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Leonard Korir is a member of the 2024 United States Olympic team in the marathon which will compete this summer in Paris, France. He finished third in the 2024 Olympic Trials in Orlando, Florida with a time of 2:09:57. Leonard narrowly missed representing the USA in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics as he finished in fourth place in the 2020 Olympic Trials Marathon in 2:10:06, only three seconds behind third place. He finished in third place in the 2016 Olympic Trials 10,000 meters and represented the USA at the 2016 Rio Olympics, finishing in 14th place in 27:35.65. Leonard also was a USA World Championship team member at 10,000 meters in 2017 and 2019. Korir finished 11th at the 2019 Amsterdam Marathon in his personal best marathon time of 2:07:56. He is an 11-time U.S. Champion at 15k in 2017 and 2018, at 20k in 2016, 2018 and 2019, in the half marathon in 2017, 2019 and 2022, at 25k in 2022 and 2023, and in cross country in 2017. Leonard’s other major victories include the Bix 7-mile (2013, 2015 and 2021), the Pittsburgh 10-mile (2014 and 2016), 2015 Bobby Crim 10-mile, 2015 New York Half Marathon, 2016 Stanford Invitational 10,000 meters, 2017 Houston Half Marathon, 2017 Great Edinburgh (Scotland) Cross Country, 2017 Columbus Half Marathon, 2017 Peachtree 10k and 2022 BAA 10k. Leonard attended Iona College and was a two-time NCAA Champion in 2011 in the Indoor 5,000 meters and outdoor 10,000 meters. He was an eight-time All-American (2010 – Cross Country; 2011 - Indoor 3,000 meters and 5,000m; Outdoor 5,000m, 10,000m and Cross Country; 2012 - Indoor 5,000m and 3,000m), two-time NCAA Regional Champion (2010 and 2011 Cross Country), Six-time MAAC Champion and Iona Record Holder in the Indoor 5,000m and Outdoor 10,000m. His personal best times include: 1,500 meters – 3:43.65; mile - 4:03.57; 3000m – 7:51.40; 2-miles – 8:22.44; 5,000m – 13:15.45; 8k – 22:50; 10k – 27:20.18; 12k – 35:43; 15k – 43:07; 10-miles – 46:35; 20k – 59:05; half marathon – 59:52; 25k – 1:14:45 and marathon- 2:07:56. Leonard is a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army, competes for the Army team, and resides in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was very gracious to spend an hour on the telephone for this interview in July 2024.
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OLYMPICS AND THE WORLD STAGE There were so many ups and downs for you this year as to whether you would represent the USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics. You finished in third place but didn’t have the Olympic qualifying standard. Next your world ranking was in the top eighty, which looked promising until the IAAF added universality athletes to the marathon field, and you were outside the top eighty. Then you ultimately were included with the qualified athletes. What was it like to go through these unknowns and how exciting is it now to know that you will toe the line at the Olympic marathon in Paris?
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| LK |
It was a roller coaster journey. At the same time, it has been an exciting journey. I told myself to just go step by step and to take one step at a time. When I raced at the Olympic Trials, I knew that I didn’t have the Olympic qualifying standard. But I told myself to just run and finish in the top three and then take care of the other stuff later. When I finished in the top three, I told myself, ‘I don’t have the standard and may not go. But this is a good achievement, finishing in the top three. Let me wait for the rankings.’ After that, I thought I was going to make it based on the rankings until they changed it and added the other athletes. So, I told myself, ‘Don’t worry about it. Just keep your head up and you still might make it.’ Then, at the end, they opened up the entrants and I was able to get in. So, I’m excited and I’m happy. I can’t take this for granted. I am ready to go and to represent the U.S. in the Olympics.
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How is your training block progressing in advance of the 2024 Olympics which are only a few short weeks away as you only have a couple weeks left of solid training before you start your marathon taper?
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| LK |
My training is perfect. I was training like I had made the team. In my mind, I decided to keep training. I didn’t quit or change my training because I might not be going. I had my mind set that, in case I didn’t go to the Olympics, I would train for other races and for the World Championships next year. I kept training and my plan, if I didn’t go to the Olympics was to race in the fall, probably in Chicago, to aim for the World Championships. So, my training did not change, and everything has been perfect the way I wanted my training to go.
