Keringet high altitude sports facility in Kuresoi South, Nakuru County in this photo taken on March 4, 2025.
Four years ago, the people of Ndabibit village in Kuresoi South, Nakuru County, were excited when the ground-breaking ceremony for the Keringet High Altitude Training Centre was held.
Budgeted at Sh1.2 billion, the 2,800-metre-high facility was envisioned as a game-changer for local and international athletes, offering an environment ideal for endurance training.
It was meant to benefit athletes who were training on roads or travelling to other counties for proper facilities.
The entrance to the Keringet high altitude sports facility in Kuresoi South, Nakuru County on March 4, 2025.
In the 2022/23 financial year, the Nakuru County Government allocated Sh124 million for the first phase, which included running tracks, a standard pitch, a generator house, a frontage fence, a gatehouse, and toilet blocks.
Initially, county officials projected that phase one would be completed within 10 months.
However, by March 2024, the county had started phase two before completing phase one, allocating Sh20 million for hostels, a dining area, a kitchen and a shed.
At the time, the Youth and Sports Chief Officer, Alex Maina, said that the facility would be completed by May 2024.
However, a county government update in June 2024 stated that, although the project was 95 percent complete, work remained unfinished.
The incomplete spectators’ sitting terraces at Keringet high altitude sports facility in Kuresoi South, Nakuru County on March 4, 2025.
A visit by the County Assembly Sports Committee revealed progress, including the construction of hostels, boreholes, changing rooms, a dining room and a track.
However, a spot check by the Nation on Wednesday confirmed that, four years later, the project remains incomplete, leaving athletes training on dusty roads and rugged paths.
Once buzzing with construction, the site now stands neglected.
The long-awaited track is still incomplete and is covered only in murram.
Athletes train on the rocky course of the Keringet high altitude sports facility in Kuresoi South, Nakuru County on March 4, 2025.
Two 40-capacity dormitories the kitchen, dining area and ablution block remain unfinished with their doors locked to prevent vandalism after the contractor left the site in June 2024.
The main gate is often closed to prevent residents from grazing livestock on the overgrown fields.
“We were excited when this project started, but years later, nothing has changed. We still run along dangerous roads, dodging vehicles and dealing with poor surfaces,” lamented Brenda Chepchumba, a 5,000m and 10km athlete.
The idea for the facility dates back to 2016 under former Governor Kinuthia Mbugua.
However, coaches say the drainage remains half-done and murram on Lane 1 and 2 of the track was poorly laid. During rains, water stagnates on the track, rendering it unusable.
“We need the government to prioritise completing the track before dormitories. We have athletes preparing for Tokyo competitions in September, but we lack proper training grounds,” said Coach Willy Langat who trains 45 local and 15 international athletes.
Athletes train on the rocky running track of the Keringet high altitude sports facility in Kuresoi South, Nakuru County on March 4, 2025.
Victor Mutai, a 1,500m and 10,000m athlete echoed these frustrations, saying they now train by the road or travel to Nakuru’s Rift Valley Institute of Technology (RVIST) or Nakuru Teachers Training College.
“Traveling three times a week costs Sh2,000 in bus fare and food, which some athletes can’t afford. My training starts at 5am and we are pleading with the county to finish this project,” he said.
Mutai, who began his career in 2018 and won a gold medal for Kenya at the African Cross-Country Relay in Tunisia, believes that the incomplete facility is preventing future champions from emerging.
Hostels at the Keringet high altitude sports facility in Kuresoi South, Nakuru County on March 4, 2025.
On December 22, 2023, Governor Kihika announced that the stadium would be renamed the Faith Kipyegon Stadium in honour of the two-time Olympic champion, who trained in Keringet.
During the renaming ceremony, Kipyegon urged the county to complete the facility to help nurture future talent.
However, the latest audit report paints a troubling picture of the stadium's current state.
The initial Sh121 million contract was signed on February 10, 2021 for a 42-week period ending October 10, 2021.
By June 30, 2024, payments totalling Sh96 million, 78 per cent of the contract sum had been made yet the project was still incomplete.
Moreover, key documents such as the title deed for the land and the performance bond were missing from the audit records according to the report by Auditor-General.
The contractor left the site 30 months after the original deadline without an official contract extension.
Willy Lang’at (right), an athlete coach, does warm-up exercises with some of his trainees on the rocky running track of the Keringet high altitude sports facility in Kuresoi South, Nakuru County on March 4, 2025.
A separate Sh18 million contract for mechanical works and borehole drilling was also found incomplete, with plumbing, drainage, and irrigation systems still unfinished. Another Sh16 million contract for two dormitories, a kitchen, and a dining area had similarly stalled, with the contractor absent despite the contract period expiring in May 2024.
“Another contractor was contracted for the construction of two dormitories, kitchen, dining area and a shed at a contract sum of Sh16 million. The contract was signed on February, 23 2021 and was expected to end on May 23, 2024, however, physical inspection of the project revealed that the works were all incomplete and the contractor was not on site despite the contract period having lapsed,” read part of the audit.
Incomplete washrooms at the Keringet high altitude sports facility in Kuresoi South, Nakuru County on March 4, 2025.
Athletes and coaches have urged the county to prioritise completing the stadium. Keringet’s altitude, higher than Iten at 2,100 metres, makes it ideal for elite training, but poor infrastructure is forcing athletes to seek alternatives.
“We want more young athletes competing internationally,” Langat said. “This stadium could be a gateway to Kenya’s future champions if completed.”
For now, Keringet’s world class dream remains just that, a dream.
