Records ratified: Champion Kimetto, Mutai get marks endorsed by IAAF after successful season in marathon

Winner Dennis Kimetto from Kenya poses for media after the winners ceremony of the 41st Berlin Marathon in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014. Kimetto set a new world record of 2h, 2min and 57sec.(AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

From catching moles, Berlin Marathon champion Dennis Kimetto is basking in glory after IAAF ratified his 42km record of 2:02.57, replacing compatriot Wilson Kipsang.

Also getting the recognition was Emmanuel Mutai (30km), after pushing Kimetto to the world record in Berlin. Mutai, who has finished seven marathons in second place, passed the 30km mark in Berlin in a new world record of 1:27.37. The previous mark was posted by Patrick Makau (1:27.38), on the same course three years ago.

But it is Kimetto whose story from grass to grace that is heart-warming. From setting up traps to catch moles in farmlands back in his Kamwosor Village in Keiyo South, Kimetto finally had his day when IAAF confirmed his jaw-dropping 2:02.57 mark as the world marathon record.

With it will come a honorary stipend from the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS), which is much more than the Sh50 he received for every mole caught.

Kimetto shattered Kipsang's (2:03.23) record by 26 seconds at the Berlin Marathon last September, to leave many wondering how possible it is for one to run the 42km distance in under two hours.

When he charged the fee for every mole that he trapped to avoid destruction of crops so as to guarantee residents of their food security, no villager expected him to rise to the pinnacle of global athletics.

His humble background revolved around striving parents who focused on small-scale farming and who realised later their son was talented in athletics.

Not bad for a man who first burst onto the international scene in 2012 and now, at 30, he is confident that he can have at least another five years at the very top.

"Actually, I think I could still be a very good runner 10 years from now, at 40," he told FeverPitch in an interview.

The journey has not been easy, even by the standards of a boy growing up in a family of four brothers and three sisters, and parents who were subsistence farmers near Kapng'etuny Athletics Club.

For much of his childhood, Kimetto had to work on the small land rather than attend school. However, when he decided in 2008 to devote time to running, his parents gave him their full support.

"My father said, 'train as well as you can and go for it, you can change your life'," said Kimetto.

Training near his home one day, he encountered what had become a familiar sight to young Kimetto; a group led by former New York marathon champion Geoffrey Mutai, now ranked as the second fastest marathoner (2:03.02).

Mutai invited him to join their camp that day. And as they say, the rest is history.

The move paid off as Kimetto won 11 domestic races in 2011, including the Nairobi Half Marathon, clocking 1:01:30, but the altitude made the performance worth a significantly faster time.