Wesley Kipchumba Korir (15 November 1982) is a Kenyan athlete who specializes in long distance running competitions, as well as a politician who served as an elected member of Parliament for Cherangany Constituency.

In my heart and head, I never thought I would go back.He would win both the 5000 m and 10000 m at the Ohio Valley Conference championships in 2004,[9] but was forced to find a new school when Murray State dropped its men's track and cross country programs.

[11][12] Ereng put him in touch with University of Louisville track coach Ron Mann, and Korir transferred there.

[12] Korir would go on to set school records there in the outdoor 1500 m and 5000 m and the indoor mile, 3000 m and 5000 m.[9] He would also earn All-American honors multiple times.

For a short time, he was conscripted into a roving gang; he soon escaped across the Uganda border, spending two weeks as a refugee before he was able to return to Louisville.

Korir had his most significant victory to date at the 2012 Boston Marathon, where he ran a strong tactical race under extreme heat which claimed many of the pre-race favorites, including his countryman Geoffrey Mutai who had run the fastest marathon ever during the 2011 Boston event.

[1] He was considered one of the favorites for the 2012 Chicago Marathon but he faded away from leaders in the second half of the race and came fifth, although his time of 2:06:13 hours was a new personal record.

[14] In 2013, Korir was elected a member of Kenya's Parliament as an independent candidate representing Cherangany Constituency.

According to Korir, a Swedish group had installed pumps in villages throughout his region in the early 1990s, but most of them soon broke down and had not been supplying water for more than 15 years.

Korir is married to a Canadian runner Tarah McKay, his former teammate on the Louisville track and field team, in March 2010, and they have three children.

[3][10][18] He and his wife founded the Kenyan Kids Foundation to improve education and healthcare in his homeland, and they are assisting with the construction of a new hospital in Korir's hometown of Kitale.