From farm, to pulpit and marathon course, ‘Mr Lewa’ keeps on moving - PHOTOS

The Safaricom Lewa marathon is one of the world’s toughest races, if the star-studded field, unpredictable weather conditions and course dotted with wildlife is anything to go by.

But Philemon Gitia Baaru has defied the odds to successfully defend the race title a record six times.

The 37-year-old father of three has gone down in history books as the first man to conquer the strong field comprising of elite athletes from Kenya and abroad for six times since 2012, when he debuted in the now famous race run in the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy.

On a cold Thursday morning last week, Nation Sport caught up with him at his home in the quiet village of Kileleshwa near Naromoru town in Nyeri County as he wound up a heavy breakfast in company of his wife, Jecinta, who is a pastor at Rehoboth Sanctuary. 

Gitia is her assistant, and an avid preacher whom you wouldn’t imagine is also a top class marathon runner when away from the pulpit.

He has remarkably maintained a winning rhythm except in 2015 when he dropped out in the 35th kilometre after excruciating pain from a hamstring injury on his right leg became untenable.

His indomitable performance at the race has both puzzled many.

Some attribute his victories to the fact that he has mastered the course after breasting the tape in this year’s race for the sixth time last month.

“When some people claimed that I have mastered the course, and that is why I win at Lewa, I normally laugh it off,” he reacts.

“This is one of the toughest competition and my secret has always been adequate training,” he said.

He contrasted athletics from academics by arguing that unlike in class where one is graded based on an examinations, running is about form of the body form not the course.

Running, he maintains, is an in-built trait. Gitia started running in school competitions at a tender age at Gatina Primary School in Mathira to either regional or national levels.

He recalled: “I remember I used to practice running using a toy hived off from an old tyre locally known as ‘Mugara.’

“My mother used to send me far to run errands for her because I could take the shortest time.”

Upon finishing high school at Gakuyu Secondary School in 2001, life became tough for him as he could not afford buying training kit nor fare to local competitions to an extent that he decided quitting athletics to take up casual jobs in his village.

“It took the intervention of my friend, Gideon Gathimba, who was then a track runner for Laikipia Air Base and who encouraged and supported me to continue,” he added.

QUIT TRAINING

Later, in 2005, veteran athletics coach David Miano, who is also the Central Region Athletics Kenya chairman, offered to train him as he sought an opportunity for him in Japan.

In course of the training, Gitia felt like the opportunity would never open up and he quit training with Miano at some point and returned to Nyeri.

But using the tactics he got from the veteran coach, he decided to attempt to run his first half marathon at the Nairobi Standard Chartered Marathon in 2005 where he managed ninth position.

“That performance gave me the kick I needed in my running career as it made me realize that if I push my body harder, I could do better,” said Gitia.

A tide of good luck and breakthrough came knocking in 2006 at the same event when he registered his first half marathon victory clocking an impressive time of 61 minutes and 21 seconds, a course record!

It is after that victory he got a manager, the famous Ricky Simms, who helped him run his first international road race in London in 2007.

Simms, of London-based Pace Management, manages several top athletes including Usain Bolt, Vivian Cheruiyot and Hellen Obiri.

Around that time, he was in the windward side of things both in sponsorship and in form because he participated in various local and international road races under his manager.

In 2009, he plunged in full marathon at the Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon giving it his best run to emerge second in two hours, 11 minutes and 11 seconds.

That victory raised his profile.

He decamped from Pace Management to Federico Rosa of Rosa Associati. And as his marathon mileage counted upwards, the rising star met a neighbor, he was introduced him to the Safaricom Lewa Marathon in 2012.

“When my neighbour told me about the Lewa Marathon, I was not doing well financially. She actually pleaded with the organizers to slot me in because it was passed the deadline and even paid the registration fee for me,” he said.

On the D-day, he recalled a sense of pressure running through his nerves upon meeting a galaxy of top runners from all over the country bouncing with energy on the start line.

“I had done enough training and I knew my strength. I ran my race as I maintained contact with the leading pack only to notice that gradually they were withering behind me one after the other,” he recalled.

Having opened an almost irrecoverable distance ahead of Julius Ndoria and Daniel Mbogo, he comfortably “tip-toed” to the 42-kilometre finish line, breasting the branded tape in 2:19.52 to secure his first victory in the competition.

He then scaled up his training, alternating between Kieni plains for endurance and Nyeri town for a dose of high altitude and speed.

He scored another victory at the same event in 2013 but his time dropped to 2:21:30.

It became almost a tradition from that point since he won the race again in 2014 (2.18:09), 2016 (2.22:42), 2017 (2.22:18) and this year when he posted 2.22:21.

SUPPORT CONSEERVATION EFFORTS

His love for environmental conservation has contributed to his consistent participation at the annual event whose main objective is to support communities living in and around the Lewa Conservancy and also support conservation efforts to protect the wild animals in the conservancy.

But tough as he may have proved, Gitia has never made it to any national team for major international assignments.

But he has participated in over 20 full marathons locally and internationally with a personal best of 2.07:49 clocked at Košice Marathon in 2012. Other marathons are 2017 in Warszawa, Poland (2.15:51), 2016 Linz in Austria (2.19:26), 2015 in Milan, Italy (2.09:08), 2009 Paris (2.11:05), among others.

“I have always been participating in the local build-up meetings but I get edged out either at the regional levels or at the national stage,” he said.

“The fact that you were a world champion in a season in itself does not guarantee victory in the next. It is all about how your body is in that particular time,” he added.

Away from running, the Gitia spends most of his time tending to his farm where he has dozens of rabbits, a fruit orchard and a dairy cow.

“Growing my own food has helped me to eat what I want at the right quantity and quality. A sportsperson is as strong as the food he or she eats,” he said.

His wife Jecinta revealed that she has come up with home made recipes to ensure that he takes a balanced diet both in drinks and foods.