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Abdi Nageeye credits relocating to Kenya at 21 as a transformative step in his marathon career, inspiring him to adopt the lifestyle and training methods of top Kenyan runners, ultimately leading him to success, including his recent New York City Marathon win.
Newly-crowned New York City Marathon champion Abdi Nageeye has explained how relocating to Kenya shaped his career in marathon running.
Abdi Nageeye relocated to Kenya when he was 21, revealing that the motivation came from reading an article about a Dutchwoman who relocated to China to sharpen her prowess in table tennis and went on to become a world champion.
At the time of his relocation, Abdi Nageeye was still a student and he disclosed that his education could wait since he wanted to chase his dream. The Dutchman gave out all his stuff from school and with the little money he had, he decided to move to Iten and start a new life there.
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When he was moving, he did not have a car or any belongings of his but he wanted to sacrifice and put in the work to ensure he ran like Kenyan marathon stars including Eliud Kipchoge, Benson Kipruto and Evans Chebet among others.
“When I was 21, I told myself I was going to move to Kenya because the guys running well at the time were not from Mars, they were just from this planet. This came after I read an article from a Dutchwoman who played table tennis, moved to China, and became the world champion,” Abdi Nageeye said.
“She lived like them, trained like them and ate like them. Moving to Kenya, I knew it would take time to adjust but I took that leap of faith for that two backs I had for 10 years. I had no car, I didn’t want to get anything and up until now, I don’t even have a house because I’m very nomadic, that’s my lifestyle now. I was still in school and I called my classmates and told them to take everything…I wanted to be a free bird,” he added.
Nageeye is undoubtedly one of the greatest marathon runners in the world who has managed to make a name for himself and with the New York City Marathon title added to his collection, he has certainly joined the chat of the greats.
This season alone, he has managed wins in three of his races but unfortunately registered a ‘did not finish’ at the Paris Olympic Games in the men’s marathon. Abdi Nageeye opened his season at the NN CPC Loop Den Haag Halve Marathon before proceeding to the NN Marathon Rotterdam to claim top honours.
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