Obiri catching up with American dream in Colorado

Hellen Obiri started chasing her American dream back in 2019 after her historic exploits during that season.

She took the 2019 season by storm, winning both the World Athletics Cross Country Championships senior women's 10 kilometre and World 5,000 metres titles.

That saw Obiri make history as the first woman to win world titles in three major championships; World Indoor (3,000m-2012), World outdoor (5,000m-2017, 2019) and World Cross-Country (2019).

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“That is when a wild thought came to my mind after I decided to scale to 10,000m and road running,” said Obiri, who finished fifth in 10,000m at the 2019 world championships. 

“I wanted to change my training set up and relocate to somewhere else, preferably the United States of America,” explained Obiri.

Then On, a Swiss Performance Running Shoes and Clothing company that has the On Athletics Club (OAC) based at a full-time training facility located in Boulder, Colorado, USA approached Obiri with a deal she could barely refuse.

That saw Obiri change from her long time kitting company Nike to On as her American dream became a reality.

“I wanted a change that would come up with good opportunities and OAC offered good support both in training and education for my daughter Tania,” said Obiri, who trained briefly trained in Colorado for her maiden marathon appearance at New York City on November 22 last year, finishing sixth in 2:25:49.

“It’s about business and one is likely to settle for a good deal. Nike has so many athletes but a change is good for me.

“I want to see how it goes since On is a small company, which is starting. This is an opportunity for me to grow with them and as you know nothing is impossible,” explained Obiri, the Warrant Officer II at Kenya Defence Forces.

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Obiri finally relocated her daughter Tania and husband Tom Simon to Colorado in mid-March this year before going on to win her first marathon in Boston in 2:21:38 on April 17 this year.

“It was challenging adjusting to the new environment in Colorado last year and relocating this year. Tania is the one person we were worried about but surprisingly she has adjusted faster than us,” said Obiri.

“I can’t complain about the weather here since it’s just like Ngong where I used to train. Kenyan cuisine like maize meal floor (ugali) among other delicacies are in stores here hence no worry,” explained the 33-year-old Obiri.

However, Obiri acknowledged that that training regime has drastically changed from what she was exposed to in Kenya while preparing for track races.

Obiri noted that her new kitting company On literally started from scratch to produce tailor-made shoes for distance training and competition for her.

“You now have everything at your disposal from a doctor, dietician, psychologist, and physiologist. You just have people monitoring your running style and coming up with solutions to shoes in case of change...it’s a different world from Kenya,“ said Obiri, the 2017 and 2019 world 5,000m champion and 2016 Rio Olympic Games 5,000m silver medallist.

Obiri, who is preparing for her second appearance at the New York City Marathon scheduled for Sunday, disclosed that she has already touched base with some of Kenya’s top elite athletes in Colorado like two-time world marathon champion Edna Kiplagat.

Obiri and Kiplagat, the 2010 New York City Marathon, are among the elite female field heading for New York including their compatriots Peres Jepchirchir and defending champion Sharon Lokedi.

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“I have been training with Kiplagat since June and her rich marathon reservoir is something every athlete would love to tap into. She has been welcoming and her motivation and encouragement is admirable,” said Obiri, adding that a good performance in New York on Sunday will be key to her 2024 Paris Olympics dream.

“I will sacrifice anything and everything just to prepare for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games if selected, even if it means training for six months before Paris,“ said Obiri, who reckons that competition for places in the team in Paris will be stiff.

Obiri noted that new marathon stars are coming through and training is thorough with technology making things different from yesteryears.

“People are training like crazy and technology too has brought in new running shoes, attires and training methods with people being inspired to break world records,” said Obiri, adding that the world record of 2:11:53 set by Ethiopian Tigist Assefa in Berlin this year will take years to break.

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