Growing up, reigning Chicago Marathon champion John Kipkosgei Korir dreamt of one day attaining the same level of success achieved by his elder brother Wesley Korir.
He dreamt of one day representing Kenya at the Olympics, winning one of the seven Abbott World Major Marathon races, and possibly going one better by breaking the marathon world record at some point in his career.
It is a dream that requires great commitment, unwavering dedication and focus, but the 27-year-old believes it is achievable.
His victory at the 2024 Chicago Marathon on October 13 in two hours, two minutes and 44 seconds ahead of Ethiopia’s Mohammed Esa (2:04:39) by close to two minutes elevated him to sixth in the list of the fastest marathoners of all time.
Back in 2007, John Korir, then an 11 and in Class Three, started following his elder brother Wesley to his training sessions at their village home in Mwaita, Chereng’any Hills in Trans-Nzoia County.
Wesley, the 2012 Boston Marathon champion, was then specialising in middle and long distance races.
John, a seventh born in the family of eight children, admired Wesley, the second born. He had seen how his brother was changing the fortunes of their family from a humble background, through running.
His elder brother would often tell him: “Be patient. Concentrate in your studies for now, your time for running will come.”
In 2019, over year into his career as a professional runner, John felt disgruntled after finishing 12th in Frankfurt Marathon in two hours, 13 minutes, and nine seconds.
He considered it disastrous because he had done well in his first two marathon races – at 2018 Ottawa Marathon where he finished third in 2:09:14, and at the 2019 Los Angeles Marathon.
“I went to my brother and told him that I had resolved to hang my boots all together,” he says.
“He just looked and me and said that’s the nature of athletics. He told me to continue training and focus on the next race, and victory would come at its own time.”
Fast forward to 2024, his brother was among the first to congratulate him after winning Chicago Marathon on October 13.
“After conveying his congratulatory message, he told me ‘remember I told you that one day you will become even a champion of a major marathon? Now it’s your time, keep it up!”
The victory came on his third attempt on the flat course of the Illinois state capital, having finished third in 2:05:01 on his first attempt in 2022, before finishing fourth in 2023 as the late Kelvin Kiptum set a new world record of 2:00:35.
First, his Personal best of 2:02:44 is almost four minutes faster than that of Wesley (2:06:13) from the 2012 Chicago Marathon.
John credits Wesley for his achievements, saying that his elder brother has supported him every single step of his career till now.
Wesley introduced John to his American coach Ron Mann. Mann coached Wesley the whole of his career, starting from his college days at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, United States.
The Chicago victory was big for John, and one that he says was a pleasant surprise.
Although he had hoped to secure victory, clocking a 2:02 was the icing on the cake.
“I was confident of winning. Having been in Chicago two times before, I knew the course very well, I decided to stay with the leading pack right from the start, and I felt that my body responding well, so I wanted to increase the pace a little bit in the early stages but the pace makers told me to relax and conserve my energy,” he says.
“When the last pacemaker dropped off at the 33rd kilometre mark, the prediction was that we would run a 2:04, so I decided to accelerate, and when no one responded I decided to race against time,” John says during an interview with Nation Sports in Eldoret.
After the race, John spent some time in the US, where his brother who had flown from his home in Canada, had organised celebrations for him.
“I am a father of three girls. My wife told me that while I was running, the girls kept shouting 'Daddy Go! Daddy Go!' as they followed the race on television. When I came back, I took them on holiday to celebrate as a family,” John says with a smile on his face. John, just like most elite athletes, are starting to plan for the next season.
“Recovery time is over. I have already started going to the gym, where I spent at least three hours every morning just to get my muscles ready for what is ahead,” he says.
Normally, marathoners do gym work in the first month of the new season as they begin their preparations for the 42 kilometre races. That takes between four and five months for seasoned elite athletes.
“After gym work, I normally go back to Chereng’any for two to three months for loading, which includes long runs stretching for 38 to 40 kilometres per session, then I start scaling down to between 35 and 25 kilometres.
“In the last few weeks, I normally return to Uasin Gishu just to do speed work, mostly at Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret,” he explains.
While he has already started preparing for the next race, the two-time Los Angeles Marathon champion is yet to decide which to compete in first.
The first half of the 2025 season will have three major marathons - Tokyo Marathon which will be run in March, London Marathon and Boston Marathon in April.
John has run about 10 marathons in his six-year career. He is keen to represent Kenya at the 2028 Olympic Games that will be held in Los Angeles, the city where he made his marathon debut about six years ago, and where has won twice.
His personal best time of 2:02:44 is just two minutes and nine seconds outside the world record of 2:00:35 held by the late Kiptum.
While shading even 10 seconds in a marathon is an uphill task, John has already shown that he is capable of puling up some incredible performances. He has slashed nearly three minutes from his previous personal best time.
He believes that with time he will catch up with the world record, wherever it will be.
“I am a 27-year-old now, which means I have roughly 10 years of active running. Within this period, I hope to hod the world record,” said John.
Apart from competing in Chicago, he has finished ninth in the 2023 Boston Marathon in 2:10:04, and came fourth in the race this year in a time 2:07:47.
Out of eight siblings in their family, only Wesley and John are athletes.
