Kiptoo and Chenonge battle to Kenyan Armed Forces titles

Nairobi, Kenya – Kenya’s Armed Forces are spoiling for a fight with the Kenya Police after a dramatic weekend of cross country running that saw Linet Masai, one of the favourites for the gold medal at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Bydgoszcz (March 28), upstaged by World 5,000m champion Vivian Cheruiyot at the Kenya Police national championships Saturday (22).

As the Kenya Police picked their team at the Ngong Racecourse circuit for the February 20 national championships that will also act as Kenya’s trials for the world meet, across the city of Nairobi, Kenya’s Armed Forces also held their national championships where veterans prevailed over fledgling upstarts in spectacular fashion.

Kenya’s fives times World cross country champion and former Marathon World record holder, Paul Tergat, watched from the sidelines, cheering on his Moi Air Base team as fellow airman Mark Kiptoo ran a tactical race to defeat defending 12km champion Vincent Kiprop, a man almost 10 years his junior.

In the women’s 8km race, the defending champion also fell when Innes Chenonge upset Linet Chepkurui with veteran former World 10,000m champion Sally Barsosio hanging in there for a 10th place finish on a challenging Kahawa Garrison course.

The men’s race was a real battle as the 33-year-old Kiptoo, running for the Laikipia Air Base, took the cautious approach, training the lead pack that included Leonard Oloitiptip of Moi Air Base (MAB), Gideon Gathimba (Laikipia Air Base), Shadrack Kosgei (Kahawa), Josephat Menjo (MAB) and Kiplimo Kimutai (LAB).