WHEN world marathon champion Luke Kibet goes running, he focuses on finishing first. But during Kenya's post-election upheaval, the 25-year-old star was forced to run for his life.
Kibet was knocked to the ground by a large rock that struck his head on New Year's Eve as violence swept the country after the disputed December 27 presidential vote.
Regaining his senses with blood oozing from his skull, he looked up to see a mob
of machete-wielding men coming toward him.
Kibet realised that his companions had already fled, and he got up and ran.
"I was thinking about my family. I was thinking that I might die there," said the married father-of-two, recalling the attack which took place near his home in the western Rift Valley village of Kimumu.
Although unrest has calmed in recent days, the mayhem has left indelible scars on the east African nation, which previously had been best known as a stable tourist haven that has consistently produced some of the best long-distance runners on the planet.
Hundreds of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands forced to flee their homes. Among the dead is former Olympic runner Lucas Sang, who was hacked to death on the same day Kibet was attacked.
His body was found two days later with gashes in the back of the head and severe burns, said close friend Moses Tanui, who won the Boston Marathon twice in the 1990s.
Sang was a 400-metre runner on Kenya's team at the 1988 Olympics in South Korea.
Some runners have been unable to go to competitions abroad, including 13 Kenyans who failed to show up for tomorrow's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon and Half Marathon in Phoenix, Arizona.
"Every runner has a story about seeing homes burning and people running about with bows and arrows. It's pretty unnerving stuff," said Toby Tanser, the New York-based founder of the charity Shoe-4-Africa, who is on a month-long visit to the country. "Running really did grind to a halt in Kenya."
More than 80% of Kenya's top runners are Kalenjins, an ethnic group that largely gave its election backing to opposition leader Raila Odinga, a Luo, against President Mwai Kibaki, a Kikuyu.
Kibet, who is a Kalenjin, said four Kikuyus who had been part of his 20-member running group had left the region. "We've always trained together with many tribes, including Kikuyus," Kibet said. "And we've gotten along fine."
Although he won the Vienna Marathon last April, Kibet was virtually unknown until he took gold at the world marathon championships in Osaka, Japan, in August.
Kibet said on December 31 he emerged from his home in Kimumu with several other athletes to gather food for their families after the night of violence.
Describing how he fled after being attacked, he said: "It was a different kind of run. I was driven by fear."
Kibet, who works as a prison guard when he is not training, implored Kenya's leaders to end the conflict.
"While they argue, people are dying," he said.
