The University of Mississippi Athletics
Kirui Regaining Form As SEC XC Championships Inch Closer
10/13/2009 | Track and Field
By Luke Taylor
Ole Miss Athletics Media Relations Student Assistant
Ole Miss junior cross country runner Barnabas Kirui is strolling around the Ole Miss campus with a little more pep in his step these days.
The Kaplong, Kenya native burst onto the scene in the 2006 by winning the SEC Cross Country Championships, becoming the first Ole Miss freshman in school history to accomplish that feat. His dominance continued into the track and field season as he went on to win four SEC titles and became the fourth runner in league history to win all three distance races (5,000 and 10,000 meters and 3,000 meter steeplechase) at the SEC championships.
He capped off his phenomenal freshman season by winning the 10th national title in school history by claiming the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
For his efforts he was named the 2007 SEC Track and Field Runner of the Year, the 2006 SEC Cross Country Freshman of the Year and the SEC Male Athlete of the Year.
Kirui was on cloud nine after such a breakout season, but then disaster struck.
He found himself watching from the sideline for most of the 2007 season and all of last season after being diagnosed with heel and lower back injuries.
"It was definitely tough", said Kirui. "I was able to follow what everyone else was doing all the time. We had a lot of records broken and it was always easy to imagine where I would be in comparison to them. I had a hard time, but I was always hoping and praying to come back and run with my teammates this year."
Though being sidelined with injuries kept him from excelling on the track, it didn't deter his blistering pace in the classroom.
In 2007, the banking and finance major was selected as the Division I Track and Field National Co-Scholar Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Kirui was also selected as a first team Academic All-American by ESPN The Magazine.
He continued that success in 2008 by being named to the SEC Spring Academic Honor Roll and was also selected to the USTFCCCA Division I Men's All-Academic Track and Field Team.
He's now back competing and looking to make up for lost time.
"It is a great feeling to be able to run again and I'm very excited," said Kirui. "My back and heel feel much better."
After running in a few meets this year, he said he has felt no pain from his injuries.
"I don't feel pain at all when I'm running, so it has improved tremendously after the treatment I went through over the summer."
Some of the treatment he went through included biking around town and running in the rehabilitation pool in the training room.
Kirui has been running like a well-oiled machine so far this season. In his latest competition at the Samford Dual Meet, Kirui posted a 5k time of 14:59.29 to set a new course record and claim his second individual title of the season. He also won the Brooks Twilight Classic with a course record in the opening meet of the season and placed third at the Greater Louisville Cross Country Classic.
Kirui believes he's close to running at the level he was prior to his injuries.
"I think I'm really close," said Kirui. "When I look at my times I'm running so far it's pretty close to times I've ran in the past. One thing for sure is I'm still improving and still getting better. I'm not quite back to where I was when I got sick, but I'm getting there."
With the SEC Championships being held at Ole Miss for the first time in 12 years, Kirui hopes he and his teammates can make a statement.
"I think the best thing would be for someone from our school to win," said Kirui. "I am so thankful to God that I am able to run in the event."
He believes that having the event here at Ole Miss will give the Rebels an advantage.
"When the gun goes off everyone has an equal chance, but I think it will be special for me because the entire track and field team will be out there," said Kirui. "When you have somebody at every corner of the competition calling out your name it makes a difference because you feel like you have more of an obligation to run faster. I think it will have the impact of making me push myself to the limits. It also gives us confidence knowing that we are hosting the event and the community knows this is our time.
"We don't want to disappoint the fans that will be coming to watch us compete."
He said with the SEC being so good top to bottom it will definitely be a fierce competition.
"Our conference has so many good runners," said Kirui. "Alabama has a group of six guys that are really good and they will be the team to watch. Auburn has three runners who are good and, of course, Arkansas always comes with some surprisingly fast runners.
"I don't think you can single out any one runner because the SEC is so dynamic. Last year we had a freshman win the SEC so you never know."
It was in a similar situation his freshman year that inspired his competitive spirit.
"When I was a freshman I went to the SEC competitions and there were these competitors who were better runners and had been competing longer," Kirui said. "They were winning a lot, and I realized that I wanted to win really bad because I found it so interesting when they call out the people who win. I really like the idea of the announcer saying the name of Ole Miss and saying my name. So that was my target I really wanted for myself.
"If there was one thing I wanted to be it was to be a champion."