Team Kenya intensify preps for World Schools Cross Country Championships

The Kenyan team to the International Schools Federation (ISF) World Schools Cross Country Championships have intensified their preparations ahead of the global competition on May 12 at the Ngong Racecourse in Nairobi.

The team, which is in residential camp in Ngong, is under the tutelage of head coach Robert Ngisirei.

Ngisirei said the morale in the camp is high and the coaches have put maximum effort to ensure all the athletes are physically and psychologically ready for the D-day.

“The mood in the camp is very upbeat and the athletes are very psyched up to compete with the rest from around the world. We have been showing them clips of past international athletics events just to give them an idea of what to expect on that day,” Ngisirei said.

The coach further said the athletes, most of who will be debuting for Kenya, have been giving their all and listening keenly to their coaches’ instructions.

“The training has gone on well so far. We thank God that we do not have any major injuries among the athletes. We are soldiering on as we head towards the big day,” he said.

A major challenge the team have been grappling with is the heavy rains that have been pounding the country for the last one month.

Nonetheless, Ngisirei said they have worked a way around it by tweaking their training schedule.

“The heavy rains have indeed been a problem for us but we have found a way to cope with it. We have made the best of the moments in which it is not raining to train and I would say we have prepared adequately,” the coach said.

Nairobi marks the second time the World Schools Cross Country will be held on African soil since 2000 when it was staged in Marrakech, Morocco.

As the host nation, Ngisirei expects Kenya to dominate all categories of competition including, U-12 (boys and girls); under-15 and under 18 (boys and girls).

“For us, we want to take the podium places and the top 10 positions as well. That is what we are looking at. The other countries can compete for positions 11 onwards,” he said.

The coach urged Kenyans to turn up in numbers at Ngong Racecourse and cheer their young ones to victory.

“I’d like to tell them to come in their numbers and see their young ones display their talents on that course. Their presence will give them much-needed morale to perform well on that day,” Ngisirei said.

The one-day competition will feature thousands of participants from 20 countries globally, including Ethiopia, Chile, Uganda, Namibia, New Zealand, Turkey, Luxembourg, Tanzania, Italy, England, Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and China.