Chelimo will race the Camel City Elite 3,000 meters live on RunnerSpace +PLUS

By Chris Lotsbom, Dyestat Editor

It’s hard to comprehend, but Olympic silver medalist Paul Chelimo only started running in 2010.

From humble upbringings in Kenya to running at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, then becoming a member of the U.S. Army, Chelimo’s fire has always burned bright. Referring to himself as a lion, Chelimo is hungry to become king of the indoor track.

“My main goal is to keep staying humble, keep staying thirsty, and don’t lose any race this year,” Chelimo said in Boston last week.

“Don’t lose any race. Sometimes I lose [shaking his head]. I’ve got to win all the races.”

Chelimo won his indoor season opener by clocking 7 minutes, 42.39 seconds in the 3,000 meters at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, and will look to take home another victory Saturday at the Camel City Elite Meet 3,000.

Held at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, N.C., it will be a homecoming of sorts for the motivated Chelimo. He’ll face Briton Lee Emanuel, Riley Masters and a field of 14 others. (You can watch the Camel City Elite meet streamed live online at www.jdlfasttrack.com as part of the RunnerSpace +Plus subscription package).

Before Chelimo takes to the track Saturday, here are six quick facts about the 26-year-old Olympic medalist.

1) Chelimo is coming off a 40-day training stint in his native Kenya, and says the trip to Iten helped reset his system.

“Training in Kenya was just the best thing I could ask for,” he said. “It was a good way for me to enjoy my vacation. It was a long season [in 2016] and I just needed to go somewhere to have fun and at the same time train.”

2) Chelimo doesn’t take his running uniform lightly. Often sporting the U.S. Army uniform, he is dedicated to doing as much as possible to personify his gratitude to be an American.

“My main job is being a soldier in the U.S. Army. I just take each day as a privilege,” he said. “It’s never my rite to go out there and train and get all the mileage in. It’s been up and down. Sometimes I don’t get to train as I expected to train, and here and there we have to travel all around the United States [for military obligations].

“It’s something I have to do, something I chose to do. It is a sacrifice and way to give back to the United States. This is a country; I grew up in Kenya, moved here and they paid for my scholarship for four years. It’s something I can’t take for granted. After the Olympics, just holding the flag was just an amazing thing in my life that I can’t take for granted. It’s something I signed up for. Training, running, is just part of it; but my main job is being a soldier in the Army and doing the requirements.”

3) Chelimo didn’t start running until 2010 when he was 17, and said that a key to his success was developing consistency. His most valuable tip to young high school runners is to train smart.

“Don’t go out there and do crazy training. Don’t do a lot of mileage. If you do too much mileage, your future is going to be junk mileage. Just train smart. I’m a good example; I never ran in high school,” he said. “It’s just a matter of how you earn it and how you train... training consistent and not being too thirsty. Just be consistent.”

4) Chelimo likes to watch and learn from Olympic 1,500-meter gold medalist Matthew Centrowitz. Whether it’s watching his Rio run or just hanging out with the Nike Oregon Project team member, Chelimo enjoys picking Centro’s brain.

“I’m still learning. At the Olympic Trials, I barely made the team because of (lack of) experience,” he said. “That’s why every other day I’m trying to stay close to Matt Centrowitz so he can give me his cool tactics.”

Chelimo added that before his Olympic 5,000-meter race he watched Centrowitz run track-side and was inspired by the winning performance to give his all. The motivation worked, and Chelimo ran strong to the silver medal. He could hear Centrowitz cheering him lap after lap.

“After seeing my teammate Matt Centrowitz winning gold, that was one of my motivating factors. I saw him cheering and I was watching the race before I started my race. I went out there and tried to do my best.”

5) Chelimo remembers the temporary disqualification that almost cost him the Olympic silver medal, and it motivates him daily.

“Rio was my moment, you know. That was so heartbreaking when I heard that (I’d been DQ’d on live television),” he said. “That was my moment, you know. That was the best moment. I didn’t want to see it just go away because whatever I was doing in training was blood, sweat and tears. I worked so hard to get where I was, and it only took about 30 minutes for what I’ve worked for for a long time to be taken away from me. I just didn’t want to let that happen and I was ready to fight and get back to my position, get back my silver medal. That was my first Olympics and my first silver medal in the Olympics, so I’m happy about it and thankful for it.”

6) What is Chelimo’s favorite part of racing? The end, of course, because it’s when you can really test yourself.

“Always the most important thing in a race is the last part because it’s the winner who takes the day,” he said.

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Watch Paul Chelimo and many other Olympians compete at the Camel City Elite meet Saturday, Feb. 4, streamed live online at www.jdlfasttrack.com as part of the RunnerSpace +PLUS subscription package.