Hakuna matata. That’s what Daniel Langat told himself when he had to stand for 10 hours straight in the general compartment of a train from Pune to Delhi earlier this year. 

Daniel is from Kenya and anyone who has watched Disney’s The Lion King will know that “Hakuna matata”, in his national language Swahili, means “no worries”. “Besides, being a marathon runner, I know a thing or two about patience,” Daniel smiles. 

A professional runner, Daniel was in Salt Lake recently for the Airtel Run for Education 2015 organised by Round Table India in association with The Telegraph. He ran the 21km race there and won it, clocking 1 hour 11 minutes and 34 seconds. 

This is his fourth visit to India and his ninth race here, all of which saw him clinch a medal  (see box). This time he arrived in November and has set base at a training academy in Pune. He shall stay on till the end of January and travel to whichever city he finds out is hosting a marathon.
 

Run to school 

Daniel hails from Kenya’s Nakuru County, that is famous for flamingos in their lakes. His parents are vegetable farmers and he has three brothers and three sisters. His eldest sibling runs a grocery shop and the youngest one is in Class II. 

Twenty-five-year-old Daniel has fond memories of his simple growing-up years, especially of going to school. “I would run,” he says. “My school was 8km away and I would cover it in 40 minutes. It would be the high point of my days.”

The family couldn’t afford college so after school, Daniel started training to be a runner. After some years of practise and consistent performance in the domestic circuit, he went international in 2015, cutting his teeth in India. “Kenyan runners head to several countries to race but I chose India as it is the cheapest. I first came in April but found everything so comfortable that I returned three more times,” says the ever-smiling face. “This is my fourth trip to India and will be my longest.”

No worries 

Daniel is a picture of patience, be it while tackling spicy Indian food, poor mobile phone network or crowded trains. “I usually manage to get train tickets through the foreign tourist quota but sometimes, like on that Pune-Delhi train, I had to travel in the general compartment. I spent 10 out of the 24-hour long ride standing, but it was ok. Hakuna matata,” he smiles.

Indians have been helpful and friendly, says Daniel, all though language is a barrier. “Schools in Kenya teach English so I can get by but often I can make out people want to speak to me but they don't speak English and I don’t speak any Indian language,” he says. He has learnt some key words in Hindi though, like “namaste” and “khana,” and his favourite khana (food) here is idli. 

He has run in places like Hyderabad, Haryana, Nagaland and Bhopal, but this was his first trip to Calcutta. He stayed at a guesthouse in Salt Lake’s Sector I and seemed to like everything about the place. “I only stayed for a day so didn’t get to do any sight-seeing. I saw Howrah bridge en route the railway station but for Victoria Memorial I’ll come back another time,” Daniel promises.

Keep running

From the Calcutta run Daniel won a prize money of Rs 35,000 and he’s counting the pennies from all his runs. “I’m raising capital to start a training school in Kenya to produce more runners,” he says. 

While Daniel is trained to run the full-length 42km marathon, he says there are hardly any full-length events in India. “Maybe there aren’t enough participants for the full-length run. Indian runners are quite fit, but they need more training,” he says, adding that everyone can aspire to complete a marathon.

“But there are steps to it. Just like a nursery student reaches high school in stages, a runner too should start with 1.5km tracks and gradually increase the distance,” says the man who has been running 1.5km races since he was in Class V. “It also helps to practise short distance runs, as it maintains speed.”

Despite having won so many marathons, Daniel has not represented his country yet. “I would love to represent Kenya at the Olympics,” says the fan of British marathon champ Mo Farah. “If it happens, fine. If not, it’s fine too. I’ll still keep running.”

Daniel’s winning streak

Month           Venue           Distance     Result
April               Bhopal          11km           Winner 
May               Haryana        21km           Third
May               Haryana        12km           Third
June              Madurai         8km             Winner
June              Chennai         14km           Winner
August          Hyderabad     21km           Second
November     Hyderabad     21km           Second
November     Haryana         21km           Second
December     Calcutta         21km           Winner
December     Nagaland       21km           Second 

Brinda Sarkar

Can we ever be trained to run like the Kenyans?
Write to saltlake@abpmail.com or The Telegraph Salt Lake, 6, Prafulla Sarkar Street, Calcutta 700001