NAIROBI, Kenya, June 27, 2026 – In an industry in which education and sports are like oil and water, Edwin Kurgat is a standout in Kenyan athletics.
Other than bursting his lungs on the track in pursuit of glory, the American-based runner is an industrial engineer.
Not satisfied with an undergraduate in industrial engineering, the 30-year-old is studying for a master’s degree at Iowa State University.
Admittedly, the Paris Olympian has struggled to balance books with athletics, a fact that has affected his focus on education.
“I tried to stop a little bit, to just focus on the athletics side. Athletics is not easy, so right now I’m focusing on running, and I’m going to go back and finish my Masters at some point,” the St Patrick’s Iten alumnus reveals.
While on a sabbatical leave from class, Kurgat’s focus remains undeterred.
He is a busy man who is deliberately and meticulously building his athletics career, which has thus far seen its fair share of milestones.
A Team Kenya debut came for him at the 2024 Paris Olympics where he finished seventh in the men’s 5000m, clocking 13:17.18 in the final.
This was followed by last year’s World Championships in Tokyo where he also came seventh, clocking 28:57.83 in the men’s 10,000m.
Despite missing out on the podium, for Kurgat, the glass is half full as far as his performance for Kenya thus far is concerned.
It is not about losses but lessons for the 2019 NCAA Cross Country champion who says he has been taking notes from the experiences in Paris and Tokyo.
“I went to the Olympics, I did the 5k. That was a big learning moment for me. I was able to go to the World Championships last year in Tokyo, and it was another big learning moment. I did the 10k, and you know, I think I’ve been learning, I’ve been improving, and a championship is a championship, so you just go there, you go back, strategize, train well, and just go give my best,” Kurgat explains.
Science the buzzword
His key takeaway from Paris and Tokyo is to be strategic in the long distance races, knowing when to bide your time and when to dial it up.
“Many people just nowadays run for time, but when it comes to running for a championships. It’s so different…you have to know how to run tactically. You have to know there’s going to be a fartlek at some point, there’s going to be a very slow race. I’ve learned a lot, and I’m ready to see what goes on out there,” the runner explains.
The engineer that he is, Kurgat cannot divorce science from athletics, emphasising on the importance of empirical evidence in development of a training schedule.
He believes time is nigh for Kenyan coaches to adopt science and technology in training long distance athletes to enable them become well-rounded sportsmen and women.
“I think this is one of those moments where, as Kenya, we need to try and explore why are other people doing really well. There’s the science part of athletics that’s coming in, and I think as a country, we’ve got to think about moving into the science part. Doing different things, using the supplements, not doping, but using the right supplements, like iron, just being able to test our blood levels and stuff like that,” Kurgat observes.
Compared to Kenya, Kurgat reveals that training in the United States is much more tactical.
It is akin to what Italian football legend Andreas Pirlo says ‘Football is played with the brains, the feet are just the tools.’
“It’s just that the advanced part, the tactical part of coaching, and racing…just not racing hard, but racing smart, I think that’s one of the things that I give a lot of thanks to my coach,” he reveals.
Running the talk
Well, enough of the theoretical and experiential learning for Kurgat; next month’s Commonwealth Games will put to test the lessons acquired in the last two years.
He will be part of a trio to represent Kenya in the men’s 10,000m, which also comprises the 2023 World Cross Country junior champion Ismael Kipkurui and Commonwealth Games silver medalist Daniel Ebenyo Simiu.
Kurgat is determined to make the opportunity count, noting the trust laid upon him by the Athletics Kenya (AK) selectors.
“I’m feeling really great. I’m so excited to be just part of another team, Kenya. It’s an opportunity that never comes easy,” he says.
With close to a month to the opening ceremony for the Club Games on July 23 in Glasgow, Kurgat will be skimming through his notes to ensure he understands all he needs to know to make the podium.
Having taken time off from his Master’s studies, a Commonwealth Games medals will be a perfect reward for the industrial engineer.
