Philemon Rono (born 8 February 1991), nicknamed the "baby police", is a Kenyan

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

who specializes in the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

. He holds the Canadian all-comers' record in the marathon, having run the fastest marathon ever in Canada of 2:05:00 to win the 2019

Toronto Waterfront Marathon The Toronto Waterfront Marathon is an annual marathon held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in October. The race day also includes a half marathon and 5 km race. The race has quickly become an elite level marathon and is one of just five World A ...

. Rono is a three-time winner of this marathon, having won the race in 2016, 2017 and 2019.

Career

2010: Early career

Philemon Rono started his international career on the track in 2010 recording personal bests of 8:02.28 in the 3000m in Pliezhausen, Germany and 13:36.23 in the 5000m in Oordegem, Belgium.

2011–2013: Transition to road racing

In 2011 Rono won the Tilburg 10 Miles in the Netherlands and placed sixth at the Dam tot Damloop 10 miles. In 2012 he made his half marathon debut at the

Prague Half Marathon The Prague Half Marathon (known as the Sportisimo Prague Half Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual half marathon road running event which takes place in Spring on the city streets of Prague, Czech Republic, first held in 1999. It ...

in 1:04:16. The next month Rono won the Paderborn Half Marathon in Germany in 1:00:58. Later in the year he returned to the

Tilburg Ten Miles Tilburg Ten Miles is an annual road running competition held in Tilburg, Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Nether ...

and placed sixth in a personal best time of 45:57. In 2013 Philemon won the

Kenyan Cross Country Championships The Kenyan Cross Country Championships is an annual cross country running competition that serves as the national championship for Kenya. It is organised by Athletics Kenya and has permit race status from the International Association of Athletics ...

in Nairobi to qualify for the

2013 World Cross Country Championships The 2013 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 24, 2013. The races were held at the Myślęcinek Park in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Kenya topped the medal standings in the competition with 5 gold, and Ethiopia had the most overall ...

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...

, Poland. At the

he placed 36th; the race was won by his compatriot Japhet Korir. On 25 May, Rono ran a 10,000m personal best of 28:18.5 to place second at the Nairobi Kenyan Police Championships in Nairobi. He went on to finish eighth at the Kenyan National Championships on 22 June, also in Nairobi. Later in the year he placed second in the

Lille Half Marathon The Lille Métropole Half Marathon ( French: ''Semi-Marathon de Lille Métropole'') is an annual half marathon foot race which takes place in Lille, France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located i ...

running a personal best time of 1:00:39.

2014–2018: Beginning of a marathon career

On 4 May 2014 Rono made his marathon debut at the Hamburg Marathon, where he placed third in a time of 2:07:07, the race was won by

Shumi Dechasa Shumi Dechasa (born 28 May 1989) is an Ethiopian-born Bahraini long distance runner who specialises in the marathon. He competed in the marathon event at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing, China, where he finished 5th. In 2 ...

in 2:06:43. On 6 September he placed third at the

in 1:00:52. On 19 October he competed at the Amsterdam Marathon, placing 7th in 2:10:23. In 2015 Rono returned to Hamburg, where he placed fourth in the Hamburg Marathon in a time of 2:08:18. The race was won by fellow Kenyan Lucas Rotich in 2:07:17. On 23 August he raced the Klagenfurt Half Marathon in Austria, placing second in 1:02:02. His second marathon race of the year came at the Valencia Marathon, where he placed fifth in 2:08:47. In 2016 Rono first placed third at the Nairobi First Lady's Half Marathon before returning to Hamburg. On 17 April he placed second at the Hamburg Marathon in a time of 2:07:20. The race was won by

Tesfaye Abera Tesfaye Abera Dibaba (born 31 March 1992) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes in marathons. His personal best of 2:04:24 hours ranks him in the all-time top ten, as of 2016. He has won marathons in Dubai, Hamburg and Mumbai. He t ...

in 2:06:58. On 16 October he raced the

and won the race in 2:08:26. In 2017 he raced the Rotterdam Marathon on 9 April, finishing eighth in 2:09:22. On 2 September Rono returned to the

, where he placed 13th in 2:03:55. He then returned in turn to Toronto for the

on 22 October, where he successfully defended his title, winning the race in 2:06:52. In 2018 Rono raced the

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by several cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was i ...

, however he did not finish the race, which was won by Yuki Kawauchi. On 21 October he returned to Toronto to defend his title at the

and finished ninth in 2:13:37.

2019–present: Breakthrough

Rono returned to the

, where he DNF-ed in 2018 on 15 April, this time placing sixth in 2:08:57. On 31 August he returned to racing in Lille to run the Semi Marathon, placing 12th in 1:01:24. Rono next raced the

, where he regained his title winning the race in a Canadian all-comers' record of 2:05:00. 2020 saw Rono race one marathon; the Valencia Marathon on 6 December. He placed 10th in the race in a time of 2:05:37. The race was won by fellow Kenyan

Evans Chebet Evans Kiplagat Chebet (born 10 November 1988) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in road races. In September 2019, after finishing in the top six of every marathon he had finished, Chebet won his first international race, the Buenos ...

, and 11 men broke 2:06:00 in the race. In 2021 Rono raced one marathon when on 26 November he placed sixth at the Abu Dhabi Marathon in 2:12:31. The race was won by his compatriot

Titus Ekiru Titus Ekiru (born 2 January 1992) is a Kenyan long-distance runner. He represented Kenya at the 2019 African Games and he won the men's half marathon with a time of 1:01:42. He became the first Kenyan to win this event at the African Games. Th ...

Personal bests

Personal life

He is part of the

NN Running Team NN Running Team is a professional running team based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 2017 by Jos Hermens, the director of Global Sports Communication. The team's title sponsor is the Dutch insurance company NN Group. The running team include ...

based in Kaptagat, Kenya. He trains with the likes of Eliud Kipchoge,

Abel Kirui Abel Kirui (born 6 April 1982) is a long-distance runner from Kenya who competes in marathons. He had back-to-back wins in the World Championship marathon in 2009 and 2011. Kirui won in 2009 with a time of 2:06:54, then defended his title with ...

and

Gideon Kipketer Gideon Kipketer is a Kenyan long-distance runner, who specialises in road running events. Kipketer is currently part of the NN Running Team, an international team of elite long-distance runners managed by Global Sports Communication in Nijmegen, ...

. Rono supports

Chelsea Football Club Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London. Founded in 1905, they play their home games at Stamford Bridge. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football. The ...

in the Premier League."Meet Philemon." NN running team
www.nnrunningteam.com/team/philemon-rono/

References

External links

Philemon RONO , Profile , World Athletics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rono, Philemon Kenyan male long-distance runners Kenyan male marathon runners Living people Marathon runners 1991 births