Photo by Dennis Steinauer: Winning the 2006 Rockville Rotary Twilight 8K

I stopped by Georgetown Running Company on a Saturday morning to talk with 28-year-old Wilson Komen, three-time winner (2004- 2006) of the Rockville Rotary 8K, and 2005 champion of the St. Patrick's Day 10K (31:14), Lawyers Have Heart 10K (30:27), and Veterans Day 10K (30:25) races in Washington, DC. Komen is a Kenyan who lives in Washington and trains on his own or with local men who share a passion for running. Wilson is a very fast runner, makes an effort to fit into American culture, and speaks English well. There was no translator during our hour-long conversation, when he answered questions about how he got started as a long distance runner.

Farming Wilson Komen was raised in Eldoret, Kenya, a farming village. He didn't intend to become a runner. Children move out of their parents' home by age 18, get their own small house a few hundred meters away, and farm on a small scale, surviving, producing enough to be comfortable and buy necessities like clothing. Wilson focused on farming after high school but it was a difficult life. He imagined owning a small business, but it would take a long time to accumulate the resources to start his own business. It was very hard work, being a farmer with his family. He saw his friends running; one asked him why he wasn't also running, "You look like a runner." Wilson had the slim body structure necessary to run well. His friends questioned his choice of farming when he had athletic talent. "Why don't you try to get into a training program with these other guys and see what's going on," they encouraged. So Wilson agreed to try it, "I think I can do it. The running, I don't think it is a difficult issue for me. Maybe I can try to train." Wilson had run with friends in high school but says he wasn't fast. Eldoret is famous for its outstanding distance runners, an area rich in talent.

An Invitation Wilson didn't have money for shoes or running clothes, so what was he going to run in? His uncle, who had competed on an international level before an injury stopped his running career, approached him and invited him to stay in his home near the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. Wilson believed running was too challenging without knowledge of how to train and prepare for races, what to eat, and how to solve problems that might arise. But his uncle had experience; he offered to coach Wilson and make sure he trained as much as possible. Wilson started at zero level, with no experience; his uncle made a training schedule and interviewed Wilson at the end of each day on how he felt during a run and his emotional state, what pace he ran, whether he was tired, had an injury, or was in pain. He took notes, reviewed all the information, analyzed it, and gave the notes and comments back to Wilson to read.

Motivation Each weekend, there would be a time trial on a circuit with times to hit at checkpoints on the course. His uncle would ride on a bicycle alongside Wilson to verify the workout; there was no loafing. Wilson was training alone, without friends, sometimes exhausted, but felt he needed to complete the workouts exactly the way they were designed. The level of difficulty upset Wilson occasionally, but his uncle was good at reassuring and correcting mistakes. This is how to improve, his uncle explained; training is a mental process and requires discipline. One should be focused because running fast is not easy, it's not sweet, soft, or enjoyable--it's hard work. Wilson remembers the advice of his uncle and says he had the right coaching method. A runner is not going to obtain anything by choosing an easy path, relaxing, and expecting results.

Guidance As Wilson improved, his uncle expected Wilson to plan a greater portion of the workout so that he would learn to coach himself. His uncle explained that only an athlete knows how his body has responded to a workload; a runner must learn to adjust the training schedule as exhaustion sets in. Wilson raced once or twice a month during this time. Racing requires greater energy, so one needs to allow extra time for recovery and training. He raced in a variety of events, for balance: cross country, road, and track races. Each week he did a timed run to measure his progress so that he could monitor the effect of workouts. Wilson experimented with training intensity because he could not predict when he would reach a point of exhaustion. He needed to push the envelope, find his physical limit; the emphasis is on developing one's talent rather than on winning.

The Next Step Wilson trained with his uncle for about two years. At age 24, he joined a training camp with 50 to 60 runners, including well-known professionals, at Ngong Hills near Nairobi. It was difficult, at first, to train with experienced athletes; he had no sponsor and little income. Friends gave him shoes. His racing experience included one national Kenyan cross- country championship; he placed about 30th. His first race abroad was an invitation to a 2001 road race in Sweden; he competed in five races in Sweden and one race in Norway, and returned to Kenya. Then he raced in Canada for five months but it ended badly due to financial mismanagement by agents.

Going Solo He received an invitation to race in West Virginia, the 2003 Parkersburg Half Marathon, and he found that this region had plenty of competitive races to enter. Friends in the Washington area helped him move here; he currently supports himself, works at Georgetown Running Company, and lives downtown.

Wilson races in a variety of events locally and nationally, including the Boston, UnderArmour Baltimore, Cellcom Green Bay, and White Rock (Dallas) Marathons, the Crim 10 Miler (Flint, MI), Peachtree 10K (Atlanta), and Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile. A few of his most notable results: a big performance at this year's Cherry Blossom 10 Mile with a time of 47:58 for fifth place (he lowered his 10 mile best time from 48:41 at the 2004 Crim race); a top 15 placing in the 2006 Boston Marathon for the first time (2:18:26, 14th); a victory in the 2005 CellCom Green Bay Marathon with a time of 2:17:32; a fourth place in the 2004 Baltimore Marathon (2:17:31); and a dominant record in the Rockville Rotary Twilight 8K (three titles, a winning time of 24:15 this July).

Wilson seeks improvement in his running, even if it is only a few seconds. One must be careful to limit racing (usually no more than two events per month) because constant racing would lead to an exhausted athlete capable of doing nothing. His diet emphasizes natural foods, fruits, vegetables, some meat; he avoids artificial ingredients.

Georgetown Running Company has a weekly training run open to all and Wilson participates. Max Lockwood (profiled in the July- August issue) has been running with Wilson a few times each week for about one year, and says Wilson has helped him and Chris Raabe improve as runners, telling them to push to one's limit to achieve their goals. Max says Wilson has a great attitude, encourages others, says hello and shakes hands before a race. (Max ran 5:32 pace versus Wilson's 4:50 per mile pace at June's Lawyers Have Heart 10K.) There are Tuesday track workouts at Washington & Lee High School with Wilson, Max, Chris, Ben Cooke, and others; and intense fartlek runs along the C&O Canal, when Wilson drops runners one by one and keeps on going.

Wilson Komen adds that he has broad experience as a runner, from the grassroots level to elite racing, and understands how to motivate people to enjoy their daily runs and set goals. He feels capable of coaching both beginners and competitive athletes as they prepare for road races, including marathons. At all stages of the sport, one's mental approach (discipline and focus) to running is as important as the training one performs.