Man this kid is talented. He was out for a month with a stress facture and right back and give one of the Rosa twins a run for their money!
I found an interesting lengthy interview with the kid and wanted to share:
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EDWARD CHESEREK, Sophomore, 5-6, 130
ST. BENEDICT'S PREP
THE STATS: Cheserek, who moved to the U.S. from Kenya in July, won the Championship race at the Brown Invitational last Saturday in 15:00.8, No. 2 in course history at Goddard Park in Rhode Island. Cheserek just missed the course record of 15:00.5 set in 2004 by Cory Thorne of New Hampshire.
DID YOU KNOW: Cheserek moved to the U.S. from Kenya in July. He's being sponsored to attend St. Benedict's Prep by a Kenyan orphanage. Cheserek suffered a stress fracture in August that kept him out for about a month. In his first race ever in the U.S., Cheserek ran 15:24.2 to win the National Independent Schools Championship.
REACTION TO YOUR PERFORMANCE AT BROWN: ``I was really happy with my race on Saturday. But the time wasn’t necessarily that fast. I was happy with the way I ran the last mile (4:46) . I just felt strong all the way through and missed the course record by a fraction of a second.''
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE NO. 2 IN COURSE HISTORY: ``I felt good about being in the same group as many great runners who ran fast times there in the past (for example, Olympian Lopez Lomong).
DID YOU KNOW THE COURSE RECORD: ``I knew the course record was set in 2004 in a time of 15:00.5 and I came in second in course history at 15:00.8. I was trying to break the record, but the weather was cold and I missed it.''
ARE YOU SURPRISED BY THE SUCCESS YOU ARE HAVING? ``Yes, because I thought the injury and the lack of training would keep me from running fast.''
YOU ALWAYS GET OUT TO A FAST START AND PUSH THE PACE. IS THIS HOW YOU'VE ALWAYS RUN? ``I became used to that, running fast. At the same time, it depends upon the competition. As I get more experience I will get more used to how the competitor runs.''
BIGGEST ADJUSTMENTS SINCE ARRIVING TO THE US FROM KENYA? ``The biggest difference running in the US is good for me because we have a lot of races weekly, but in Kenya we just run big races twice a year. And that there is a lot of strong competition every week in the US. In high school in Kenya there is not so much competition every week---only in the big national races twice a year. The thing I like most about living in the US is that I have a nice place to live, not like in Kenya, and there is not cattle rustling like in Kenya. ''
WHEN DID YOU START RUNNING? ``I started running seriously when I was in the eighth grade in 2008, at the age of 14 years. Also I got started in the sport of running because I like running when I am going to school every morning, and it is my favorite sport.''
SUMMER TRAINING: ``I had a good base of running about 70 miles a week with my teammates and other guys and we had a lot of hills like Holmdel Park and other different places.
GREATEST STRENGTH: ``My greatest strength as a runner is that I feel comfortable with longer distances than five kilometers. I can do it because I’m a longer distance runner, like 10-K.''
BIGGEST GOALS: ``My biggest goal is to run at Nationals (NXN) and to continue winning Championships. I also want to help my team to win major Championships (Essex County and State Preps).''
NEXT RACE: ``The Essex County Championships on Friday, October 29th.''
BREAKTHROUGH: ``There was not a single breakthrough race, in particular, but I realized last year running in Kenya that I was a good runner.''
GREATEST MOMENT: ``The greatest moment in my running career so far was in winning the National Independent Schools Championship race in cross-country and finishing second as a team. The guys on the team with me are all my best friends. What I felt like that day was to make more great moments like that for our team.''
WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT RUNNING: ``The thing that I like most about running is that I know exactly what I have to do to improve or to beat someone.
FAVORITE FOOD: ``If I have to choose one thing it would be pancakes.
FAVORITE RUNNERS: Kenyan stars David Rudisha, Moses Kiptanui, Evans Rutto and Peter Rono.
SUPER POWER: ``I would like to be super power intelligent, because I wouldn’t have to work so hard in school.''
IN 10 YEARS: ``I hope to still be running competitively and hoping that I can work with a power sports company doing accounting or marketing.
NIKE OR FOOT LOCKER NATIONALS: Nike (NXN) because of better competition.