Towns and places. Updated November 2026. 4 min read.
The arch on the road into Iten says 'Welcome to Iten, Home of Champions', and it is not boasting. At 2,400 metres on the edge of the Rift Valley, this small town and the farms around it have produced more distance-running medals than most countries.
Iten is a place to watch, and if you are a runner, to join. At six in the morning the red dirt roads fill with groups of athletes, some of them Olympic and world champions, running easy miles in the half-light; by mid-morning the town is drinking chai and resting. Eldoret, 35 km away and about an hour's flight from Nairobi, is the city with the airport, the universities and the hotels. Give the pair two nights if you are curious and a week or more if you have come to train. Our Running in Iten page covers the coached training camps we run; this page is the guide to the towns themselves.
Iten at dawn
The best thing to do in Iten costs nothing: be on the Eldoret road or the trails around Kamariny at six, as the groups set off. Some are elite training groups with a coach in a car behind them, others are teenagers hoping to be noticed, and plenty are visitors from Europe, Japan and the U.S. who come for the altitude. Runners here are generous with visitors, but there is etiquette.
- Ask before joining a group, and run at the back; never try to race
- Easy runs are truly easy, so match their pace, not your ego
- Ask before photographing anyone, and never film a training group without permission
- Do not walk into a private training camp; visits are by invitation or arrangement
- At 2,400 m you will be slower than at home for a week or more; that is normal
What to see
- The Kerio View escarpment: walk to the edge of town and the land drops roughly a kilometre into the Kerio Valley, one of the great views in Kenya, best at sunrise
- St Patrick's High School: the boarding school where the Irish missionary Brother Colm O'Connell began coaching in the 1970s and produced generations of champions; visits only by arrangement
- Kamariny Stadium: the dirt track where the groups come for their speed sessions
- Kaptagat: the forest near Eldoret where Eliud Kipchoge's group has its camp; you will not be shown around, but the forest roads are where the long runs happen
- Eldoret: a busy farming and university city, with markets, cafes and the business hotels most visitors use
The honest picture
Why here? Altitude, a farming childhood of walking and running long distances to school, a Kalenjin culture that honours runners, and, above all, a working economy: a race win abroad can change a family's life, so thousands try. It is also a hard world. Most of the runners on the road at dawn will never earn a living from it, and Kenya has had one of the highest numbers of doping cases in world athletics in recent years, which the sport's Athletics Integrity Unit treats as a priority. Our short history of Kenyan running tells the story from Kip Keino to Eliud Kipchoge, honestly.
What to eat
This is Kalenjin country. Try mursik, milk fermented in a gourd lined with charcoal from particular trees, which gives it a smoky taste; it is served at homecomings and to champions after a race. Ugali, here called kimyet, comes with greens, beans or meat, and chai is drunk all day. Our page on Kalenjin food and mursik explains how it is made.
Where to stay
In Iten, stay in a training camp or guesthouse: simple rooms, set meal times and runners for neighbours, which is the point. Expect hot water to come and go and early nights. Eldoret has the business and conference hotels, with more comfort and less atmosphere, and is the better base if you are visiting rather than training. We place training groups in camps run by Kenyan coaches and former athletes.
Getting there
| From | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Nairobi | Flight to Eldoret, then road to Iten | About 1 hour, plus about 45 minutes |
| Nairobi | Road via Nakuru | About 5 to 6 hours to Eldoret |
| Kisumu | Road | About 2.5 to 3 hours |
| Lake Bogoria and Baringo | Road down through the Kerio Valley or via Kabarnet | About 2.5 to 3.5 hours |
A five-day running trip
| Day | Plan |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | Fly Nairobi to Eldoret, drive to Iten, short shakeout run and the Kerio View at sunset |
| Day 2 | Easy group run at 6am, rest, a visit to Kamariny Stadium, afternoon jog and chai with a local coach |
| Day 3 | Track session or fartlek with a group, a visit to a farm and a Kalenjin lunch with mursik |
| Day 4 | Long easy run on the escarpment roads, afternoon in Eldoret's markets |
| Day 5 | Final shakeout, fly back to Nairobi or drive on to Lake Bogoria for a recovery safari |
How it fits a trip
Iten fits a western Kenya circuit with Kisumu, Kakamega Forest and Kericho, or a Rift Valley route down to Lake Bogoria's flamingos and Lake Baringo's birds. Runners often time a week here before the Nairobi Marathon in October, then recover on safari in the Mara. University groups in kinesiology and sports science come for a fuller program with coaches, physiologists and the local universities.
Why plan with us: Kenya Experience is Kenyan-led, with two U.S. companies behind it and Kenyan coaches and guides on the ground. You can pay in full or monthly with no deposit, and a specialist replies within two business days.
