Benjamin Cheptalam: 71 year old fresh off Iten International Marathon debut

Most people aged 70 and above are content with sitting in the shade of trees, trading stories and memories, but not Benjamin Cheptalam.

71-year-old Cheptalam was among the top finishers in the 5km category of the Iten International Marathon that was held on Sunday 12 November.

For him, age is just a number. He drew his inspiration from his surroundings where young people would run in the morning and evenings.

"I saw young men running around every day, and I also decided to run," Cheptalam, who was still fit for the interview, offered.

He added that the race was not as challenging, since he trains in the same weather every day.

"It was a good race. But at some point, I looked back and did not see anything. Then, I thought I was lost until I saw a police vehicle that made me know I was on the right track," he offered.

Cheptalam was joined by 58-year-old John Kiplagat who called on more races for elderly people.

"I am really happy to finish this. The challenge was running with younger people and those who are in camps. If it was a masters-only run, we would know the position that we took. In the future, we would love to have a masters-only category," Kiplagat offered.

The masters' athletes are under the tutelage of former 400m and 800m runner Mary Chemwolo.

58-year-old Chemwolo noted that she started training elderly athletes (50 years and above) two decades ago after retiring from competitive running.

She showered praises on Cheptalam, describing him as a dedicated and disciplined student. So far, she has 56 charges under her watch.

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"I started training them in 2003. I registered them and Cheptalam is the eldest at 71. But he is okay. He is very dedicated. There was a day I bought him uniforms and took him to Nairobi. He is very healthy. He runs in the morning and in the evenings and reports to me on his progress. But he must finish 5km or 10km every day," she started.

"I train elderly people as a form of giving back to society. I am a former athlete and in the past, when you retired, no one really cared about you. So, I started training them and so far I have 56 veteran masters," she offered.

However, as she pointed out, her role did not come without its challenges, among them communication, since the eldest ones like Cheptalam did not own smartphones.

She also explained that many of her charges find it hard to train with the bone-chilling Iten weather.

For instance, during the early hours of Sunday morning, the temperature was trailing at 11`.

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"The main hurdles are training gear, the weather, lack of training facilities, and challenges in communication because he does not have a smartphone and we make most communications on WhatsApp. But when you call them, they answer and even call to inquire about training," Chemwolo told Mozzart Sport.

Some of her charges are sharpening claws for the 2023 Africa Masters Athletics Championships set for November 15-18 in Pretoria, South Africa.