May 30, 2022
Felix Kandie (34) is an Kenyan Marathon specialist. He ran his personal best of 2:06:03 in the marathon of Seoul back in 2017. At the moment Felix is in The Netherlands, because of medical treatment. ‘I was in Milano for the marathon last weekend and had a small issue in my back. The stiffness in the back probably came because of the travel. It unfortunately disturbed me too during the race and I couldn’t manage to run on a high pace. It was a good decision for me to travel to the Netherlands, where my management is based, to get treated. There was a blockage in my back and physiotherapist Frank Hartkamp was able to help me well. At the moment the pain is gone and I feel much better.’ Felix goes home to Kenya again with a good feeling, focusing on his next race.
Running dream
Felix started with running at an age of 21 years old. It wasn’t a normal start for Felix. ‘I was at the age of 21 and I wanted to make my family proud, so I started with running. At first I was running on my slippers when it was dark outside. I only ran when it was dark, because I felt ashamed being seen with slippers. Later I bought running shoes at the market at 1500ksh (around 12 euro) and I was training more and more.’
Felix’ home is a small town near Iten. Iten is the place to train in Kenia, where a lot of famous athletes are training. ‘I wanted to train with those who made it already and I wanted to be inspired by the fastest runners in the world. I used to run from my home to Iten, to join the training group. So I used to run many miles already before even the training started. Nowadays I am coached by Sammy Bii. He has been guiding me all along and knows how to train athletes to be a good marathoner.’
adidas
‘The shoes of Adidas have been great. I have used Adidas since the beginning of my career. The materials have much improved. It has helped athletes a lot in achieving better and better. The newest Adizero Adios Pro have been great to run on. After finishing a marathon, I feel less impact on my legs. That is a great benefit to recover faster and get back to training quickly after the marathon.
It was great to see the development of the running shoes in the book of Adidas.’
Role model
Felix is one of the senior athletes in his training group at the moment. He is a mentor for the young upcoming athletes in his training group and he gives many advices to Volare athletes. ‘In the future I hope I can give something back to the younger generation. To inspire them and teach them. Life is not about yourself, you live in order to change also the lives of other people. This is very important for me.’
