Coach Hugo van den Broek is the founder and head coach of Kenya Camp. He has been living, training and coaching in Kenya since 2007. How did this Dutchman end up living in Kenya? This is his story.
The Race That Sparked a Dream
I got an interest in running at the age of 13, when I joined a local running event in Castricum, the Dutch town where I grew up. Together with 250 other children we hit the streets to run a 3km race. I remember I believed that I would be good in this, because I never really got tired. So, although I hadn’t done any serious running (other than playing football), I decided to go to the front, and push hard. It was getting very tough in the last kilometre and, with the foam around my mouth, I sprinted for the finish. I got passed by one boy in the last 200 meters, but was happy with the silver. Being on the podium, and receiving an award, tasted very sweet and I decided to continue running races.
A Footballer Turned Runner
In the next 2 years I continued to play football at a club, while running local road races, always coming home with a trophy. At the age of 15 I decided to join a running club, where I was lucky enough to find a dedicated running coach, Guido Hartensveld, who took me and a couple of others under his wings. We trained together 3-5 times per week, had a lot of fun, and improved like crazy. I immediately enjoyed the process of setting goals, and trying to become a better (faster) version of myself day by day. From the start it was all about that: becoming the best runner I could possibly be.
"When I finished high school, I decided to study Human Movement Sciences, since this seemed to fit very well with my interest in sports."
The combination with a running career worked reasonably well, although I also developed an interest in psychology, and finally decided to do a Masters in Special Education as well. Combining two studies meant being quite busy, and it affected my improvement as a runner, but I knew that was just temporary.
First Taste of Africa – A Life Changing Visit to Kenya
During my studies I also did a 4-month internship in Malawi. I enjoyed that so much and I decided: soon I am going back to Africa! Of course, I knew that Kenya produced so many elite runners and for years I had pictures of Kenyan top runners above my bed. So when I met (Kenyan born Dutch runner and world record holder) Lornah Kiplagat during a training camp in Portugal, and she asked me to visit her running camp in Iten, I knew that a dream was about to come true.
So after completing my studies in August 2000, I went to Kenya for a 7-week training camp. I had a blast, training and living in Iten. And on top of that, I ran the best race of my life when I returned back home. So from that moment, coming back to Kenya was a no brainer! It became part of my program.
Love, Running, and a New Life
During that first training camp in Kenya, I met Lornah’s cousin Hilda Kibet. Hilda was aiming for a scholarship at an American university. I fell in love with her and managed to persuade her to study in the Netherlands. The following year (this was in 2001) Hilda came to the Netherlands to study physiotherapy. We lived together; Hilda was studying hard and running a bit, while I was working a bit (5 hrs per day) and training hard. By now I was running 63 min on the half marathon, and supplementing my salary with some start- and prize money from races.
The year 2004 was kind of a breakthrough year for both of us. I ran my fastest marathon (2h12), while Hilda completed her studies and managed to win a major road race in the Netherlands. It was interesting to experience: while I needed a decade of hard training to reach the national top, Hilda reached the international top within just a few years.
By 2007, after passing all her exams, Hilda received her Dutch citizenship, immediately becoming one of the fastest European runners. Adidas offered her a good contract, which meant that I no longer had to have a job to support us. Although I enjoyed my work, my real passion was running, so the choice was simple: we moved to Kenya together.
From 2007 until 2014 we lived the life of elite runners. That simple rhythm of training, eating, and sleeping, only interrupted by a trip (roughly once in 6-8 weeks) to run a race somewhere in Europe, America, or Asia. I was among the top runners in the Netherlands (often finishing first Dutch in road races), while Hilda was at the international top. She won the New York half marathon and 10K, ran the world’s fastest 10K in 2009, and competed at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games. She also became a European champion in cross country and won bronze in the 10,000m.
Giving back to society
Towards the end of our running career, we set up a foundation called Kibet4Kids, to help improve the lives of children from impoverished communities in Kenya. This is something we are active with until today. See www.kibet4kidsfoundation.com for more information.
By the end of 2014 (I was 38 years old and recovering from a hip injury), Global Sports Communication, famous from the NN running team, asked me if I wanted to work for them as a coach in India. One month later I was in Bhopal, standing in front of a group of 50 talented Indian runners (age 15 – 18) and had to pick the best of them to make up our first team. The next 5.5 years I spent working with these dedicated boys and girls, who we recruited at the grassroots level, and I tried to bring them to the national and international top. For a couple of years, I combined that with coaching a group of Kenyan ladies – one of them ended up running the world’s fastest 10K time in 2015. I also coached groups of amateur runners who came to Kenya.
