Sehome WA Standout Lived His Dream By Traveling To Iten, Kenya For Immersive Running And Cultural Experience
By Keenan Gray for DyeStat
A rooster announces the rising sun on a quiet early morning on the African plains.
In the town of Iten, Kenya, the call of the bird acts as an alarm clock. People start rolling out of bed, and for many, the first instinct is to grab their running shoes. They lace them up, get out the door on a crisp, cool morning and start running.
The streets fill with hundreds of runners, and Zack Munson is standing right there in the middle of it all, breathing in the atmosphere of his surroundings. The sign on the edge of town reads: “Welcome to Iten – Home of Champions.”
Over the summer, the Sehome High senior from Bellingham, Wash. got to live one of his dreams by traveling to Kenya and training with the locals.
“For me, it was just thinking outside the box and kind of daring to do what other people would chose not to do,” Munson said.
The planning for his trip was five years in the making, dating back to the very first time he was introduced to the sport of running when he joined the Fairhaven Middle School track team.
“When I was 13, that’s kind of right when I started really falling in love with the sport,” Munson said.
As time passed, running became a passion. He wanted to learn more about it, so he began to watch YouTube videos of some of the top runners in the world.
Of all the athletes he watched, the ones that drew his attention most were the Kenyan runners.
“Seeing videos of the Kenyans running was really a big inspiration for me…I’ve always kept it in mind,” he said. “I’ve wanted to compete at the highest level, and for a lot of people, that is the highest level.”
At 13 years old, Munson began to focus on the dream of one day going to Kenya and running there.
Five years later, he made it happen. Munson and his father, Derek, packed up and booked their flights to Kenya for a five-week summer training trip.
“My dad and I were waiting for the right time to put it all together and I think going into my senior season everything lined up. I just knew all along at some point I would end up there. It’s the place to be if you want to put all your eggs in one basket and really go after your dreams,” he said.
The trip was set for early July. The journey went through flights to Los Angeles, Paris and Nairobi, and eventually driving six more hours to reach the final destination the next…
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