witnessed was neighbours turning against neighbours. When I was there it was like, 'what are people doing?' It affected my moral and I need motivation to go back. I said to my coach I wish I was like Chuck Norris and stop this war.”
Stopping a war may be beyond Wesley’s abilities, but he has some ambitious projects for the future. He wants to open an orphanage in his home village in Kenya and is keen to continue to promote his message of love and peace.
“My goal is to use as a platform for showing people’s God’s love to the poor. I don’t get my power and ability in running from Subway but from God.”
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