Training
A typical training week in Iten
The weeks here are strict and simple. Kenyan distance runners build them on patience, easy running that is actually easy, and sleep.
Nobody at camp is collecting gadgets. The work is a repeatable week: one or two harder days, a medium-long run, a long run, and the rest genuinely comfortable.
Monday is recovery, often 10–16 km at a pace where you can talk, with an easy optional jog later or nothing at all after Sunday. Tuesday is the intense day, controlled rather than chaotic: kilometre repeats, 400s, hills, or a threshold session, then an easy afternoon jog.
Wednesday stays aerobic for 16–22 km on the dirt roads that roll out of town. Thursday is lighter again, 10–15 km plus mobility or core. Friday is tempo or a long fartlek — one minute strong, one minute easy, many times over — or 40–60 minutes of continuous work. Saturday loosens the legs. Sunday is the long run, 25–35 km in a group, starting comfortable and progressing over steep dirt.
The day around it is just as plain. Tea before dawn, the main run, then eggs, porridge, and fruit. Lunch is ugali, rice, potatoes, beans, and greens. The afternoon nap is not a luxury. Massage, the lounge, and an early night do as much as the session.
You can join Kenyan runners at a level that fits. For faster work, people go to the Chepkoilel track or the Moiben road. A local pacer, usually about €10, is the easy way to learn the routes in the first days.
Wake up early. Run with purpose. Eat well. Rest often. Sleep plenty. Repeat.
See the full week
Health
Staying well at 2,400 metres
Iten is high, cool, and a long way from the malaria coast. A few ordinary precautions cover most of what runners need to know.
The altitude is the point of the trip, and it is also the health story. At about 2,400 metres the mosquitoes that carry malaria do not thrive, so the risk in Iten itself is considered extremely low. That changes if the holiday continues to the coast, Lake Victoria, or some parks. Ask a clinician before you add those nights.
Dengue and chikungunya are uncommon in these highlands too. Repellent still earns its place in the bag, and a net matters if you sleep lower down.
What visitors do pick up, when they pick up anything, is usually a stomach bug. Bottled or properly filtered water, washed hands, and food that was just cooked are the practical rules. The camp kitchen is part of the daily rate for that reason: you are not hunting for a safe lunch between sessions.
The first days can feel heavy. A headache, tired legs, or breath that comes sooner than you expect are common while you acclimatise. Keep drinking, eat enough carbohydrate, and let the early runs be easy.
Sort routine vaccines before you fly. Hepatitis A, typhoid, or yellow fever may or may not be relevant — yellow fever is required only if you arrive from certain countries — so this is a conversation with your own doctor, not a camp prescription.
Read the health notes
Packing
What to pack for two weeks in Iten
Iten looks equatorial on a map and feels cold at 6 am. Pack for training, for a chilly evening, and then stop worrying.
The things you cannot replace easily are your passport and eTA, your running shoes, your gels and protein, your watch, and your own medication. Almost everything else is in Iten or a short ride away in Eldoret.
Bring layers. A light jacket, a fleece or a thin down piece, long tights, a beanie, and a buff will get used. The sun is strong in the middle of the day, so a hat, sunglasses, and high-SPF sunscreen belong in the same bag.
Kenya uses UK-style Type G plugs. One universal adapter saves the first evening. A power bank helps on the travel day.
The Saturday market is good for odds and ends, and the pharmacies are reliable. If you forget shampoo, you will be fine. If you forget the shoes you actually race in, you will not.
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