Tatu City has invited Olympian Lornah Kiplagat to design running trails and fitness activities across the 5,000-acre city. The initiative seeks to emphasise the health and wellness of residents, workers and visitors at the development. The partnership was inaugurated with a fun run at Tatu City on 8 June.
World champion runner Kiplagat is celebrated for her long-distance records, Lornah Sports brand and philanthropic work in Kenya. Kiplagat’s High Altitude Training Centre in Iten, 2,400 metres above sea level, is renowned for training elite athletes from around the world.
Tatu City currently has more than 6,000 homes under construction and advanced development. Two schools – Nova Pioneer and Crawford International – educate more than 1,500 students daily and more than 50 businesses are located at the development.
“Lornah will play a pivotal role in the design of health-centric connectivity between homes, offices, schools, health facilities and businesses, as well as in the broader recreational amenities at Tatu City,” said Chris Barron, Kenya Country Head for Rendeavour, Tatu City’s owner and developer. “We are honoured to partner with a living legend like Lornah, whose records endure to this day.”
Long-distance runner Lornah Kiplagat was born in Kenya and became a Dutch citizen in 2003. She has several world records to her name, including four world titles and one European title. In 2007, Lornah won the World Cross-Country Championships in Mombasa, Kenya. She participated in three Olympic Games: Athens (2004), Beijing (2008) and London (2012). She won the marathons of Los Angeles (twice), Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Osaka, was second in Chicago and third in the New York City Marathon. Lornah is also the founder of the High Altitude Training Centre (HATC) in Iten, Kenya, which she runs together with her husband, Pieter Langerhorst.