Winter reflections — a story of courage

by Rev Claire Pickering Chaplain

Kipchoge Hezekiah ‘Kip’ Keino was born on 17 January 1940, in Nandi Hills, Kenya. Kip was an orphan who lived with his aunty. From the age of five, he would run barefoot to and from school. He would run to school in the morning, then home for lunch, back to school in the afternoon and then home again at the end of the day. Kip ran 25.6km every day.

Kip became a professional distance runner. The first major event he competed in was the Commonwealth Games in Perth, in 1962. He went on to compete in three Olympic Games - Japan in 1964, Mexico in 1968 and Germany in 1972; he set two world records (3,000m and 5,000m) and won four medals.

At the Olympic Games in Mexico, Kip competed in six distance races in eight days. Throughout the week, Kip had severe abdominal pain (later attributed to his gallbladder). His doctors advised him to withdraw, but Kip wanted to compete. In the 10,000m final, with only two laps to go, Kip was leading when he started to feel unwell. He stopped running, stepped off the track and was consequently disqualified. A few minutes later, Kip was feeling a bit better and wanted to finish the race regardless. He stumbled back onto the track and finished the final laps. Two days later, Kip competed in the 5,000m final and won a silver medal. Two days after that, Kip competed in the 1,500m final. On the day of the 1,500m final, Kip was still unwell and decided to sleep in. He awoke one hour before the race, hopped out of bed and headed to the Olympic Stadium on a bus. On the way, the bus became stuck in traffic and Kip realised that he was going to be late. So, Kip jumped off the bus and ran 3.2km to the Stadium, carrying a bag with his clothes, shoes and equipment. He arrived and registered for the race just 20 minutes before the start.

Then Kip got ready, walked out onto the track and won the gold medal. He finished 20m ahead of second place (the longest distance by which anyone has ever won this race) with a time of 3:34.9 (the second fastest in history). Kip is considered one of the best distance runners of his time.

At the Olympic Games in Brazil in 2016, during the Opening Ceremony, Kip received the inaugural Olympic Laurel – an award for outstanding achievements in education, culture, development and peace through sport. After retiring from competing in 1973, Kip and his wife Phyllis Keino fostered more than 100 orphans and built homes, a primary school and secondary school for orphaned and abandoned children in Eldoret, Kenya. Kip is considered one of Kenya’s most beloved heroes.

Courage involves facing a situation, making a decision or taking an action that is challenging - where there is a level of actual or imagined fear, danger or uncertainty, and where one or more forms of strength (physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual, social or moral) is required.

Courage can be ‘heroic’ – courage in unusual, extreme or lifethreatening situations (in a natural disaster, emergency or war). Or courage can be ‘everyday’ – courage in familiar, commonplace or shared settings (at home, school, the workplace or sporting field).

Can you recognise a time in your life when you were courageous? I have no doubt that you can recall many times when you needed to believe in yourself to try something new or learn a skill, where you needed to be determined and not give up to achieve a dream or overcome an obstacle, where you needed to be brave to tackle change or stand up for what’s right.

“With courage you will dare to take risks, have the strength to be compassionate, and the wisdom to be humble. Courage is the foundation of integrity” (Mark Twain).