David Thuo, the recreational runner on a 90km record-breaking marathon

“The shoe you raced in shouldn't be the shoe you trained in,” Thuo explains of his multiple shoe collection, with each pair's mileage nicely recorded on the running app.

“I have to wear different shoes because they wear out differently. You have to have a shoe that's about to wear out, like this shoe that's about to explode… This is the shoe I was training in for the Comrades Marathon, and this is the shoe I'm going to run a marathon in.” Comrades, so I started using it, and by the time I do the Comrades Marathon, the shoe has probably done 120-150 kilometers.

“They've done about 400 kilometres… I track them on (running app) Strava… and this is the one I ran the Tokyo Marathon with. When I ran in Tokyo, the shoes had done about 80 kilometres,” he says, taking me through the reasons behind Several pairs of Nike racing shoes in his possession after an early morning run in Karen, Nairobi.

“This shoe is for easy running, and I'm about to phase it out, so this is my main training shoe now and this shoe is for the Comrades Marathon. “By the time I finish the Comrades Marathon, it will be 200km, and then I'll do another 200km in it, and by That time I'll get another pair as I prepare for the Sydney Marathon in September,” he says.

Shoes are an important part of training because they take up eight times your body weight, so if you have worn-out shoes, you risk a lot of injuries.

“Because I also run 100 percent on tarmac, shoes are a critical part of my training,” he adds.

Such is Thuo's attention to detail that it surpasses that of many elite Kenyan runners, even those with direct and lucrative shoe sponsorships from sportswear giants like Nike, Adidas or Asics.

The Comrades Marathon that Thaw is talking about will take place today, Sunday, June 9.

It is a 90km challenge in South Africa and the world's oldest marathon traditionally held between the cities of Durban and Pietermaritzburg. It is one of the most challenging marathons in the world.

Tho is among a group of more than 50 runners from East Africa, including more than 30 runners from Kenya, 25 runners from Uganda and five from Tanzania, taking part in the Comrades Marathon today.

This will be the fifth Comrades Marathon appearance for 48-year-old Thu, owner and CEO of Dathon Ace, a Wilson Airport-based company that repairs aircraft components for aircraft companies in Kenya and the East African region.

Thuo's love for running also sees him running the “Fitness with David” group that seeks to help individuals and businesses in Kenya and beyond develop the best version of themselves through running.

“I have a motto, ‘Inspire through running.’ “Health is your greatest wealth, because when that fails, nothing else matters,” he explains as he winds down from his morning activity on the 3.2-kilometre Vienna Loop route he has drawn and named. Around Nairobi's Karen Plains Road, Begonia Road, Farah Road and Forest View Road.

In March this year, Thuo joined the exclusive “Six Star Club” of runners who have completed all six of the World Famous Marathons (WMM) in Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York.

In Tokyo, he was among the group that set a Guinness World Record for “Most Six-Star Winners in a Single Day”, surpassing the 10,000 mark for total Six-Star Hall of Fame members.

“Standing in any of our medal presentation areas is always a reminder of the power of these six races, and what it means for the runners as they complete their journey,” says Tho.

“The culmination of achieving something so amazing that so few have done is incredible – the journey of commitments, of staying true to your dreams. Now I feel completely amazed and ecstatic. It’s all about the attitude in the waiting room – the applause for others who are waiting for my turn,” he says.

At the Tokyo Marathon in March, nearly 3,000 medals were distributed at the finish line to athletes who completed all six disciplines, with Tho completing the race in 2 hours, 38 minutes and 59 seconds. Very impressive for a recreational runner.

“My first goal was to pass the Six Stars hurdle in Tokyo and do it in under three hours, which is any recreational runner's dream. I've just come back from running my second fastest Valencia Marathon time of 2:47:00 in December last year .

Many of the racers involved in the Tokyo record have been waiting for this moment since earning a spot for the first time in the 2020 race, which was reduced to an elite-only field as the COVID-19 pandemic curtailed international travel and mass participation events around the world. .

“Runners continued to wait until 2021 and 2022 before travel restrictions to Japan were eased to allow foreign visitors into the country,” explains Tho, who missed an email that had gone into his junk folder containing his official invitation to Tokyo last year. Marathon.

He describes his running and work ethic as meticulous attention to detail.

“When I get home in the evening, I pack my hydration fluids ready for my run the next morning,” he explains of his daily routine.

“I use Morten, which is the same hydration fluid that Eliud Kipchoge uses. I mix up the drinks depending on the distance,” he adds. “I walk about 140 to 150 kilometers a week, and when you are doing a lot of work, having the wrong drink can ruin your entire training for weeks.” “And the most famous.”

“I don't buy food because I want to eat something specific to my training,” he says, showing off his food bag that contains a post-workout recovery protein drink, eggs and vegetables, an evening snack and a lunch containing protein and vegetables. , chapati and arrowroot. People ask me what I eat, and I eat very little but very efficiently and correctly.

He schedules every training day (micro wins on his way to macro wins) despite a heavy work schedule.

“I am a business owner who works 18 hours a day, but fortunately, I can choose which 18 hours I will work,” he says.

He says the difference between him and elite athletes is that he has to go to work during the day.

“They'll run, then they'll sleep. They'll go to bed by 8:30 p.m. and wake up by 3 a.m. every day for their morning exercise,” says Tho, whose diet guides him.

How does Thuo juggle work, training and world-class marathons?

“A person's life should be holistic, made up of many elements. I look at it (marathons) as the different aspects of wellness: physical, intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual, professional, financial and environmental. Of course, when it's a busy season, on… For example, work, family, training or as the case may be, one or a few of them can outperform the others but then when that subsides, you give to others and yet, I am very clear that I am the goose that lays the golden egg I give what I don't have. I fill my cup first so I have something to give to others so I come first, everything else comes second. That's the way I look at things. “Anything in the way of that,” he says.

So, what's next for Tho after earning the 'Six Stars' in Tokyo?

“We say that the finish line leads you to the beginning of another,” he says. “I'm also the type of person who believes there's always another level. That's why, even with my six-star delay, I still continue to do a lot.”

His goal is to participate in 10 editions of the Comrades Marathon and earn what they call the “green number.”

“Then who knows, I might do 15, maybe 20. Barry Holland has run 48 of them (as of last year). Get it! I'll be 48 this year. He's been running 90 kilometers every year of my life,” says Thaw. this year”.

Then there's the upcoming Seventh Star Qualifying World Marathon in Sydney in September. Due to his speed in the age classification, he automatically qualified for Sydney.

“There is so much to do in all areas of life… We go to bed tired but grateful, but we wake up hungry for the next level if we are driven and not mediocre,” he says.

For Thaw, running is actually a metaphor for life.

“We draw life lessons from running. Even with everything going well, you don't always succeed, but the effort isn't always in vain. The life metaphor is discipline, consistency, focus, mental fortitude and learning from what doesn't work,” he says.