Niche Travel

IT’S THAT TIME again, when the Kenyans run rings around everybody else in the Olympics.

Now you can find out how they do it by checking into The Kenya Experience, a running camp holiday based at Iten, one of the world’s top distance-training locations.

Despite having a population of just 4,000, the high-altitude Rift Valley town has become famous as a breeding ground for record-breaking runners, thanks in no small part to the work of Cork-born missionary Brother Colm O’Connell.

O’Connell, who is in his 60s, arrived almost 40 years ago to teach in the local school. Soon after, he set up its first athletics training camp. Since then, he has trained more than two dozen world champions and four Olympic gold medallists. He currently coaches Kenyan 800m star David Rudisha.

For those whose interest in running extends beyond just watching the Olympics, The Kenya Experience provides the perfect opportunity to sneak a peak at what goes on in Iten, to see just how it produces so much talent.

The camps are based at Lornah Kiplagat’s Training Centre, which offers an altitude of 2,400m, endless soft-dirt running trails and year-round sunshine. You also get the motivation of training alongside some of the world’s elite runners – guaranteed to bring on a personal best.

A two-week stay at the camp costs £899pp (€1,152), including all internal transfers, Nairobi to Eldoret flights and full-board. It also includes expert training advice, guided runs and coached workouts, all with an emphasis on doing it the Kenyan way. The Flora Mini Marathon won’t know what hit it.

[ traininkenya.com ]