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It's not your first Olympics as you made the U.S. team in 2016 at 10,000 meters. How exciting was it as you came in third at the 2016 Olympic Trials behind Galen Rupp and Shadrack Kipchirchir plus you were about thirty seconds ahead of Scott Fauble who finished in fourth place? What was the feeling as the race unfolded and you knew you were going to make the team and be an Olympian?
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| LK |
It was too exciting. I was not expecting to make that team. I just went there to represent the Army. I went there and gave one hundred percent and, before I knew it, I was making the team. Having that mindset prepared me for success. That’s why I was able to run so well. Nobody expected me to make the team but, on the race day, anything can happen. The weather was so hot, and many people couldn’t handle the heat. I was able to manage it and I made the team. I was preparing for something good and that is why I kept my head up. I told myself I would try to make the Olympic team and I made the Olympic team. It was exciting.
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At the Rio Olympics, Mo Farah won the 10,000 meters as the top six runners ran from 27:05 to 27:10 while you finished fourteenth in 27:35.65 in a group of seven runners who ran from 27:30 to 27:36. How thrilling was it to be running in the Olympics with that huge stadium crowd as you represented the U.S. in Rio?
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| LK |
I was excited to be running in the Olympics. I didn’t care about my time. I didn’t worry about the big-name athletes. I just went there and ran. I was able to compete, do what I was supposed to be doing and I got the experience to prepare myself for future racing.
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What are outstanding memories from your Olympic experience in Rio? Did attend track events or other sports and did you participate in the Opening Ceremonies and stay around for the Closing Ceremonies?
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| LK |
I went to the Closing Ceremonies. I didn’t go to the Opening Ceremonies because I was focused on my training. The Closing Ceremonies were exciting, and I was happy to be there. The Olympics were in South America for the first time which was exciting.
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The next spring you represented the U.S. at the World Cross Country Championships. How much fun was it to be out there with guys you were normally competing against like Sam Chelanga, Shadrack Kipchirchir and Scott Fauble and to be on a team with them representing the U.S. as you tried to compete well as a team?
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| LK |
It was very good. As a runner, I want to make as many U.S. teams as possible. I wanted to make the U.S. team in cross country, World Championships, World Half Marathon Championships, and the Olympics. To make those teams made me happy. I was happy to be on that cross-country team and it motivated me to make more teams in the future.
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You were on two World Championship teams in 2017 and 2019 in the 10,000 meters and finished just outside of the top ten. How hard is it to finish in the top ten at the World level?
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| LK |
Yes, I agree that it is difficult. I came close with places of twelfth and thirteenth.
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You raced many strong half marathons where your times were 1:01 and 1:02. How cool was it in 2017 at the New Delhi Half Marathon in India when you ran a sub-60 when the top five all broke an hour as Birhanu Legesse won in 59:46, followed by Andamiak Belihu in 59:51, you in 59:52, Assefa Mengistu in 59:54 and Jorum Lumbasi in 59:58? Was it exciting to break that hour time standard even though you didn’t win?
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| LK |
That was an exciting race. I wasn’t checking the time or going after a time. I wanted to win the race. That year I ran a lot of good races and was going for the win. The time just came by itself. The 59:52 time motivated me, and I saw it as good preparation to run a marathon in the future.
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In 2019, at the Amsterdam Marathon you ran your personal best time of 2:07:56. Was it a great feeling to run your PR but a little disappointing to only finish in eleventh place?
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| LK |
It was a good race. It was my debut – my first marathon. So, I didn’t go with a lot of expectations. I didn’t have marathon training because I focused on the World Championships 10,000 meters that year. So, to run 2:07 was a surprise. In my mind, I wanted to run 2:10 or 2:12. But, with running a 2:07, I was happy.
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In 2020, I was representing the Greater Orlando Sports Commission at the USA Olympic Marathon Team Trials. We were scouting it out as we planned to bid on the 2024 Trials. We all watched Galen Rupp win by over forty seconds but then it was so close for the other team places as Jake Riley ran 2:10:02 for second place, Abdi Abdirahman ran 2:10:03 to finish third and you were in fourth place at 2:10:06. What was that like the last couple miles when Jake, Abdi and you were battling for two spots, and you were the odd man out?
