Benjamin Kiptoo

Born in Kapsabet, Kenya, he was introduced to elite coach Claudio Berardelli by a friend and became part of the same training group as Martin Lel.

[5] He was selected for the Kenyan team at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics, representing his country internationally for the first time in the men's marathon.

[6] His third race of the year was the Frankfurt Marathon and he finished in a relatively quick time of 2:10:07, although this was only enough for seventh place as the winner Gilbert Kirwa entered the all-time top twenty runners.

[7] He participated in the 2010 Paris Marathon and led the pack at the 35 km mark, eventually taking fourth place in 2:08:01 – the second fastest run of his career at that time.

[8] The Chuncheon Marathon was his next challenge that year and he broke Moses Tanui's thirteen-year-old course record by over a minute to clinch victory over Deriba Merga and Benson Barus.