The Tuskys Wareng Cross Country is an annual cross country running competition that takes place in November near Eldoret in Kenya. The name is derived from the sponsor, Tuskys Supermarket, which is based in Wareng County.
Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. Sometimes the runners are referred to as harriers (dogs). The course, typically 4–12 kilometres (2.5–7.5 mi) long, may include surfaces of grass, and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road. It is both an individual and a team sport; runners are judged on individual times and teams by a points-scoring method. Both men and women of all ages compete in cross country, which usually takes place during autumn and winter, and can include weather conditions of rain, sleet, snow or hail, and a wide range of temperatures.
Eldoret is a principal city in western Kenya and the fifth largest in the country. It is the second most important city in western Kenya after Kisumu and also serves as the capital of Uasin Gishu County. Lying south of the Cherangani Hills, the local elevation varies from about 2100 metres at the airport to more than 2700 metres in nearby areas (7000–9000 feet). The population was 289,380 in the 2009 census, and it is currently the fastest growing town in Kenya. It is also the second largest urban centre in midwestern Kenya after Nakuru and the fifth largest urban centre in the country.
Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country in Africa with 47 semiautonomous counties governed by elected governors. At 580,367 square kilometres (224,081 sq mi), Kenya is the world's 48th largest country by total area. With a population of more than 52.2 million people, Kenya is the 27th most populous country. Kenya's capital and largest city is Nairobi while its oldest city and first capital is the coastal city of Mombasa. Kisumu City is the third largest city and a critical inland port at Lake Victoria. Other important urban centres include Nakuru and Eldoret.
The event was inaugurated in December 2006 with its soft grassy course located in the Huruma area four kilometres west of the centre of Eldoret (a town renowned for long-distance running). [1] The first edition was known as the Tuskermatt Cross Country, but this changed to its current title the year after. [2] [3] The competition's programme of events comprised two senior races (men's 12 km and women's 8 km) and two junior races (boy's 8 km and girl's 6 km). The competition quickly attracted a high number of top level runners in the region and by 2008 the senior men's race alone garnered some 250 entries. It developed into one of the major Kenyan annual races and Kipchoge Keino, head of Kenyan Olympic Committee, was present that year. [4]
Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least eight kilometres (5 miles). Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength.
Kipchoge Hezekiah Keino is a retired Kenyan track and field athlete. He was the chairman of the Kenyan Olympic Committee (KOC) until 29th September 2017. A two-time Olympic gold medalist, Keino was among the first in a long line of successful middle and long distance runners to come from the country and has helped and inspired many of his fellow countrymen and women to become the athletics force that they are today. In 2012, he was of one of 24 athletes inducted as inaugural members of the International Association of Athletics Federations Hall Of Fame.
Although the event attracts almost exclusively Kenyan runners, the calibre of the competitors is very high, such is the country's strength internationally. World Cross Country champions Emily Chebet and Vivian Cheruiyot have both won the competition, [5] while the men's side has been won by world half marathon champion Wilson Kiprop, World Cross runner-up Moses Mosop, and World Cross team medallist Hosea Macharinyang. [6] [7] Among those to have won the junior races, Leonard Komon, Mercy Cherono, Daniel Salel and Purity Cherotich Rionoripo have gone on to win World Junior Cross Country medals.
IAAF World Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the International Cross Country Championships. It was an annual competition until 2011, when the IAAF changed it to a biennial event.
Emily Chebet Muge is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in the 10,000 metres and cross country running. She is a two-time winner of the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, being the gold medallist in 2010 and 2013.
Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in track and cross country running, olympic champion in 5000 metres event. She represented Kenya at the 2000 Summer Olympics, the 2008 Summer Olympics, the 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2016 Summer Olympics, winning a silver medal at the 5000 m and bronze medal at the 10000 m at the 2012 Olympics, silver medal at the 10000 m and gold medal at the 5000 m at the 2016 Olympics, setting the new Olympic record in 5000 m event. Cheruiyot won a silver medal in the 5000 metres at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics and became the world champion in the event at the 2009 edition, repeating this achievement at the 2011 World Championships, where she doubled up by winning the 10000 m.