Coaching Career
The transition from being an elite runner to being a running coach happened quite naturally for me, and I never regretted taking this step. Coaching is something I love to do, and hope to do the rest of my life. During COVID I lost the job in India. At the moment it was unfortunate, because I loved it, but it opened other doors. First of all I spent almost a year reading all the scientific literature I could find related to running. Secondly, I started online coaching of amateur- and elite runners from around the world. Third, Hilda and I expanded our guesthouse to accommodate up to 34 runners.
Since 2022 I combine that with organising my own running camps in Kenya. From 2014 I had done the same, but I was employed by a company called The Kenya Experience. In 2022 I decided that it was time to start organising my own camps. After all, I had the knowledge, experience and contacts in Kenya, as well as the accommodation and training facilities.
For me, coaching of elite and amateur runners is equally satisfying. In both cases we are climbing a mountain together. The runner is trying to get to the top of the mountain (which is his/her personal peak) and I’m by their side, helping to find the route to the top. As long as someone is motivated and working hard to get to their personal top, I enjoy the whole training and coaching process.
Kenya Camp: A Unique Running Experience
With Kenya Camp, I think we have set up a unique running camp that is unlike any running camp anywhere in the world. We are able to give people an amazing time in Kenya, where they learn and experience so much, both as runners and as human beings, that many of them go home feeling like it was a life changing experience. It’s extremely satisfying being able to offer this to runners from around the world. And the beautiful thing is that it doesn’t matter how fast or slow you run. It’s for everyone who loves running. We have our own pacers who run with the guests, no matter their speed. It’s in many ways a very safe and secure experience as well. Ideal for people who travel alone, who would love to visit Kenya and learn about the Kenyan running culture, but are not sure how to go about it. We guide them and take care of them from the moment they land, until when they depart.
Life Beyond Running
So at the moment, I spend my time coaching runners, organising running camps in Kenya, and taking care of the guesthouse. I combine that with being a husband and dad of 3 girls, and when there is some time left, I do some work for our foundation, or go for training myself.
Coach Hugo’s coaching resume:
2022 – present: Founder and CEO of Kenya Camp. We organize running camps in Kenya for runners of all levels and from all over the world. See Kenya Camp for more information about what we do.
2020 – present: Founder and owner of a training centre in Iten (Kenya). We provide accommodation and full board + gym facilities and physiotherapy for runners of all levels.
2014 – present: Online coaching business, coaching elite and amateur runners from around the world.
2014 - 2020: Head coach of the National Athletics Academy in India. Recruiting and coaching of young Indian distance runners (raw talents) with a goal of molding them into international top-athletes. Olympic ambitions – the Indian - by George Mallett, for World Athletics.
2014 – 2017: Personal coach of Kenyan elite runners
Other
2012 – present: Co-founder (together with his wife Hilda Kibet) of Kibet4Kids, a charity foundation that is aiming to help children in impoverished communities by improving public schools and medical facilities.
Coach Hugo’s running : Personal bests
1500m: 3.53.69 (1999)
3000m: 8.06.42 (2003)
5000m: 13.55.46 (2003)
10 km road: 28.51 (2003)
Half marathon: 1.03.26 (2009)
Marathon: 2.12.08 (2004)
Best performances
1995: National junior champion 10,000m
2001: Debut marathon (2.21.18), 2nd at Dutch championships
2002: Rotterdam marathon (2.19.38) – 2nd at Dutch championships
Winner of the NUON Run classics (6 biggest road races)
Winner Schoorl half marathon (1.03.44)
2003: Rotterdam marathon (2.20.23) – 3rd at Dutch championships
Berlin marathon (2.15.54) – 22nd place overall
2004: Rotterdam marathon (2.14.59) – 2nd at Dutch championships
Amsterdam marathon (2.12.08) – 5th overall and 1st Dutch
2006: European championships, marathon (2.17.25), 22nd place and bronze medal with the Dutch marathon team
2008: Amsterdam marathon: 2.13.51 – 1st Dutch.
Winner Dutch marathon award, best performance
2009: Amsterdam marathon (2.13.25) – 15th place overall
Winner Utrecht half marathon
2010: Winner Schoorl half marathon (1.03.42)
European championships Barcelona, marathon (2.22.06), 14th place
2012: Turin marathon – 10th place overall
2014: Rotterdam marathon (2.15.31) – 12th place overall
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