SPORTS
KANSAN.COM
LOKEDI FROM PAGE 16
Kenyan men won all but three Boston Marathons between 1991 to 2012, and Kenyan women have won 12 of the 17 Boston Marathons since 2000. Kenyan men hold nine of the fastest 10-kilometer times of all time, and women hold five of the fastest 10. Kalenjin especially dominate. Seventeen men in American history have run a marathon in under 2:10. But, as David Epstein told NPR, "There were 32 Kalenjin who did it in October of 2011."
Nearly all of those runners come from Rift Valley, which is not far east from Lokedi's home, where the elevation is high, diets are simple and runners train barefoot. Outside of farming, running is one of Kenyans' few options.
The Kenyans winning races were people living next
"So many lives have changed due to running," said Fred Yego, Lokedi's uncle who pushed her to run again after high school, eventually helping her land in Kansas. "There are athletes from very poor backgrounds who have made [it], and they encourage the upcoming ones to also work hard in training."
to Lokedi, or people from the next town over. When she started running in training camps, she would run next to those world-class runners, just trying to keep up. The dream of becoming a professional runner in Kenya — and with it, many times, a big pay day — is oftentimes inescapable.
professionally. It was the first time she had trained with a schedule. But running, to Lokedi, was "just a thing you do," with school coming first. On most days, there would be a morning run before the sun came up. Eventually, she would get in the routine of waking up at 5 a.m. without an alarm, followed by classes and strict discipline for being late to those classes. Then another run in the afternoon. All of the runs were long distance.
Lokedi lived at Kapkenda, her secondary school, and trained on a rigorous schedule with other girls who all had aspirations of running
There was a period after her four years at Kapkenda, about 18 months, when running completely fell out of the picture for Lokedi. She stayed home, waiting to join a college in Kenya, and helped her mother with her business and her siblings. Sometimes she would work on her family's farm, which
produced crops like potatoes and maize. With no way to train, she prepared for college in Kenya and a life without running.
But there was one more option.
So many lives have changed due to running."
Fred Yego
Lokedi's uncle
Lokedi had heard stories of running in America from the girls who had graduated before her and ran at Texas Tech after school. From the time she was in high school, she knew she wanted to go to America, but it didn't seem realistic until her uncle told her about her neighbor's son, Isaac Biwott, who ran cross country and track at Middle
Tennessee State from 2007 to 2011.
"I didn't know how I would come to America," Lokedi said. "It was my dream here, but at some point I just thought maybe I should just go to school."
Missy Minear/KANSAN
Once Lokedi knew that running in America was feasible, she removed her name for consideration for Kenyan colleges and with the help of her uncle, found a training camp in Kaptagat, an hour away from her home. That was where Kansas distance coach Michael Whittlesey found her on one of his recruiting trips to Kenya, after Lokedi's coach sent him her times and forms.
Sophomore Sharon Lokedi leads a pack of runners at the Rim Rock Classic in Lawrence on Oct 11.
As a freshman at Kansas, two years after she had finished school at Kapkenda, Lokedi was an All-American, with a 10th-place finish in the six-kilometer race at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Then, in her sophomore season, she shaved 12 seconds off her time and finished fifth.
Lokedi admits that, even now, she still isn't fully comfortable in America - she might never be. The homesickness hit the most in the first weeks after she arrived for the track and field season in 2015. She had no phone to call home, no friends, and a weak grasp on the English language. She felt lost.
"You couldn't communicate as well, so sometimes it was hard to get to understand each other, and sometimes you'll feel lonely," Lokedi said, looking back almost two years, to her freshman season. "You miss your parents and you just wish you had your friends, people
who can understand you and speak your language."
There was her wistfulness for home, and then there was the pure cultural adjustment both of which, she admits might have affected her performance early in her college career.
In Kenya, to ask for "water" is to really ask for milk. In Kansas, she stopped drinking milk every day.Instead, she drank more actual water. She adjusted to an American diet - less vegetable-heavy than in Kenya, where corn and maize were staples. She began speaking almost exclusively English. Less Swahili.
"She was just telling me a story about drinking coffee, and she wasn't sure about how much sugar and everything else to put in the coffee," cross country and track and field coach Stanley Redwine said. "It's just little things that people take for granted that she had to get acclimated to."
But, despite all the differences, America gave her a new dream and mission: an education - that's always been her first priority - and a place to run, but also a slow transition to comfort in a new culture. Now she dreams of being an NCAA cross country champion by the time she leaves Kansas. After that, she wants to run professionally in America, hopefully then adjusted to her American life.