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| LK |
It was a disappointing race for me because I thought I was going to make the team. I blame myself. I didn’t do what I was supposed to do. It was a learning experience even though I finished fourth. I told myself, ‘It’s okay. You finished fourth but don’t worry about it. Learn from it and prepare yourself because there are many races in the future.’
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2024 OLYMPIC TRIALS MARATHON How would you compare your training block in advance of the 2024 Olympic Trials compared to training blocks before other marathons and did your coach, Sam Kosgei, include and additions or changes to your training to have you in peak form?
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| LK |
The training was the same. The only difference was that we prepared ourselves to run in the heat. We prepared to run a championship race because those races are different from most marathons. We didn’t add anything crazy – just what we had been doing.
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Did the final few days go smoothly in Orlando including touring the course, shoes and water bottle check in, transportation to the course and adequate warm up area? Were there any glitches or were you pleased with the race organization?
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| LK |
It was perfect. The racecourse was flat. It was a loop, and it was an exciting marathon. We don’t have marathons like that too often. Everything went well in that race.
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There was a big group running together and then Zach Panning put the hammer down, took the lead around six-and-a-half miles, and raced miles seven through thirteen between 4:47 and 4:52 as the lead group hit halfway in 1:04:07. Did you feel more comfortable in the pack as the lead group was close to Olympic standard pace?
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| LK |
It was going okay, and the race was perfect.
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The pack dwindled over the next ten miles to Connor Mantz, Clayton Young and Zach Panning. What was your mindset as you had let them go and there was the possibility that none of them would come back to you?
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| LK |
It was a little bit challenging when I reached mile twenty. But overall, I knew it was a marathon and you never know what might happen. Even though they dropped me around mile twenty-two, I knew we still had four more miles to go. I told myself, ‘Just don’t give up and everything will be fine.’
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How were you doing physically, mentally, and emotionally around twenty-four miles as Mantz and Young had pulled away, but you were 37 seconds behind Panning and thirteen seconds behind Elkanah Kibet? Could you see them in front of you and how motivated were you to catch them both?
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| LK |
I was excited. When I was running, I could see them coming back. I could tell that they were running at a slower pace than me. They were fading and I knew that a marathon is twenty-six point two miles. You can catch somebody with four hundred meters left or two hundred meters to go.
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Can you describe the last mile as Kibet caught Panning, you caught Panning, and then you passed Kibet to finish in third place in 2:09:57, only five seconds ahead of Kibet?
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| LK |
I saw them coming back to me and I put it in another gear. I was able to use it because I trained for it, and I was prepared for it. The last mile I was able to pass the two runners and to make the team.
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Dakota Lindwurm and Clayton Young told me the crowds were very loud out on the course and it was difficult at times to converse with someone running next to you. How were the crowds of spectators compared to other races on the three-loop course through the Orlando area that wound through neighborhoods and downtown before finishing at Lake Eola? Did they add to the excitement and motivate you?
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| LK |
The crowds gave me the motivation to keep running. The cheering was a huge part for me the last mile. The reason I was able to finish like that was because of the cheering of the spectators.
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I saw you come across the finish line with your arms going crazy and a look of exhilaration. Can you describe the emotions of making the Olympic team, sharing it with Connor Mantz and Clayton Young as you each received American flags, the joy from your coach and the cheers of the crowd? How amazing were those first few minutes after the race?
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| LK |
I was happy about it. That moment was exciting. I was happy to finish in the top three. I knew that I didn’t have the Olympic qualifying time, but I had improved from the 2020 Olympic Trials when I finished fourth. To finish third was so exciting and I was incredibly happy about that.
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RACERS AND RACES There are three of your competitors that you have dueled to the end of races with on many occasions that I would like to speak with you about. The first is Stephen Sambu with whom you have trained. In the 2015 New York Half Marathon, you beat him by one second in fast times of 1:01:06 and 1:01:07. At the Falmouth Road race, Stephen topped you by three seconds in 2015 and out leaned you in 2017 as you both finished in the same time. What is it like racing Stephen Sambu when you know each other so well and you both have such good kicks?
