Douglas Wakiihuri: Made in Japan to shine for Kenya

The term pioneer might perhaps not be enough to describe legendary Kenyan long-distance runner Douglas Wakiihuri.

The first Kenyan to win the world championships marathon title in 1987, first Kenyan Olympic marathon medallist a year later, first Kenyan London Marathon champion in 1989 and first Kenyan Commonwealth marathon gold medallist, both in 1990.

Wakiihuri describes his 2:09:03 London victory as the culmination of what had been a rivalry between himself and then long-distance Djibouti runner Hussein Ahmed Salah.

“In the press conference, Salah said that he came specifically to beat me and I said I was game as it was a good challenge,” recalls Wakiihuri.

The then 24-year-old had beaten Salah to win the World Championships title in Rome 1987, then scooped silver a year later at the Seoul Olympics to better Salah’s bronze.

Three decades later, we find the 57-year-old in his element, running in the Ngong Forest Sanctuary trail alongside one of his mentees.

Mombasa-born

Wakiihuri is sentimental about the forest, he trained there as a teenager while part of the Langata Women’s Prisons Athletics team, after his mother – a Kenya Prisons wardress – was transferred to the facility.

But the Mombasa-born athlete, who grew up in a home of three boys, had realised his love for running much earlier in Meru.

“School was about 2km away from home and we had a 1hr break for lunch so we’d rush home,” the Olympic silver medallist explains, “so that run we’d make as boys turned into a competition and was the trigger for my running talent.”

A year after completing high school in 1982, Wakiihuri seized a life changing opportunity to train in Japan, all the while chasing his dream of running in the Olympics.

His coach, Kiyochi Nakamura, a former Japanese middle-distance runner who held the 1500m national record for 13 years, tried to get Wakiihuri into the distance.

Unfortunately, the strategy didn’t work and the pair continued to look for ways to get Wakiihuri into the Olympics.

“The 10,000m was too competitive so my coach decided the marathon was more realistic as at the time it simply needed one to run 2:16:00 to qualify for the Olympics.”

“The timeliness and discipline I was put under for four years in Japan actually produced Kenya’s first marathon gold medal.”

Marathon like a rose

That world championship gold medal is admittedly Wakiihuri’s most special amongst his impressive collection.

The pioneer had a principle to marathon running, one that he famously said on the eve of his 1990 New York City win. A marathon is like a rose.

“When we look at the rose flower, we always see the beautiful part but we rarely talk about what’s below that flower…the marathon training is like the thorny part but when you win the race, the victory is as beautiful as the red flower.”

Wakiihuri was famous for running in a distinct white glove, something akin to the late pop star Michael Jackson. However, the former world champion says his strategy had more to do with tactic than fashion.

“I’d use the glove to rub the excessive sweat off my hand during the marathon so as to grab the water quicker and shave off a few milli-seconds.”

He would take his first sip religiously at 25km. The 57-year-old is now known for training Kenya’s First Lady, Margaret Kenyatta, as part of her Beyond Zero Half Marathon campaign.

His philanthropy has helped many, with proceeds of his Japanese-funded Sotokoto Marathon having opened a nursery school in Kenya's largest slum, Kibera, where he also set up a Running Club to help the area's disadvantaged children, many of whom he mentors.

Wakiihuri boasts of other talents as well.

“I have a small studio in the house where I compose music including reggae and patriotic songs, I even learnt how to compose Japanese music.”

A man used to sailing in uncharted waters, Wakiihuri’s victories opened the floodgates of success for Kenyan marathoners…success that they hope to continue at the 2020 London Marathon set for October 4 and live on NTV.