"With time, as it goes by, you know more, you get to understand, you learn a lot," Lokedi said. "It's not that easy to just change like that. I still have a long way to go, but it's better right now."
Daily Debate: Who should be the NBA MVP?
▶ DEASIA PAGE
@DeAsia_Page
▶ JACK NADEAU
@jackneds
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, rear, shoots in front of Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol during the fourth quarter. Associated Press
The race to the NBA MVP award is a close one. Currently, it is a two-man race between former teammates James Harden of the Houston Rockets and Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Russell Westbrook
While James Harden and his team have climbed their way to the top of the league this season, Westbrook is more deserving of the award.
Associated Press
Westbrook dominates his team every time he steps on the court while giving NBA fans something to look forward to.
Will Westbrook contribute another triple-double? That is the question fans ponder every time the Thunder play.
Harden is having an impressive season as well. However, it is less historic. The success of Harden and the Rockets has been one of the top stories this NBA season. And Harden's stellar performances have a part in that. However, that story is not comparable to the one of Westbrook's triple-doubles.
Westbrook, who just gained his 19th triple-double, is having a historic season. Currently averaging 30.8 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.5 assists. Westbrook would be the second player in NBA history to average a triple-double for a season. Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson was the first to do it back in the 1961-62 season. Westbrook's triple-double total is the seventh-highest in single-season NBA history, with half the season left to play.
Another aspect that makes Westbrook more deserving than Harden is the success of their respective teams. Harden is on the better team; the Rockets have a record of 31-11. They currently rank third in the West, while the Oklahoma City Thunder rank seventh in the West with a record of 24-17. This means that if you take Harden off the team, the Rockets would still be a fairly decent team. They have great leadership in coach Mike D'Antoni and have all the right pieces on their roster. But if you take Westbrook from his team, it would be drastically worse. Westbrook's triple-doubles are occasionally not enough to lead the Thunder to a win
Westbrook, who just gained his 19th triple double, is having a historic season."
While Harden is partly responsible for the Rockets' success, he has better players surrounding him. Westbrook simply doesn't have that luxury. Westbrook has had to carry his team to where they are now. And if he keeps it up, his team's status as playoff contenders will be cemented. Harden has not had that responsibility this season. He did have it last season, though. But now the Rockets have revamped their identity in the league with a new coach and a new playing style. A couple of new players on the team contributes to their new identity as well.
Therefore, Harden has the tools around him to have a great team; the Thunder
do not. The Thunder are primarily defined by the success of Westbrook. That fact alone makes him more deserving than Harden to be this season's MVP.
James Harden
In a league dominated by superstars — and super teams — this NBA season boasts one of the most intriguing MVP races in recent memory. Russell Westbrook is having a banner year, and while his incredible triple-double averages might be chasing history, one can't overlook the dynamic presence of the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference and the reason for their turnaround: James Harden.
The team that barely
made it into the playoffs in 2016 is on pace for nearly 60 wins, the kind of season a general manager could only dream about, considering no elite talent was brought in during the offseason. This kind of turnaround exemplifies how Harden turned things around in Houston, and is more than deserving of the title of Most Valuable Player.
Harden's knock has always been his poor defense, which might be phrasing it conservatively. His offensive prowess is what has helped him thrive at the highest level, though, and he is scoring at a near-career best clip. Between the top two MVP candidates, Harden, and Westbrook, the Rockets' su
However, while points, rebounds, and assists dominate the discussion, Harden's defensive metrics aren't all that far off from other stars and several are higher than Westbrook's. In terms of defensive rating, which calculates the number of points a player would allow in 100 possessions, Harden's 107.2 tops Westbrook's
perstar possesses the ability to stretch the floor and shoot consistently from beyond the arc, adding a dynamic to his game that Westbrook will probably never have. With so many offensively talented players on coach Mike D'Antoni's squad, it has become easier for Harden to make things happen on the offensive end.
101. 2, while his offensive rating of 114.5 also takes the cake over the Oklahoma City guard's 100.9.
While there are different interpretations for the MVP award, it is logical to argue that the player should not only be the best performing player in the league, but contribute to his team's overall success. For this reason, Harden should be a no-brainer. Sure, Westbrook will finish the season with ridiculous individual numbers, but the Rockets' dominant return makes Harden the face people will focus on, and people should realize what he has done and will continue to do without any all-star caliber talent around him. MVP? Check.
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