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| LK |
Those races with Stephen Sambu motivate me a lot. I like competition. When I go to a race and we get to the last three hundred meters, that excites me a lot. I usually will write in my diary after I win, ‘This was the best race.’
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Another tough competitor whom you raced often and was your teammate at the World Cross Country Championships is Sam Chelanga. Some of your close finishes include the 2016 New Haven 20k where you prevailed 59:15 to 59:16, the 2017 Columbus Half Marathon where you both ran 1:03:4 as you won and the 2018 Jacksonville River Run 15k, which I have run, where you topped Sam after coming down off the Hart Bridge, 43:07 to 43:16. What is Sam like as a competitor as I know he is fierce?
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| LK |
He is a good competitor. We have competed a lot. I like the way he trains. Racing with Sam is very good and exciting.
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The third athlete I want to mention whom you dueled with often with both of you coming out on top is Shadrack Kipchirchir. On the track in 2016 at the Stanford Invitational 10,000 meters you beat him in a close finish 27:58.65 to 27:58.91. At the 2017 Jacksonville River Run 15k you ran 43:22 as Shadrack ran 43:23. At the Peachtree 10k that summer on a hot day in Atlanta you won by a second in 28:16. Then he got you back a few times – twice at St. Paul in their ten miler as he out leaned you in 2017 in the same time and topped you by three seconds in 2018. Shadrack also beat you at the 2019 Jacksonville River Run 15k 43:41 to 43:42. What was it like racing Shadrack as it seemed that between Stephen, Sam, Shadrack and you we had four guys who did not want to lose?
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| LK |
People like Shadrack and these guys are good competitors. We train together and then we go to a race. When we are training, we work together. When we go to a race, we give one hundred percent. To give a hundred percent and to win by a little bit is exciting. If Shadrack beats me by a little bit that is still good. We use these results to know if we are training well or if we are off track or if we may need to change something. These people are extremely helpful with training and help me to make the team.
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If you aren’t racing the same athletes, sometimes you are racing the same race. You won the Bix 7-miler multiple times including in 2013 when you ran 32:15 ahead of Silas Kipruto in 32:19. Two years later, in 2015, you won by two seconds in 33:06 as Solomon Deksisa ran 33:07. Is that an interesting race since it is in the middle of summer like the Peachtree 10k and can get very hot?
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| LK |
That race is my favorite. I won three times. It is hilly and is like running cross country. Winning that race helped prepare me for championship races as most of those races are run in the heat in July, August, September, or October when it is hot. When I won that race, it made me know that I was doing the right training.
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The Pittsburgh 10-Mile is an outstanding race at a great distance. You and Nelson Oyugi had a tight battle in 2014 as you both broke forty-seven minutes with you winning 46:52 to 46:56 and no one else within fifty seconds. Two years later you ran 47:13 to beat Jonathan Cheruiyot in 47:15 and Eliud Ngetich in 47:16. How did you like racing that Pittsburgh 10-miler?
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| LK |
That is a particularly good flat course. It doesn’t get too hot there. When I ran there, my objective was just to win the race.
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You seemed to excel at the 15k and 10-mile distances. In between your victories in Pittsburgh in 2014 and 2016, you won the Bobby Crim 10-mile in Flint, Michigan in 2015 by a second over Uganda’s Moses Ndiema in forty-seven minutes flat. Did you genuinely like racing 15k and 10-miles as you were highly successful at those distances?
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| LK |
When I ran those distances, I knew that I could run a good half marathon. I needed those races to prepare me to run a marathon. That race in Michigan was a good experience in my career.
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We discussed your sub-hour half marathon in late 2017 in New Delhi earlier, but in January of that year you had a fight to the finish in Houston as you nipped Feyisa Lelisa with both of you running 1:01:14. Hizkial Tewelde and Fikadu Haftu were right behind you in 1:01:17. What do you remember from that race in Houston as you moved up from mainly 15k and 10-miles?
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| LK |
I had won races before, but I was trying to win at longer races. I didn’t care that much about my time. I only cared about winning. When I focused on winning, it prepared me to try and make U.S. teams which are very hard to make.
