Sehome WA Standout Lived His Dream By Traveling To Iten, Kenya For Immersive Running And Cultural Experience

By Keenan Gray for DyeStat

Photos courtesy Derek Munson

A rooster announces the rising sun on the horizon of a quiet early morning in the Kenyan highlands. A shroud of mist hangs over the surrounding hills, soon to be burned off by the rising temperature.

In the town of Iten, Kenya, the call of the bird acts as an alarm clock. People start rolling out of bed, and for many, the first instinct is to grab their running shoes. They lace them up, get out the door on a crisp, cool morning and start running.

The streets fill with hundreds of runners, and Zack Munson is standing right there in the middle of it all, breathing in the atmosphere of his surroundings. The sign on the edge of town reads: “Welcome to Iten – Home of Champions.”

Over the summer, the Sehome High senior from Bellingham, Wash. got to live one of his dreams by traveling to Kenya and training with the locals.  

“For me, it was just thinking outside the box and kind of daring to do what other people would chose not to do,” Munson said.

The planning for his trip was five years in the making, dating back to the very first time he was introduced to the sport of running when he joined the Fairhaven Middle School track team. 

“When I was 13, that’s kind of right when I started really falling in love with the sport,” Munson said.

As time passed, running became a passion. He wanted to learn more about it, so he began to watch YouTube videos of some of the top runners in the world. 

Of all the athletes he watched, the ones that drew his attention most were the Kenyan runners.

“Seeing videos of the Kenyans running was really a big inspiration for me…I’ve always kept it in mind," he said. "I’ve wanted to compete at the highest level, and for a lot of people, that is the highest level.”

Munson began to focus in 2017 on the dream of one day going to Kenya and running there. 

Five years later, he made it happen. Munson and his father, Derek, packed up and booked their flights to Kenya for a five-week summer training trip.

“My dad and I were waiting for the right time to put it all together and I think going into my senior season everything lined up. I just knew all along at some point I would end up there. It’s the place to be if you want to put all your eggs in one basket and really go after your dreams,” he said. 

The trip was set for early July. The journey went through flights to Los Angeles, Paris and Nairobi, and eventually driving six more hours to reach the final destination the next morning. It was roughly 26 hours of travel.

“The planning honestly wasn’t too intense,” Munson said. “Once you get to Iten, it’s basically smooth sailing. It’s a miracle that we even made it to Kenya without much of a plan. I think a lot of it was spontaneous, honestly. Mainly it was just the idea of being there that had stayed with me for a long time.”

The Munsons arrived at a guesthouse that was equipped with a bathroom, a room with two beds in it, and a small living room. 

There were other living options aside from a small home such as a high-altitude training camp center or even resort-style hotels, but Munson and his dad wanted to gain the full cultural experience that reflected the Kenyan lifestyle. Iten, and nearby Eldoret, are the home towns of many of the world's fastest runners – from David Rudisha to Mary Keitany to Asbel Kiprop to American citizen Paul Chelimo, and many more. 

The following morning was Munson’s first opportunity to get out and explore the town, which sits at an elevation of 7,800 feet. Having no connection with any of the locals, he began running on his own on the hard-packed dirt and clay roads of Iten.

“That first run was amazing and honestly probably one of the best days of my life,” Munson said. “Just seeing all these images I’ve seen online come to life was surreal.”

Not even a mile into his run, Munson discovered training groups that were getting in their morning workouts. In groups of five people up to 20, it reminded him of the videos he'd studied on YouTube.  

One of the first groups he ran by was led by German national record holder in the marathon, Amanal Petros. Without any fear or hesitation, Munson stopped the group for a moment and asked if he could run with them.

“I kind of thought about it before thinking maybe it might be a private group,” Munson said. “But I was like, ‘Dude, I’m on the opposite side of the world’. If I get judged, I get judged, so it’s a not big deal…I just wanted to see how it goes.”

It worked better than expected. Petros, along with the rest of his group, welcomed Munson  with open arms.

He no longer felt like a stranger. From that day forward, he did all of his running in a group 

“I kind of had to prove myself that I was there to focus and get as good as I possibly could,” Munson said. “Once I did that, they accepted me in and got some really good running in.”

Over the course of the next five weeks, Munson saw a big progression in his training, but his bond with the local people grew even stronger. 

“Everyone is very social,” Munson said. “As days went on, I got to know more and more people. I was surrounded by great people. It was especially cool that they were so friendly, so I think I made a lot of connections. Next time I go, it’ll be nice to link up with all those guys again and see the progress they made and to work with them.”

Running in Kenya also provided new learning opportunities that Munson found he could use in his daily routine. 

In Iten, life feels simple: Wake up, run, eat and sleep.  

“Learning just how to be relaxing,” Munson said. “People there are so Zen. The first thing I noticed the morning we woke up in Nairobi is there are so many more people outside walking around and they don’t feel the need to be doing something all the time. A lot of the day is spent doing nothing and just relaxing and that’s something we don’t see here.”

It took some time getting used to. Munson’s dad suggested they go out an explore the area with the time they had. But Zack turned down most every opportunity because he knew this trip wasn’t a vacation – it was all about business.

“It was a change of pace,” Munson said. “I think that first week of getting into rhythm was very interesting, but I was ready for it. I really wanted to establish that routine there. Coming back home, I’ve been trying to mimic that because that culture sets you up to be able to maintain a schedule like that.”

The experience of a lifetime has now led to a highly anticipated senior season. 

After wrapping a junior track season where he posted times of 4:11.88 in the 1,600 meters and 8:53.12 in the 3,200, and brought home his first state individual state championship in the 3,200, Munson has big goals for cross country.

He expects to be one of the top runners in Washington this fall and hopes to rise on the national scene as well. Munson was 27th at the Garmin RunningLane Championships last December.  

“I went to Kenya with the goal of coming back and being one of the top guys in the nation this season,” Munson said. “I think the training paid off and now it’s just about keeping things simple and continuing to dream big.”