Kenya fears unrest threatens cross country chances

By Jack Oyoo

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's prospects at this year's world cross country championships are under threat because political violence is preventing training, top athletes said on Saturday.

Weeks of violence following President Mwai Kibaki's disputed re-election on December 27 have killed about 700 people in the east African nation, with some of the worst unrest in the Rift Valley region which is home to top athletes.

"We've been restricted to training inside military barracks after incidents where athletes were threatened while others survived attacks by hostile people on their way to training," former world 5,000 metres champion Benjamin Limo told Reuters.

A group of athletes training in the hilly Ngong area, which is popular with top distance runners, were forcefully ejected from a public bus a week ago on their way to train and were lucky to escape unhurt.

"Since then we can't train outside the military barracks, which has curtailed our training," 2000 Sydney Olympic champion, Noah Ngeny, who trains a group of runners, said.

"Athletes need hills to test their endurance and if they can't go outside the barracks, it portends doom for us, added Ngeny who won the 1,500 metres gold at the Sydney Games."

Limo and a group of athletes had to fly from their base in Eldoret, about 350 km (218 miles) northwest of the capital Nairobi, to attend the Armed Forces Cross Country Championships.

Kenya draws competitors from that event for the world championships being held in Edinburgh, Scotland on March 30.