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The next month you won the USA Cross Championships in 30:12 with close competition from Stankey Kebenei at 30:15, Shadrack Kipchirchir 30:19, Sam Chelanga at 30:23 and Chris Derrick at 30:28. Was there a pack most of the way, did you take off earlier than usual, or did you wait until the last 400 meters or 200 meters to make your move?
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| LK |
I waited until the last three hundred meters. I had won a few previous races, so I wanted to keep the streak going. I went to that race with that mentality. My competitors knew I had been winning and I was in good shape. I was able to use that winning mentality to pull away.
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More recently, after our country and the world emerged from the covid-19 pandemic, you raced the BAA 10k in June of 2022. How did covid affect your training and how were you able to come back so strong in 2022 to win the BAA 10k in twenty-eight minutes flat with a margin of seven seconds, much more than your usual close finish?
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| LK |
Before that race, I realized that the covid time gave us a chance to rest a bit. I had been racing a lot. When I went to that BAA 10k, I was so fresh. My training had been so good. I was surprised to run twenty-eight flat. I was able to break away with a mile to go and I was excited to win the race. There were Kenyans and Ugandans and runners from other countries. To go there and to win was huge for me.
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A distance that isn’t raced as often is twenty-five kilometers. You went to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 2023 and won the USA 25k Championships by four seconds over Jacob Thomson in 1:14:49. How do you like that distance, which is a bit longer than a half marathon, over ten miles shy of a marathon and not raced too frequently?
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| LK |
It’s a great course and a very good race to teach you how to run a marathon. I like that race a lot. You prepare yourself to run a half marathon and to learn when you can close in a marathon. In that race, you can aim to run through the half marathon in sixty-two minutes or sixty-two thirty and try to be fresh and relaxed. Then you have to run almost another 5k. It is an exciting race to prepare to race a marathon. I have raced that race twice and I think in the future I will be going back there.
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EARLY RUNNING AND RACING When you grew up in Kenya, did you run much for general fitness and play soccer? How were you introduced to organized running when you were a youngster in Kenya? And how did you end up coming to the U.S.?
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I started running late. I didn’t run when I was young. When I was in high school, I ran cross country and track and field. My senior year, I noticed that there were some foreign coaches coming to Kenya to recruit athletes. I was told that, if I ran well and got good grades, I would be able to go to America. I was excited and that is when I started becoming serious with running. Before I knew it, I found myself at Iona College which was an exceptionally good school with a great program. I liked it a lot because there was cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track. That led me to learn a lot about running.
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What were you doing in Kenya that allowed you to become fast enough to come to Iona in the U.S.?
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| LK |
I was training with Brother Colm O’Connell, who is a priest at St. Patrick’s. When I trained there, I learned how to run relaxed and to stay injury-free. He trained us enough to prepare to succeed. He prepared many of us well so that we could come to the U.S. He was a good coach.
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How was the transition when you came to the U.S. as you were a long way from home, speaking English in classes, and how was it in academics, in a foreign land with new teammates and a new coach? Was that a lot of change to manage at one time?
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| LK |
It was challenging at first. The first year was a little tough. But I managed to handle it because I wasn’t the only one to come to the U.S. on a scholarship. Stephen Sambu went to Arizona and Sam Chelanga went to Liberty. Many of us came. I needed to adjust and gave myself one year. I adjusted well and in my second year it was good. I was ready to focus on my studies and to focus on improving my running times.
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In the fall of 2010, you won the MAAC Cross Country Championship and finished fourth at the NCAAs. What were you doing in training that helped you to improve so much from year one to year two at Iona?
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| LK |
I just followed along with what the coaches had me do. It was simple work – doing hills and running on the grass. The coaches at Iona had a great program. It is a small college, but they finish in the top ten at the NCAAs about every year. So, I was lucky to have that system. It prepared me very well.
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In 2011, you won two NCAA Championships. First, you mentioned that you like running indoors, and you won the NCAA 5,000 meters indoors at College Station, Texas. It’s interesting because you ran 13:26.01 ahead of Sam Chelanga at 13:27.34 and Stephen Sambu at 13:28.48 and you three have been race competitors for many years since then. What was it like racing that day with Sam and Stephen as all three of you aimed to win?
