Best photos from Canadian marathoner Reid Coolsaet’s Kenya trip
Canada's top male marathon runner at the moment, Reid Coolsaet, just finished a training camp in Iten, Kenya and took some awesome photos while overseas.
Reid Coolsaet’s trip to Kenya proved to be a memorable one as seen by the photos he has recently posted to social media. The below video sums up the Kenyan lifestyle quite well.
Canada’s Reid Coolsaet, the nation’s second fastest marathon runner of all time, wrapped up a Kenyan training camp recently. He took some amazing photographs throughout his trip.
Coolsaet, a member of the Speed River Track Club, an elite training group based out of Guelph, Ont., trained in Iten, a small town at high altitude and home to some of the world’s top long distance runners. In addition to posting about the trip on his own Instagram and Facebook page, the 36-year-old took over the New Balance Canada Instagram account for an afternoon and posted photos on their behalf.
The marathoner is eligible to compete at the World Half-Marathon Championships in Cardiff, Wales on March 26 and currently has the fastest qualifying time (1:03:37) among Canadians. He has run 2:10:28 for the marathon (Berlin Marathon in 2015) and is second only to Jerome Drayton as the country’s fastest ever in the 42.2K event.
RELATED: Giving back: Reid Coolsaet distributes running gear to locals in Kenya.
Coolsaet was joined in Kenya by fellow Canadians Lanni Marchant, John Mason and Tarah Korir (click their names to see additional photos) as the mixture of high altitude, soft running surfaces (dirt roads and trails) and competitive training groups provide high-performance athletes with an ideal training environment.
Most athletes don’t begin racing until spring though Marchant did just compete at the NACAC 10K Road Race Cup in Puerto Rico, an event she arrived at directly from Kenya.
Dirt-covered shoes are one of the very few downfalls of training in Kenya.
A photo posted by Reid Coolsaet (@reidcoolsaet) on
Kenya’s version of a delivery man is considerably different than in Canada.
Coolsaet refueling with some local produce at the market just up the road from his training headquarters.
A photo posted by New Balance Canada (@newbalancecanada) on
Apparently local community members began referring to Coolsaet as Chuck Norris, a popular American martial artist and actor.
#Views.
A photo posted by New Balance Canada (@newbalancecanada) on
Other than the primary roads, much of Iten features dirt paths and soft surfaces, ideal for athletes running multiple times a day and logging high mileage like Coolsaet does each week.Â
Coolsaet getting in some pre-workout drills joined by some local youngsters.
A photo posted by New Balance Canada (@newbalancecanada) on
The local track in Iten at Kamariny Stadium, one of the most popular meeting places in the town despite lacking the technology of modern stadiums (rubberized track, lanes and guard rails).
The closest thing to a runner’s paradise.
A photo posted by Reid Coolsaet (@reidcoolsaet) on
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