(CNN)When Helen Obiri travels 14,000 kilometers from Kenya to Colorado later this year, she already misses a few. I know it will be comfort of home.
This includes Kenyan cuisine and the national staple, ugali. Ugali is a thick porridge made from maize flour.
While it is common for long-distance runners to transition from track to road racing towards the end of their careers, it is less common for them to do so by traveling half the world in the way Obiri planned.
It's not a difficult move," Obiri, who is based outside Kenya for the first time in his career, told CNN. I want to move there for... It takes at least two weeks to get used to it and catch up to my level. And the mild climate makes it an ideal place for long-distance runners. There, Obiri will be joining his OAC's relatively new team, launched in 2020 by Swiss sportswear brand On.
Under Litzenhein's guidance, Obiri has already started his marathon program, increasing his training load from 180 this week. Up to a week he runs 200 km. She has established herself as one of the world's best 5,000m and her 10,000m runners over the past five years and will begin the next chapter of her career.
Just last month, she won silver in her 10,000 m at the World Athletics Championships, setting a personal best of 30 minutes and 10 seconds, and won her 5,000 m silver at the last two Olympics. have earned. A game to go with her two world titles at the event.
Her New York debut shows how Obiri's track running pedigree impacts her 26.2-mile marathon would be the first indicator.
"I can't say I'm targeting this time or this time. This is my debut work," she says. "I know the New York Marathon is a tough course, especially in the second half, so I can't say I want to do sub 2:20, 2:25." The challenging course winds its way through the boroughs and down Fifth Avenue to Central Park.
"For me, it's my debut, so I want to train hard. Of course, I'm looking forward to running a good race. I'm looking forward to running my own race without feeling any pressure." to get it right,” adds Obiri.
She says she will miss her favorite, her 5,000m race, but she can't quite cut her spikes on the track by switching to running her marathon.
"Without speed, she can't run a marathon," explains Obiri, who plans to keep her sharp by competing in the 5,000 m race in Kenya next year. She added that she would.
But her immediate focus is on settling down with her family in the United States. Obiri hopes her seven-year-old daughter, Tania, will move in in time to watch the races in New York, depending on her visa.
"She'll be excited to go out of the country," says Obiri. I'm so excited for ..she actually calls me and says, 'Mommy, go for it and be number one. She always wants me to be number one. ''
Obiri's daughter isn't the only one with high hopes at the NYC Marathon. The Kenyan athlete has dominated the event for the past decade with her eight winners in the women's race.
But whatever performance she puts in, Obiri will herald her next beginning as she meanders through her five boroughs of New York in November. Her running A new stage in her career and a new adventure for her family