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| LK |
It was an exciting race. I knew that my finishing kick was strong. My plan was to go there, run as fast as I could and, before I knew it, I was an NCAA Champion. That opened the doors for me to be a professional runner.
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Three months later at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, it was similar in the 10,000 meters as it came down to Sam, Stephen and you and you prevailed in 28:07.63 with Sam five seconds back in 28:12.18 and Stephen twelve seconds behind in 28:19.61. Did you find that the longer distance suited you better and you were able to kick off of that longer race better than Sam and Stephen?
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| LK |
When I won my first NCAA Championship indoors, I told myself that I had to be hungrier to win again. That’s why I was able to win outdoors. When I went into the race, I knew that people like Sambu and Chelanga were worried about me, and I wanted to use that to my advantage. And I was able to win the 10,000 meters too. It was exciting and prepared me for future races.
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I’m sure the next fall you wanted to win the NCAA Cross Country Championships and there were many great runners in that field. Lawi Lalang won convincingly in 28:44.1 followed by Chris Derrick in 28:57.50, you in 29:02.5 and then two Canadians. Cam Levins in 29:04.8 and Mo Ahmed in 29:06.7. That must have been a great competition. What was the point where Lawi was able to pull away toward his victory and the rest of the top racers were unable to respond and go with him?
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| LK |
It was a good race. I wanted to win cross country at 10,000 meters. But that race didn’t go well for me. Even though I wanted to win, at the end of the day, I just chalked it up to experience. Even though I didn’t win, it was still a good day and cross-country racing prepared me for the future.
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TRAINING Let’s talk a bit about the differences in your training at Iona, training as a professional for distances from 10k to the half marathon and how it changed when you focused on the marathon. When you were at Iona, what kind of mileage and long runs did you do and what were some favorite speed sessions prescribed by your coach?
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| LK |
In college they were simple workouts. We ran eighty miles a week with two sessions on Tuesday and Friday. It was preparation to run and win NCAAs.
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How did your training change after you left Iona and focused on the 10k, 15k, 10-mile and up to the half marathon? Also, how was it being an Army soldier, having good training partners and having Scott Simmons as your coach?
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| LK |
It was a good challenge and experience switching from college to a professional. We were coached by Scott Simmons for many years before Sam Kosgei started coaching us a year ago. Scott has trained many good runners like Hillary Bor and Paul Chelimo. He was a good coach and we liked him a lot.
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Under Coach Simmons, did your mileage increase early on or more so when you stepped up to the marathon? And how long were your long runs?
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| LK |
When we went to marathon training, we usually did long runs of 40k. The number of miles was based more on the individual. Some runners can do more miles and still perform. Others do less miles and perform well. We discussed this with our coaches, and they designed the right program that was a fit for each of us.
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Did you do much hill training in your program?
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| LK |
Especially on the long runs, we would run in places where it was hilly.
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Did you also supplement your training with chiropractic care, weight training and massage therapy?
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| LK |
On easy days, like Wednesday and Thursday, that is when we would do weights and massage therapy. We had access to everything here in Colorado Springs.
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FINAL COMMENTS AND WRAPUP When an athlete and outside observers evaluate athletic careers, they often look at championships and records. In addition to being a two-time Olympian and representing the USA multiple times at the World Championships in track and field and cross country, you have won several USA Championships and have won many prestigious races. At age thirty-seven, with a few more competitive years ahead of you, when you look at these achievements over a lengthy period of time, how do you evaluate your own running career so far?
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| LK |
I have exceeded my expectations. I was not hoping to go this far. For me to still be running so well, I am very thankful. I still want to run faster in the marathon and am hoping to improve my personal best. That gives me motivation to work harder.
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In 1972, the U.S. had three marathon runners in the top ten as Frank Shorter won, Kenny Moore was fourth and Jack Bachelor was ninth. Do you think that you may work together with Connor Mantz and Clayton Young at the Olympics and the three of you can do something great for the U.S. and the three of you can all place high in Paris?
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| LK |
Everybody is excited for us. As Americans, we all want to go there and do our best. We will have that mindset like everybody who wants to run strong. We will have that mentality to go there and to try to earn a medal if we have a good race.
