Written by Jude Martin
On July 18th, Write on Sports interviewed several members of Goshen’s track team, including Vincent Kibunja, at Goshen College. Kibunja grew up in Nakuru, Kenya. He is going into his 3rd season of track and cross country, going into his junior year at Goshen, and is majoring in Business Management. Before coming to Goshen, Kibunja went to Monroe College in New York City, but he didn’t enjoy it and came to Goshen; Kibunja says that he found a good community here. Before competing in track and cross country, Kibunja played soccer in Kenya and stayed fit by running six miles each day to school; he says that Goshen is similar to where he grew up, except that there are a lot more cars here.
In cross country, Kibunja has ran 8k races in just 26 minutes, which is running more than 11 mph. In track, his fastest mile is only four minutes and twenty-seven seconds, nearly twice as fast as the average person. Kibunja says that running is as much mental as it is physical, and that growing up he learned to fully complete tasks- this helps him finish a race. He says that he runs because, “it’s a good medicine to put in your body.” This is similar to what his teammate Gerardo Abad said–“running is my outlet… it makes you feel better.” Whatever the reason why you run, you have to love it to do track–Kibunja says that he runs 8-10 miles a day, 70 miles a week, to stay in shape. Apparently it works–Kibunja finished 4th in the last meet of the season in the 5000(this is about 3.1 miles) with a time of 15:35.
Keep an eye on Kibunja- he made it to the nationals last year, and will probably do it again, this time with even more experience. And maybe someday you’ll see him on television living his dream of becoming a professional runner, and winning a medal in the Olympics. He says that he dreams of the feeling of getting a medal around his neck. Whatever happens in his running career, he’ll do it as both a Kenyan and a Goshen Maple Leaf.