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Mogusu Leaves Aidem and Returns to Kenya

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2011/11/07/kiji/K20111107001983310.html

translated by Brett Larner

Mogusu at October's Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai 20 km. Photo (c) 2011 Daniel Seite

On Nov. 7 it was announced that Kenyan Mekubo Mogusu (24), who produced sensational running at the Hakone Ekiden and elsewhere during his time at Yamanashi Gakuin University, left his corporate sponsor Aidem at the end of October.  According to a source involved in the situation Mogusu has already moved back to Kenya but will continue running and is targeting next year's Tokyo Marathon.  An Aidem spokesperson said that due to Mogusu's recent focus on the marathon, "Mogusu told us that he wanted a change in his training environment and chose this course of action."

Translator's note: Mogusu came to Japan one day after Samuel Wanjiru, and the two were rivals throughout their high school years.  When Wanjiru went pro Mogusu went to Yamanashi Gakuin where he became a nationally-known f…
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Mogusu Pulling Himself Together in Wake of Car Accident

http://sankei.jp.msn.com/sports/other/090501/oth0905010946004-n1.htm

translated and edited by Brett Larner

Mogusu in the Hyogo Relay Carnival 10000 m on Apr. 26. Click photo for full-sized version.

A former Hakone Ekiden star during his days at Yamanashi Gakuin University, Mekubo Mogusu (Team Aidem) has begun his comeback after a car accident in his native Kenya in February. Mogusu was 5th in the Apr. 26 Hyogo Relay Carnival 10000 m and 2nd in the Apr. 29 Oda Memorial Track and Field Meet 5000 m in a time just off his best. "I have to just take things bit by bit," he said after the race in Hyogo.

Mogusu was driving the car at the time of the accident which left his new coach Sho Kimura in a coma. Shock and guilt over Kimura's condition prevented Mogusu, who was uninjured, from training in the months following the accident. Now hospitalized in Wakayama, Kimura's condition has improved to the point where he is able to feed himself, but the news doesn't bring back Mogus…
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Still in Shock From Car Accident, Mogusu Has No Plans to Restart His Running

http://www.asahi.com/sports/update/0313/TKY200903130293.html
http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/p-sp-tp0-20090314-470948.html

translated and edited by Brett Larner

Hakone Ekiden star Mekubo Mogusu (22) and Yamanashi Gakuin University head coach Masahito Ueda held a press conference at the school's Kofu campus on Mar. 13 to discuss the details of the car accident in which Mogusu was involved last month in his native Kenya. On Feb. 9 Mogusu was driving to a practice ground when he struck an oncoming vehicle head-on while pulling out to pass a parked car. Mogusu and fellow runners Daniel Gitau (Nihon Univ.) and Cosmas Ondiba (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) were uninjured, but Team Aidem coach Sho Kimura (26), riding in the front passenger seat, struck his head hard and fell unconscious. Kimura is now in a hospital in Wakayama Prefecture where he has regained consciousness and is able to respond to his name.

Mogusu is still suffering from the shock of the accident and is unable to train. Sc…
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Mogusu to Join Team Aidem

http://www.jiji.com/jc/zc?k=200806/2008061500199&rel=j&g=spo

translated by Brett Larner

On June 15 Team Aidem announced that three-time Sapporo International Half Marathon winner Mekubo Mogusu of Kenya will join its ranks following his graduation from Yamanashi Gakuin University next March. Mogusu will follow Yamanashi Gakuin`s previous star Kenyan runner Ombeche Mokamba to Team Aidem.

In January Mogusu set the stage record on the second leg of the Hakone Ekiden, marking him as the strongest of the university runners in Japan. In July he plans to compete in the Kenyan 10000 m Olympic Trials. His long term goals include running the marathon in the 2012 London Olympics.

Translator`s note: Team Aidem includes only a handful of athletes, all graduates of Yamanashi Gakuin University, and has a focus on the full marathon rather than on ekidens. In such it is potentially a good move for Mogusu. The major contraindication is the relative lack of marathoning success experienced by Mokamb…
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