Interview with Sally Kipyego

By Cecil Harris

Sally Kipyego has been running competitively for less than seven years, but she has already made a strong impression. Representing Texas Tech University, Kipyego became the first Kenyan woman to win an NCAA Division I cross country individual championship, a feat she accomplished in 2006. She won the Honda Award as America's top collegiate female cross country runner and was nominated for Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year.

"Sally is one of the most humble young ladies I have ever been around," Texas Tech women's track coach Wes Kittley said. "She's one of those athletes you dream about getting as a coach. She's very special."

Kipyego's results have been special since she began competing at age 15. A year later, she represented Kenya at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. Her status as an All-American and All-Big 12 Conference runner is even more impressive considering the heavy course load she carries as a nursing major. Why she wants to become a nurse and why she uses running as a means to achieve that end are among the topics she discussed by telephone with Fast-Women.com after a full day of classes.

Fast-women.com: Thank you for granting us an interview after being in class from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm. That sounds tiring. Is it?

Sally Kipyego: Yes [laughs]. It's really a lot of work. I didn't expect it to be this hard. The only thing I'm thinking right now is that I hope I survive nursing school [laughs].

FW: How do you find time to run with this rigorous academic schedule?

SK: It's hard. But since it is summer, I can go run at night when there’s still sunlight. I’m going to run six miles tonight. The workload from the classes and lectures can be stressful. But the faculty and the school in general have been so great to me. They're so supportive. They're willing to cooperate with me as I try to get all these things done. I hope to be able to travel to all the important meets: the Big 12 Conference meets, the regional meets and probably another big meet where I want to run a good time. I just want to be able to do the coursework and the important meets at the same time.

FW: The school should be supportive since you’ve brought so much attention to Texas Tech with your success as a runner. When you enrolled there, could you have envisioned yourself winning the Honda Award?

SK: The Honda Award was just amazing. That was the greatest award ever. I value every award I get, but that one was amazing. You realize when you get an award like that you've really had a great year.

FW: Was the reputation of the nursing program at Texas Tech a factor in your decision to go there?

SK: Definitely. It's a really good program. I attended South Plains Junior College first, and that made it easier for me to transfer my credits here.

FW: Did you get advice from Lornah Kiplagat, the great Kenyan runner and humanitarian, before you came to America?

SK: I talked to Lornah while I was still in Kenya, and I told her about my plans to come here to study nursing. She was very positive about it. I didn't know exactly what college I was going to, but I just told her my plans. She does such amazing work back in Kenya helping young people. I admire Lornah so much because she's been running for a while and she's still going higher and higher. I adore her. It was encouraging to have somebody like her tell me that I had a good idea.

FW: Why Texas Tech?

SK: I had a couple of friends already going to Texas Tech. When I took my SAT [Scholastic Aptitude Test], at first I didn’t do very well so I didn't get to go straight to Texas Tech. I went to South Plains Junior College, which is in Levelland, Texas, 30 minutes from Texas Tech. I was still close to people from Kenya. At Texas Tech now, there are seven of us on the track team from Kenya.

FW: That must have helped you adjust quickly to Division I track and field because you've had spectacular results: the 2006 NCAA cross country champion, and this year you won three championships in track. Have you surprised yourself?

SK: [Laughs] Well, I went to the nationals hoping to win the 10,000 meters because I knew that would give me four titles. It was great to win that race. That was just a great achievement.

FW: You almost won four titles in track this year. Do you look at it as a disappointment or do you say three championships and one second-place finish is pretty good?

SK: I was the only one doubling in both the 10,000 and the 5K at the [outdoor] national championships. I ran the prelims on Wednesday and then I came back and ran the one final on Thursday and then the other final on Friday. I was a little disappointed that the schedule was not on my side. Running back-to-back days was kind of exhausting. I guess that's why I lost. But I was just five seconds short of my PR in that race, so I couldn't be too disappointed.

FW: You're on course to graduate in May 2009. So will you try again to win four championships in one season?

SK: It just depends on how my season goes. I would love to have a great season. The 2008 outdoor season will be my last one with the NCAA. I'm hoping that I stay healthy and that my body responds well. And I hope to run in the worlds.

FW: What got you started in running?

SK: Just growing up in Kenya and having that history of so many great athletes, so many great runners. Just seeing so many Kenyans running professionally and having good lives was a motivation for me. I also wanted to come to the United States to study, and that was another major reason to start running. I wanted to get a scholarship to a college in the U.S. The way to get a scholarship was to run, so I went for it.

FW: Do your brothers and sisters also run?

SK: I am the baby of seven children; I have three brothers and three sisters; two of my brothers (Chris and Mike) run professionally. My sisters probably ran when they were in junior high, but they don't run now.

FW: With your five NCAA championships, how well known are you in Kenya?

SK: Well, I'm known. I'm not really, really famous. That's because we have better athletes, professionals, who have accomplished more than me. The fact that I'm a student as well and still running good times makes a difference. I get credit for that back in Kenya because I'm a student-athlete.

FW: You've shown an admirable amount of dedication, succeeding as a competitive runner while pursuing a nursing degree. Wasn’t there an incident in Kenya that made you determined to become a nurse?

SK: Yes. There were incidents. I lost my dad when I was four years old. I was raised by a single mother in a big family. A single mother with seven children. We were poor and my mother was often sick. I think that is what motivated me to become a better person. It was difficult seeing the way people were being treated and seeing how people could lose their lives because they didn't have the knowledge or because there were not any doctors who cared about them. It became personal to me to get an education and become a nurse and just be able to help people and let them know that they are somebody. I'm somebody who knows what they are feeling, and I want to be there to tell them it's going to be all right even if they are sick.

FW: Wasn't there also an incident involving your brother's friend?

SK: Yes. He got hurt in a bicycle accident. The nearest clinic was seven miles away and I ran to the clinic to try to get help for him. I was 11.

FW: In most of America, we take it for granted that a hospital or clinic will be nearby. But you ran seven miles to a clinic to seek help for a friend?

SK: Yes. And when I found a doctor at the clinic, he was intoxicated. He saw me, but he just didn't care. He didn't pay attention. He just ignored me basically because I was just a young girl. That was a painful experience for me. I realize that if that doctor had paid attention it would have made a great difference. There were people around that did what they could to help my brother's friend. But nobody who knew how to do CPR or anything like that. Having a specialist around would have made a difference.

FW: When you become a nurse, will you go back to Kenya?

SK: I would love to go back to Kenya. I just don't know right now what opportunity will present itself. I just hope that I will get a chance to go back home. But I'm not sure right now if that's a definite thing.

FW: How does the summer weather in Lubbock, Texas, compare to the weather in Kenya?

SK: Right now in Texas, it's really hot and dry. It’s 92 degrees tonight. In Kenya it doesn't get this hot and dry, and it doesn't get as cold as it gets here in the winter. Here, I really get to experience summertime and wintertime.

FW: What are your running goals for the upcoming season?

SK: I just hope that I have another great season. I'll be dedicating a lot of time to my studies and I guess I will be training by myself because I'll be training late in the day. Maybe my teammates will wait for me sometimes so I can train with them. My coach is amazing. He's probably going to fix something to help me work around my class schedule. I can't even predict anything right now, but I hope I have another great year.

FW: You've accomplished so much already that we’ll be watching closely. Have a good night and a good run.

SK: Thank you so much.

Interview conducted July18, 2007, and posted July 24, 2007.