Benson Kipchumba Barus (born 4 July 1980) is a Kenyan
long-distance runner
Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength.
Within endurance ru ...
who competes in
marathon
The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...
and
half marathon competitions. He has a personal best of 2:07:07 hours for the distance, set at the 2011
Prague Marathon, which he won. He also won the 2009
Turin Marathon and has placed top three in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
,
Beijing
Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
and
Chuncheon
Chuncheon (; ; literally ''spring river''), formerly romanized as Ch'unch'ŏn, is the capital of Gangwon Province, South Korea. The city lies in the north of the country, located in a basin formed by the Soyang River and Han River (Korea), Han R ...
.
He was the
10,000 metres World Junior Champion in 1998. Based in Italy, working with Federico Rosa and
Claudio Berardelli, Barus has won numerous road races in the country, including the
Giro di Castelbuono,
Giro Media Blenio,
Udine Half Marathon and
Roma-Ostia Half Marathon. His best for the half marathon is 59:41 minutes.
Career
Born in
Nakuru, capital of the
Rift Valley Province, Benson Barus is of the
Tugen ethnic group, which has also produced runners including
Paul Tergat.
[Sampaolo, Diego (8 October 2006)]
Fast times make Milan fastest Italian marathon of the year
IAAF. Retrieved on 1 May 2011. Barus had his first success as a teenager competing at the junior level, taking the
gold medal
A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture.
Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...
over
10,000 metres at the
1998 World Junior Championships in Athletics
The 1998 World Junior Championships in Athletics is the 1998 edition of the World Junior Championships in Athletics. It was held in Annecy, France from July 28 to August 2.
Results
Men
1 Ahmed Baday of Morocco originally won the bronze medal ...
. He began to focus on
road running
Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain.
These events are usually classified as long-distance ru ...
competitions and, being managed by Italian Federico Rosa and trained by
Claudio Berardelli, he ran in a number of races in Italy. He had consecutive victories at the
Amatrice-Configno race in 2000 and 2001, and also took three straight wins at the
Giro di Castelbuono from 2000 to 2002. He was the winner of the 10.5 km race at the 2001
Miglianico Tour. Running at the 2001 Kenyan Championships, he achieved a personal best of 28:09.32 minutes over 10,000 m on the
track, but this was not enough to make the team for the
2001 World Championships in Athletics
The 8th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between 3 and 12 August 2001 and was the first time the event ...
as he came fifth overall.
Barus had a series of circuit wins in Italy in early 2002, claiming first place at the
Montefortiana Turà, Corrida di San Geminiano, Trofeo Sant'Agata, Vivicittà Firenze 12K,
Giro Media Blenio, and the
Luzerner Stadtlauf. A 10K best of 27:52 minutes came at a race in
Gualtieri in April 2003 and this proved to be one of the fastest runs by any athlete in the world that year. He won
Cesena
Cesena (; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy; and - with Forlì - is the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena. Served by Autostrada A14 (Italy), Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine M ...
's
Notturna di San Giovanni 10K race later that year. He served as the
pacemaker for the
Carpi Marathon that October, leading up to the half-way point. Returning to competitive racing the next year,
Martin Lel beat him into second place at the 2004 Trofeo Sant'Agata, but he defeated all opposition at the Corrida di San Geminiano race. He won the 25th edition of the
Golden Shoe 8 km Road Race in April. Barus made his debut over the half marathon distance at the 2004
Udine Half Marathon and he set a best of 1:01:31 hours, taking fourth.
He won in a course record time of 1:01:14 at the 2005
Nice Half Marathon. After taking pacemaking duties at the
City-Pier-City Loop, He set bests at the
Berlin Half Marathon (fourth in 60:57 min) and the
Rotterdam Half Marathon (fourth in 60:17 min). A month after his race in Rotterdam, he made his marathon debut at the
Milano City Marathon and established himself as a top competitor in the event, taking the runner-up spot behind
Benson Kipchumba Cherono in a time of 2:08:33 hours. It was the fastest marathon race in the country that year.
[
He took back-to-back wins over the half marathon in February the next year, taking the title at the Eldoret Half Marathon in Kenya and then the Roma-Ostia Half Marathon. He made his second outing over the full distance at the JoongAng Seoul Marathon in November and recorded another sub-2:10 time, being edged into fourth place by Ethiopian Yerefu Berhanu. In 2008 he served as the pacemaker for the Rome City Marathon, a run which was his preparation for the Paris Marathon the month after, where his time of 2:09:23 brought him ninth in a high quality field. He completed his first half marathon under an hour to win the Udine race and his course record of 59:41 minutes ranked him as the eleventh fastest runner that year. His next marathon came in ]Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
and he remained consistent in his time, recording 2:08:57 for fifth in a Kenyan sweep of the top fourteen.
He paced the field in course record time at the 2009 Brescia Marathon, going on to win the Turin Marathon in rainy conditions. He retained his title at the Udine Half Marathon in September and at the Beijing Marathon he yet again dipped under 2:09, coming third behind Samuel Mugo and Nicholas Manza. He was among the favourites for the 2010 Rome Marathon and came second behind Siraj Gena. Attempting a third straight win, he entered the Udine Half Marathon, but he had to settle for the runner-up spot behind William Chebor. He headed to Korea for October's Chuncheon Marathon
The Chuncheon International Marathon () is an annual marathon race which is held in late October in the city of Chuncheon, South Korea. First held in 1946, it is the second oldest marathon in the country after the Seoul International Marathon. Spo ...
and he had his third second-place finish of the year, finishing behind Benjamin Kiptoo Kolum.
The 2011 season marked a high as he won the Prague Marathon in 2:07:07 hours (more than a minute faster than he had run before). He ran at the Virginia Beach Half Marathon as preparation for the Beijing Marathon in September. He won over the shorter distance in a time of 1:02:22 hours and placed top three in the Chinese marathon. The 2012 Daegu Marathon saw him run one of his fastest marathon times in his career and his mark of 2:08:36 hours was enough for third. He made only two more outings that year: he won the Porto Half Marathon,[Fernandes, Antonio Manuel (16 September 2012)]
Mogire and Barus victorious at Oporto Half Marathon
IAAF
World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...
. Retrieved on 20 January 2013. then came fourth at the Gyeongju International Marathon.
References
External links
*
Career biography
at Rosa & Associati
at Marathon Info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barus, Benson Kipchumba
1980 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Nakuru County
Kenyan male long-distance runners
Kenyan male marathon runners
20th-century Kenyan sportsmen
21st-century Kenyan sportsmen