The remarkable running journey of Joyline Chepngeno – and how losing 30 kilos could lead to a big new house

To describe Joyline Chepngeno‘s victory at Sierre-Zinal as a surprise would massively underplay the scale of the shock.

At one of trail running’s iconic races, the Kenyan was making her first appearance in Europe against many of the sport’s biggest stars.

But she took the race by the scruff of the neck, leading from the first climb and never looking back as she went on to an emphatic success, with more than eight minutes back to her nearest rival after the 31km.

She’s going to be back in action at race #6 in the Golden Trail World Series this Saturday – at the Tatra SkyMarathon in Poland – so now’s the perfect time to find out more about her incredible journey.

Motivation for running return

She’s now 24 years old and she told the GTWS’ Mickaël Mussard: “I started running when I was in school, and I was quite good at the 3000m steeplechase and cross-country. But I left school in 2016 and stopped running.

“When you finish school, if no one pushes you to continue, you end up doing something else to try and make a living. I started a clothing business. But it became hard to manage everything.

“My husband left me, and I was left alone with my two children. At the same time, I saw friends winning races and coming back to buy big houses in Kenya, building beautiful homes. So, in 2022, I decided to return to running.”

And that would prove the catalyst to a remarkable transformation as she lost a staggering 30 kilos to get into the race shape we saw last weekend.

She explained: “Yes, I had gained a lot of weight since school. It took me a year and a half to lose it all, but I did it.”

‘I didn’t even know there was such a big climb’

Looking back to the moment when she crossed the line at Sierre-Zinal, she said: “I was really happy! It was my very first race, and I didn’t expect to win it against all these athletes. There were two Kenyans, Philaries [Kisang] and Joyce [Njeru], and I beat them.”

Talking in more detail about the process of getting to such a high level, she explained: “In Kenya, I trained a bit on my own at first, and I wasn’t getting very far. But I spoke with a friend who ran for Asics, and he advised me to go train in Iten, at the training camp for the best runners.

“There, I met Julien, a Swiss manager who helped me train. He gave me a program and provided structure.

He tested me with some tough hill sessions and saw that I was strong.

“He then told me I needed to participate in a race in Europe. I didn’t even know there was such a big climb at Sierre-Zinal, but I gave it my all to perform well.”

Confidence sky high

It was a brilliant exhibition and there’s now a quick turnaround to the Tatra SkyMarathon on Saturday over a similar distance (28km) to Sierre-Zinal.

And Joyline says: “I hope to do well there, even though it will be more technical than Zinal. But that doesn’t scare me. At first, I was afraid of the descents, but Julien trained me well for that, and now I’m not afraid of them at all.”

And the confidence she’s gleaned from Sierre-Zinal is obvious. Asked if she believes she can win any race, she said: “Yes, I think I can win any race if I’m having a good day and have the energy.

“I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get a visa for the USA [for the next two GTWS races], but if I go and perform well there, I could aim for a podium finish in the GTWS, maybe even the overall victory.”