Edward Cheserek (born 2 February 1994) is a Kenyan distance runner. He is a 17-time NCAA champion collegiate distance runner for the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

. Cheserek was the most highly recruited high school distance runner in the nation out of Saint Benedict's Preparatory School in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

where he was named the Gatorade 2012-2013 National Cross Country Runner of the Year. In 2013, Cheserek became the first freshman in

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history to win the NCAA National Cross Country Championships. Cheserek repeated this feat in his sophomore and junior years at Oregon before coming in third in the race in 2016 during his senior year. In total, Cheserek has 17 NCAA National Titles, including two indoor distance medley relays and one cross-country team title.

Early life

Edward Cheserek was born on 2 February 1994 in Chepteran, Iten, Kenya to a family of ethnic Marakwet subsistence farmers. Cheserek is from the Marakwet tribe, which is a subgroup of the

Kalenjin people The History of the Kalenjin people, Kalenjin is a group of tribes indigenous to East Africa, residing mainly in what was formerly the Rift Valley Province in Kenya and the eastern slopes of Mount Elgon in Uganda. They number 6,358,113 individu ...

. Edward Cheserek's father, Jacob, was a corporal in the Kenyan military, and is deceased. His mother, Dinah, is still living in Kenya. Cheserek is the fourth of seven siblings and is the only person in his family to have emigrated from Kenya at 14 years old. He was raised on a farm with no electricity or running water. Cheserek grew up in Kapker hamlet, Kapchebau village in the hills of northeastern

Elgeyo-Marakwet County Elgeyo-Marakwet County is one of Kenya's 47 Counties of Kenya, counties. Located in the former Rift Valley Province, its capital and largest town is Iten. It borders the counties of West Pokot to the north, Baringo County to the east, southeast ...

, western Kenya, where the altitude is close to two miles above sea level.

Running career

High school

Edward Cheserek began running at age 14, after his father urged him to focus on running when his running ability was noticed on the soccer field. He joined athletic training camps in Iten when his father moved the family there. In 2009, Cheserek won the Kenyan junior national titles in the steeplechase, 5,000 metres, and

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship-level events. The ...

. The following year in 2010, the

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

-based missionary group Stadi za Maisha assisted him in obtaining a scholarship at Saint Benedict's Preparatory School in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, United States. In the summer of 2010, Cheserek moved to the United States and began attending Saint Benedict's Preparatory School in

, later that fall. He has twice won the Foot Locker National High School Cross Country meet, first in 2011 and again in 2012, and was named the 2012-2013 Gatorade Cross Country Runner of the Year. In 2013, he set a new high school indoor 2 mile record of 8:39.25, replacing Gerry Lindgren's 49-year-old record of 8:40.00. During his senior year, Cheserek was the most highly recruited high school distance runner in the nation. :''I have been lucky enough to have a good coach. To be good, to train good and want success, you need your coach to show you those things. I also want to be as good as what my coach wants me to be. That is what makes a difference with a runner. When you run and practice, you can do it for the coach. When you do it for the coach and yourself, you are at your best. You try harder and get better each day. I like being better each race. There is no reason to run if you don't.''

Collegiate

Cheserek was recruited by the

and in the fall of 2013 was the first freshman in Oregon history to win an NCAA National Cross Country Championship. As a freshman, Cheserek was the 2014 NCAA Indoor T&F champion in both the indoor 3000m and 5000m runs. Cheserek showcased his versatility at different distances by placing first in the indoor mile at the 2015 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships. At the 2014 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, on June 11, Cheserek unleashed a final 400 meter sprint in 53.17 seconds to win the Men's 10,000m race with a time of 28:30.18, a personal best. He returned on June 13 to compete in the 5,000m race, dwindling the pack with a furious 56.84 final 400 meters, but it was not enough to out-kick Lawi Lalang of

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, as Cheserek placed 2nd in a personal best of 13:18.71 to Lalang's 13:18.36, which was an NCAA Meet Championship record. Cheserek's 18-points contributed significantly to the University of Oregon's Men's team title. After his phenomenal success on the collegiate scene, a 2015 ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' article described the 21-year-old Cheserek as the next great American distance runner. Cheserek hopes to become an American citizen. During his college running career, Cheserek earned the nickname King Ches, a reference to his many winning streaks.

Professional career

In 2017 Cheserek turned professional, signing with Skechers Performance Team. At the 2018 Boston University David Hemery Valentine Invitational he ran the mile in 3:49.44, a personal best and at that time the 2nd fastest indoor mile in world history. In 2019, at the Carlsbad 5k road race, he tied the official IAAF world record with a 13:29 and his girlfriend for two years, Sharon Lokedi won the women's race in 15:48.

Competition record

Personal records

High school

Source: *800 m: 1:49.98 (2012) *1000 m (indoor): 2:27.42 (2013) *1500 m (indoor): 3:45.20+ (2012) *1600 m: 4:09.90 (2012) *Mile: 4:03.29 (2011) *Mile (indoor): 4:02.21 (2012) *3000 m (indoor): 8:05.46+ (2013) *3200 m: 8:53.64 (2011) *2-mile: 8:55.12 (2012) *2-mile (indoor): 8:39.15 (2013) *5000 m: 14:02.33 (2011) *5000 m (indoor): 13:57.04 (2012) *10,000 m: 29:42.29 (2012)

College

*1000 m (indoor): 2:19.02 (2013) *Mile (indoor): 3:52.01 (2017) *1500 m: 3:36.50 (2014) *1600 m split in DMR: 3:52.88 (2016) *3000 m (indoor): 7:40.51 (2016) *5000m: 13:18.71 (2014) *10,000 m: 28:30.18 (2014)

Professional

*1500 m (indoor): 3:33.76 (2018) *Mile (indoor): 3:49.44 (2018) *3000 m (indoor): 7:38.74 (2018) *5000 m (indoor): 13:08.05 (2019) *5000 m (road): 13:29 (2019) *5000 m: 13:04.44 (2019) *10000 m: 27:23.58 (2020) *10000m (road): 28:25 (2021) *Half Marathon:59:11 (2023) *Marathon: 2:05:24 (2024)

Notes

* The "i" next to a result indicates an indoor performance. * Cheserek's 1500 meter personal best was 3:33.76 en route to his 3:49.44 mile. 3:36.50 is only his outdoor 1500 meter personal best, not en-route of a mile race.

References

External links

University of Oregon Edward Cheserek ProfileEdward Cheserek Athletic Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheserek, Edward 1994 births Living people Track and field athletes from Newark, New Jersey Kenyan male long-distance runners Kenyan male middle-distance runners Kenyan emigrants to the United States Oregon Ducks men's track and field athletes Oregon Ducks men's cross country runners St. Benedict's Preparatory School alumni Athletes from Elgeyo-Marakwet County NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners 21st-century Kenyan sportsmen