Francis Kibiwott Larabal

Kibiwott was unusual for a Kenyan runner in that he did not compete extensively in his youth.

[3] He won the Obudu Ranch International Mountain Race, winning US$50,000 and breaking the course record by five minutes in the process.

He competed at the 2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships in Udine, Italy, finishing 45th.

[5] He improved his best to two hours and nine minutes at the JoongAng Seoul Marathon later that year, a time which brought him his first win over the distance.

His first outing of 2012 was at the Tiberias Marathon and he was just two seconds behind the winner Patrick Tambwé, ending the course as the runner-up with a personal record of 2:07:32 hours.