Kaptagat is a settlement in

Uasin Gishu County Uasin Gishu County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya located in the former Rift Valley Province. Eldoret city has the county's largest population centre as well as its administrative and commercial centre. It is bordered by Elgeyo-Marakwet to t ...

, in the southwestern part of Kenya. This part of the country, where the two counties of Uasin Gishu and

Elgeyo Marakwet County Elgeyo-Marakwet County is one of Kenya's 47 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 and south, Uasi ...

share a border, is used by the majority of Kenyan professional long-distance runners to train for professional competition.

Eliud Kipchoge Eliud Kipchoge (born 5 November 1984) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in the marathon and formerly specialized in the 5000 metres. Kipchoge is the Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon, 2016 and Athletics at th ...

, the former

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 ...

world record holder, and the

Tokyo Olympics Tokyo Olympics may refer to: * 1940 Summer Olympics, Games of the XII Olympiad, cancelled due to World War II * 1964 Summer Olympics, Games of the XVIII Olympiad * 2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an ...

and

Rio Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

marathon gold medalist, maintains a training camp in Kaptagat.

Location

Kaptagat is located in Kaptagat Ward, Ainabkoi sub-county, at the eastern edge of Uasin Gishu County, approximately by road, east of the city of

Eldoret Eldoret is a city in the Rift Valley region of Kenya. It serves as the capital of Uasin Gishu County. Located in western Kenya and lying south of the Cherangani Hills, the local elevation varies from about at the Eldoret International Air ...

, along the B54 Road, and approximately by road, northwest of the small town of Chepkorio, in neighboring Elgeyo Marakwet County, along the same B54 Road.

Athletics

Kaptagat is home to the Great Rift Valley Sports Camp, a training camp for many Kenyan runners including Elijah Lagat,

Moses Tanui Moses Tanui (born 20 August 1965 in Sugoi, Nandi District, Kenya) is a former Kenyan long-distance runner who won the gold medal over 10,000 metres at the 1991 World Championships in Athletics in Tokyo. Biography At the 1993 World Championships ...

and

Brimin Kipruto Brimin Kipruto (born 31 July 1985) is a Kenyan professional middle-distance runner who specialises in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He was born in Korkitony, Keiyo District. He holds a personal best of 7:53.64 minutes which is the ...

. Kaptagat is also home to Chepkorio Athletics Club, a club that caters for student athletes. Global Sports Communication's athletics training camp is also located in Kaptagat. Geoffrey Kipsang Kamworor, a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who competes in cross country,

, and

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish, or shortcu ...

competitions, was born in 1992, in Chepkorio Village, not far from Kaptagat. He undergoes some of his training at Chepkoilel Grounds in

. Marathon world record holder

Kelvin Kiptum Kelvin Kiptum Cheruiyot (2 December 1999 – 11 February 2024) was a Kenyan long-distance runner who currently holds the marathon world record. , he holds three of the seven fastest marathons in history, and was ranked first among the world's ...

died in a

car crash A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. T ...

in Kaptagat at 11:00 pm local time on 11 February 2024. Local police stated that he lost control of his vehicle and veered off the road, before entering a ditch and colliding with a tree.

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Uasin Gishu County