The young Genevan is the new rising star in Swiss athletics. He has already set several Swiss records and seems to be the potential successor to Markus Ryffel or Christian Belz.

Your success is impressive. In 2014 you even set the best performance over 5000m European junior. In your opinion, what are the three essential points that explain your success?

My motivation. Every day I want to train even harder to achieve my dreams. Even if some moments can be tough, I always manage to overcome them and keep the drive that keeps me going.

My passion for athletics. I always loved watching and practicing athletics. I also love finding out about training, old runners, and anything in connection with running. I am confident that my passion and pleasure running has helped me a lot in my quest for success.

My entourage. I even had the chance to meet with two super trainers (Marco Jaeger and Pierre Dällenbach) from the age of 15 years old. This is largely thanks to them that I got these results. But also all the staff around me, masseur, relaxation therapist, doctor, and so on. And of course all the support of my family is very important.

You made most of your preparations in Kenya, the country of runners. According to you, what are the three major differences between Kenyan runners and European runners?

Running is a profession. In Kenya, no one runs for fun, running is a chance to earn money and thus to escape poverty. The runners are concentrated only on training, no other distractions or other jobs. In Switzerland, we are very few to have chosen this lifestyle.

The training groups. At Iten, I sometimes train with groups of 100-150 runners. This helps us to pull each other up. High dynamic is created by the group. In Europe, most athletes train alone.

The environment. Very hilly training courses build up muscle and it is also great for training pace changes. There is also altitude which is very good for distance runners.

You're present on the track, road and cross country. Can you tell us about your weekly programme during the different phases of the year: how many kilometres do you run, what alternative training do you do, how much time to you spend on weight training and recovery?

During this time of year, I run between 160 and 180 km a week (I have increased compared to last year). During the track season, the volume is a bit lower but there are more quality trainings. Generally, I train hard twice a week, intervals on the track, fartlek, tempo or long progressive run. The rest of the week, I do more or less fast endurance runs to develop the aerobic base. There is also lots of speed work on the programme, either technically or in the weight room (twice a week). Recovery is paramount in our sport. Between training, I try to have the best nutrition possible, I take naps and get massages. When I am in good health, I don't do alternative training. However, when I have an injury, I do a lot of cycling, aqua jogging and snorkeling, to keep my shape and get back to training and hit the ground running!

What advice would you give to athletes who want to start road racing this year? Give us 3 tips for preparation and 3 tips for racing.

My tips for the preparation:

1. Vary training as much as possible, whether it's slow or fast endurance, fartlek, intervals on the track, long runs.
2. As the race approaches, focus on specific work. Less volume but more quality.
3. Pay attention to recovery. If possible, get massages from time to time to relax the muscular tensions between sessions. This is mainly to prevent injuries.

My tips for the competition:

1. Don't worry too much about the time you want to make. If you have trained well, you know your body well and you can run depending on how you feel.
2. Always have positive thoughts during exercise. When the body starts to suffer, it's the mind that takes over. You can always push your limits with mental strength.
3. Relax as much as possible during the race. When it gets tough, runners have a tendency to get tense, when it's just the opposite you should be doing. Staying relaxed will help you conserve more energy for the future.

Foto: ZVG