At 38, Kiptoo is not ready to slow down; KDF runner’s career path only getting better with age as shown in Frankfurt marathon

Mark Kiptoo a from Kenya celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the men's event of the Frankfurt marathon in Frankfurt, Germany, Sunday Oct. 26, 2014. (AP Photo/dpa, Roland Holschneider)

Among the clatter of clichés is the adage ‘age is nothing but a number’ tossed anytime someone defies advancing years or is too young to accomplish something phenomenal.
It is also a convenient excuse when another truism ‘mid life crisis’ supposedly sets in.
But for Mark Kiptoo, 38, digits that define his existence on earth have no bearing on his resolve to complete the full circle in a sport he delved into when he was already 28, a time when the career paths of most of his contemporaries starts its downward curve.
Sheer determination, hunger and desire are the qualities which best sum up Kiptoo. A career military man, the Laikipia Airbase Kenya Defence Forces soldier added another stripe to his expanding list of athletics honours when he won the Frankfurt Marathon on October 26.
“When you join the army, you learn a lot. You start seeing things at a different angle. Discipline is paramount and a priority because, with discipline, you can achieve anything and the army has given me that. I couldn’t be where I am today without the military,” he once explained the devotion that made him defy odds.
After progressing through the track and cross country, captaining the national team for the 2009 World Cross in Amman, Jordan, Kiptoo stepped up to the ultimate distance last year at the same German course and was on the verge of a dream debut as the finishing tape came into view.
However, the 2009 Worlds marathon silver medallist, Vincent Kipruto, denied Kiptoo his moment in the sun when he pipped him to the finish in the most cruel of fashions by the razor thin margin of a second, the clocks returning 2:06:15 against 2:06:16.
Undeterred, Kiptoo returned home, stepped up his training, significantly cut the number of races he ran this season before trooping once again to Frankfurt to face Kipruto and a slew of his fleet-footed compatriots.
In a race that Kipruto was not a factor, there was no denying the former World Military Games double champion, when he showed his younger competition a brilliant turn of pace to record his biggest career marathon victory in 2:06:49 to reverse the crushing disappointment of last fall into bliss.
“As long as you have trained well, it doesn’t matter how old you are, you can still compete anywhere and against anyone, 38?
“I feel young when running the marathon and I want to walk, then walk, then jog before I finally run since it is something new to me and I have to develop in it,” he said upon his return from Germany.
However, a calf injury as they came to the 30K mark almost turned his dream to dust before he tweaked the tactics to ‘hitch a ride’ with countrymen Mike Kigen (2:06:49) and Gilbert Koech (2:07:08) whom he led to the Kenyan sweep before striking at the opportune moment to dispose the challengers for victory.

“I decided to use my experience instead of pace; this was not going to be a matter of speed I told myself. So, I kept close to them and waited. I noticed they were getting tired and I could be stronger than them so with a kilometre to go, I decided to break away and wait for their reaction but they could not respond.
“After what happened last year, I looked back with 200m just to make sure and seeing the line was not far, I pushed all the way. That is when I accepted I had won the race,” he narrated.
Having represented Kenya twice at the Edinburgh and Amman World Cross, Kiptoo has placed himself under consideration for next year’s World Championships or 2016 Rio Olympics to fulfil the cherished dream of running for his nation once more.
“I missed the opportunity when I was running on the track and I hope I will get this chance and they can be convinced with what I did in Frankfurt.”
And they say age is nothing but a number?