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If the pace in Paris dictates that you have to let the lead pack go and work to pass runners in the latter part of the race, will you focus on running the last 10k good, the last four miles well and the last mile fast to do your best? Are you ready to change your strategy as the race develops?
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| LK |
Yes, we will go there knowing that it is a championship race. It’s going to be hot. It’s going to be hilly. It’s a race that won’t be primarily physical. It will be mental. We have to go there mentally prepared to do our best.
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| GCR: |
After the Paris Olympics, what goal races do you have in the next few years such as the New York City Marathon, Boston Marathon, or London Marathon to be in the mix and try to win?
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| LK |
I don’t know right now. My plan is to run in the World Championship Marathon next year. I want to go to the World Championships and to represent the U.S. That is what is on my mind. Then in the future I will try to run a fast marathon and to improve my personal best.
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| GCR: |
Since, as we mentioned, you are thirty-seven years old, do you hope to continue as a Masters runner, coach, be a motivational speaker, write a book or do other pursuits either within or outside the running community?
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| LK |
Age is just a number. I don’t want to stereotype myself. Right now, my focus is to do what I can do now, run well right now, and to not worry about the future. I still want to represent the U.S. at World Championships before I start thinking about other pursuits.
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| GCR: |
Since you are always so happy to represent the U.S., how exciting was it in 2016 to become a U.S. citizen after you had been here for several years? Was that a big decision and an exciting decision?
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| LK |
It has been a good experience. When I decided to represent the U.S., it was something that excited me. When I finished college, I asked myself what I could give back to the U.S. because the country had given me such a great opportunity. I got my citizenship and have represented the U.S. and that has been huge for me, and I am excited about it.
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| GCR: |
What are the major lessons you have learned during your life from your youth in Kenya, coming to America and a new country and culture, the discipline that academics and running encourages, and any adversity you have faced that encompasses the philosophy of Leonard Korir that you would like to share which will encourage people to reach their potential as a runner and to be their best as a human being?
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| LK |
For anybody to succeed at anything, they have to have passion in what they are doing. Runners should do their best in training and try to stay injury-free. They should progress step-by-step, run cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track. They should compete and not stress themselves too much. And before you know it, you are a successful runner.
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Inside Stuff |
| Hobbies/Interests |
I don’t do much. I like other sports, like football. I like to follow college football and NFL football. That is my main interest for fun. I also like to watch basketball
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| Nicknames |
They call me ‘Leonard’ or my nickname of ‘Lenny’
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| Favorite movies |
I’m not much of a movie person
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| Favorite TV shows |
Like I said, I just like watching football and basketball
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| Favorite music |
Sometimes I listen to reggae music or rhythm and blues
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| Favorite books |
When I finished college, I decided not to do a lot of reading. I’m not much of a reader
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| First car |
I started with a Honda. It was an easy car to teach myself when I was driving around
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| First Job |
My family back in Kenya did farming and I helped out with that
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| Family |
My dad was a teacher, so he prepared us very well. My mom took care of me, my four sisters and a brother
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| Pets |
We used to like dogs and my favorite pets were dogs
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| Favorite breakfast |
I like oatmeal for breakfast
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| Favorite meal |
For dinner, I like pasta
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| Favorite beverages |
For dinner, I like pasta
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| First running memory |
I just remember running at school. When I ran races, it would be exciting. When I was training, I would try to impress the coaches
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| Running heroes |
In Kenya, Paul Tergat was a hero to us. He has been a mentor. He was great in cross country and track
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| Greatest running moments |
My favorite one was winning the New York Half Marathon. I was a young runner and not expected to win. Making my first Olympic team for Rio in 2016 is number two
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| Most disappointing running moment |
The Olympic Trials in 2020. Finishing fourth in the marathon is so disappointing. If I was seventh or sixth, it isn’t as bad as finishing fourth
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| Childhood dreams |
When I was young, I wanted to be a doctor. So, when I was little and going to school, I studied hard so I could be a doctor. As I grew up, I realized that I wasn’t going to be a doctor - I was going to be a runner
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| Favorite places to travel |
I like going to New York, maybe because I went to college there. So, my favorite place in the U.S. is New York, especially in the city. Internationally, If I could go back, it would be to Switzerland. I have gone there many times and I genuinely like it there
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