62 min at half way mark: Pacesetter Kipkemboi’s job in Berlin

You could consider this a perfect arrangement. Bethwell Kipkemboi will be pacesetting for some of his training mates at the Berlin Marathon on September 24.

His brief?

“I have been given a pace of 2 hours 4 minutes and I’m supposed to cross the half mark at 62 minutes,” said Kipkemboi, who will be pacing up to the 30km mark.

And Kipkemboi is looking forward to helping people he would as well call his brothers on the fast streets of Berlin.

They have been training together for the past three months.

Athletes competing in Berlin Marathon from Ikaika Sports in Iten, Elgeyo Marakwet include Justus Kangogo, Philemon Kiplimo, Abel Kipchumba, Silas Sugut, Dominic Nyairo and Ronald Korir.

Kipkemboi, a competitive accomplished marathoner runner in his own right, is confident that the little experience he has in the distance will help him do a good job as he leads athletes in the Majors marathon.

His running career started with training for a scholarship in the USA.

He later started running professionally.

In April, he competed at the Daegu Marathon in South Korea finishing fifth in 2:07:34.

Other marathons he has raced in include Xiamen Marathon, Valencia Marathon, Prague Marathon and Frankfurt Marathon.

“Having competed in these races I know I need to work on my speed as I target a new personal best time.

One of his training mate Bernard Kibet will also be a pacesetter in Berlin for the  second group of competitors who will be looking to finish at around the 2 hours 6 minutes mark.

For Kibet, this will be a learning experience as he prepares for his competitive debut over the distance in the Valencia Marathon.

“My training has been good and I’m just focused on the race which also acts as a bridge for my debut. I will be pacing with my training mate and this will just be like another long run for me only that we shall be observing the splits which is important in that race,” said Kibet.

“Pacing in the race will also help me fine tune ahead of my marathon race in about two months time.

“It’s my prayer that I will be able to finish the task well and continue training for the race because I have a good company with whom we have lived well like brothers though we come from different backgrounds,” he added.

Born in Tenges in Baringo County, Kibet started running while in Tenges Boys High School where he sat his Form Four exams in 2013.

He embarked on serious training in 2014 for two years before moving to the USA in 2016 where he competed in numerous road races.

He returned to Kenya  in 2018 and joined Ikaika Sports.