Brigid is all set to be the next big thing in athletics, going by her performance in the track in recent months. She has shown that nothing is impossible so long as one trains one’s sights on the goal.
Brigid is an upcoming athlete who has been training in Kapsait in Elgeyo Marakwet County under her coach, Eric Kimaiyo. She has shown tremendous growth in her career and is raring to challenge the world marathon record currently held by Briton Paula Radcliff of 2:15:25 (mixed gender).
On any given day, her programme starts at 5am when she joins her training mates for a morning run. And at the end of every week, she covers a distance of more than 200kms, equivalent to running from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to Nakuru town.
At the Great North Run two weeks ago, she clocked the fastest time ever run by a woman in the 21km race that saw her clock 1:04:28.
She ran inside the world record held by fellow Kenyan Joyciline Jepkosgei of 1:04:51, which was set at the Valencia Half marathon set in 2017. However, the North Run course is not eligible for records and she will just remain the fastest woman in the 21km race for now.
In April, the athlete won the London Marathon title in 2:18:20, ahead of her compatriot Vivian Cheruiyot who clocked 2:20:14 while Ethiopia’s Roza Dereje was third.
Brigid has also won six of her 10 marathons and various half marathons and races since she started her career.
Next month, she will be defending her Chicago Marathon title. In 2017, the athlete bagged a silver medal at the Chicago Marathon behind Ethiopia’s Tirunesh Dibaba. She later lined up for the London Marathon last year where she again came in second. Last October, she improved her performance and won the Chicago Marathon and again won the London Marathon April this year.
Brigid urges the younger generation to always work hard since nothing comes on a silver platter.
–Bernard Rotich
