WANDERS Julien

General
LIVING IN KENYA
He first came to Kenya in December 2014 for a month's training camp, and returned in 2015 for several months. Following this he decided to stay there from September to May each year, running in a training group. He returns to Switzerland during the northern hemisphere summer. "It was to put me in the same state of mind as the Kenyans. I did some research and I saw that one of the reasons they are so strong is because they are almost all poor. They live with very little comfort. Even when they succeed, those who start to have comforts are less performant. Those who come back to their daily life remain at the top of their form. Before [I moved], I was even crazier than now. I really wanted to live as simply as possible. I used to live here [Kenya] without water and I often did not have electricity. It was hard, of course. When you're tired from training you just want to have everything ready when you come back home. But no, you have to go get water and then cook, it takes time. It's not always easy but you get used to it. No one wants to feel like they are living in a poorer place to perform better, but I think it's really a holistic approach. I don't enjoy complaining as much as I used to. Now, when I come back to Europe, I think it's all too much. My mentality changed." (distance-store.com, 27 Jun 2019; spikes.worldathletics.org, 19 Mar 2018; nation.co.ke, 15 Apr 2020)

MARATHON PLAN
He says he will take up marathon running after the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. "After Tokyo I would like to try a marathon. The longer [distance] it is on the track, the more comfortable I am. I like challenges. I like to do six months of road running and six months of track. It's good for the mind. I do not want to wait to be too old for a marathon, but I want to reach a level where I can make good times." (distance-store.com, 27 Jun 2019)