Kelvin Kiptum's pacesetter reflects on grand plans up in smoke

When Novestus Kirwa relocated his training base from Kapsabet, Nandi County, to Chepkorio in Elgeyo Marakwet County, he envisioned being part of history by pacing Kelvin Kiptum at the Rotterdam Marathon on April 14.

This was after the world marathon record holder had declared his intentions of attempting to run the Rotterdam course in under two hours.

However, this dream has tragically dissipated with the sudden passing of Kiptum and his coach, Gervais Hakizimana, in a fatal road accident on Sunday night along the Eldoret-Ravine road.

When the Nation Sport team visited Kirwa at his rented apartments in Chepkorio, along the Eldoret-Ravine road, the same plot where Kiptum and his coach used to stay, Kirwa was sitting on a verandah in the company of fellow athletes who formed part of Kiptum’s training group, the grief evident.

They revealed that they haven’t gone for training for two consecutive days now and are uncertain about what to do next.  Kirwa narrates to us how he received the news of Kiptum’s and their coach’s accident.  

“A fellow athlete called me at around 11pm, and when I answered, he asked if I had heard what had happened… I said no, then he hung up promising to call back ‘in a few minutes.’ I was confused since I was a sleep, within a few minutes a teammate called and told me that Kiptum and coach were involved in an accident at around Flax area” said Kirwa.

“I woke several athletes at the camp and we started walking towards the shopping centre where we found some boda boda operators whom I suspect refused to break the sad news to us on realising that we were Kiptum’s training mates, only telling us that they (Kiptum and coach) had been rushed to hospital.” 

He said they waited until 1am before a colleague called and broke the heartbreaking news.

The 24-year-old Kirwa moved to Chepkorio in December, 2023, his sole mission being to prepare for the uphill task of pacing for Kiptum at the April 14 Rotterdam Marathon.

Known for his unconventional running style characterised by accelerating speed in progressive kilometres, Kirwa had devised a plan to handle Kiptum’s incredible energy effectively that often left other pace-makers struggling to hang on.

Part of Kibet’s plan was to train alongside Kiptum.

“I had been watching Kiptum’s races on repeat mode since I saw him run a mind-blowing pace in Valencia in December of 2022....