On a quintessential fall October morning, Bear Creek Regional Park was alive with walkers, bikers, and runners enjoying the park’s loop trails under the backdrop of the Front Range. 

Besides the sounds of chirping birds and the chatter of park users, the crunch of shoes on crushed stone could be heard at a rhythmic, fast pace, signaling a group of runners passing by every few minutes.

In the front of this group was a tall Kenyan man who strode with ease at an impossible pace for the average person. 

That man is professional runner Paul Chelimo, a two-time Olympic medalist for the United States in the 5,000 meters. He is also a U.S. Army veteran and Colorado Springs resident who fell in love with the mountains and trails like many of the city’s outdoor enthusiasts. 

Chelimo, 34, has called Colorado Springs home since moving after the Rio Olympic Games in 2016 and, 10 years into his professional career, transitioned to the marathon last year with eyes on representing the U.S. in the 2028 L.A. Olympic Games. 

However, adjusting to the marathon at the world-class level is not a quick process. A year in, Chelimo feels he can finally call himself a marathoner. 

“It’s time,” Chelimo said of moving up to the marathon. “I’ve been at the top level of running; it’s been 10 years. After 10 years … the best dancer knows when to leave the dancing stage.”

Chelimo’s path to Colorado Springs 

Chelimo grew up in Kenya before migrating to the United States on an athletic scholarship from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, an opportunity that the Olympian called ‘life-changing’.

After graduation, Chelimo wanted to give back to the U.S. and decided to join the U.S. Army, where he served for four years.

Still fit to compete with professionals, Chelimo was able to join the Army’s World Class Athlete Program and represent the Army in the 2016 Olympic Games, where he earned his first Olympic medal, a silver, in the 5,000 meters. 

While visiting Fort Carson after the Olympics, Chelimo met coach Scott Simmons, founder of the American Distance Project, which is a professional running team based here in Olympic City USA. 

“I was planning on relocating to Colorado Springs, but he was a guy that just kept showing up,” Chelimo said. “He showed up when we were training at Fort Carson and was determined and loved his job. Why not move here and see if I can walk with Scott?”

Since moving to Colorado Springs in 2016, Chelimo and his 15 or so teammates have taken advantage of the town’s running spots, including dirt roads southwest of the airport, Monument Valley Park, and even the Mesa Ridge High School track for speed workouts. 

“It’s a very collaborative group; they benefit from training together,” said Simmons, who is also a World Athletics Athlete Representative. “I call my agency Team Harambee, a Swahili word that means ‘we all pull together,’ and that’s the value they see in the training group.”

For young elite runners like Haftu Knight, a semi-professional who made his major marathon debut in Chicago on Oct. 12, training with Chelimo makes the grueling parts of training fun. 

“Paul is a great athlete to train with,” Knight said after his workout at Bear Creek. “He has lots of humor, which makes you forget about the training and have fun instead. He’s a great athlete with great form. He’s been very welcoming and a great friend to have. He’s a good person.” 

The similarities between a hunter and a runner 

Chelimo’s mantra is ‘go hard or suffer for the rest of your life.’ 

Those words are evident in who Chelimo is as an athlete. His days mostly consist of running, eating, sleeping, and eating some more. With the amount of miles he’s running, fueling is key.  

“It’s sad because we do a lot of running,” Chelimo said. “When I’m not in bed, I’m probably making some food. I can hibernate like a bear. I spend a lot of my time in my room trying to recover and sleep. In three hours, it’s time for another run and then dinner.” 

He also has a 6-year-old daughter, Arianna, whom he tries to spend as much time with, such as when we took her to Boulderthon on Sept. 28, where he placed second in the 5k in a time of 13 minutes and 52 seconds.

Arianna already enjoys running, according to Chelimo, but enjoys other activities too, a favorite being Roblox.

“She’s growing so quickly, its getting to the point where she wants to explore a lot of things,” Chelimo said. “I set Saturdays aside for her. We did the pumpkin patch last week. She’s very smart and someone who will love running.” 

Chelimo has no marathons on the calendar yet, so his goals right now are to get mileage in – he aimed for 110 last week – and to focus on his day-to-day workouts. 

“It’s like the best hunter you know?” Chelimo said. “When you’re hunting, you really have to be patient. You can’t just go out there and run and think you’re going to be a successful hunter. You go to hunt and be strategic, and that’s the main thing I’m doing right now for the marathon.”

Chelimo learned the value of being patient last year at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials in Orlando. It was his first attempt at the distance. 

The track star decided to run it just two months prior and found himself ill-prepared. He dropped out midway through the race.

“I was really confident, but it’s just a matter of preparation,” Chelimo said. “It’s not just something you decide. It was a very bad idea. That two months are not even enough for someone who was moving to 85 miles a week. By the time you get to the marathon, you feel fit and have the mileage, but you’re not recovered because your body is not used to the mileage.”

Therefore, with months of work on the trails and roads of Colorado Springs, Chelimo’s story will be much different in his next attempt at the distance. 

“This year, I’ve started to call myself a marathoner,” Chelimo said. “Last year, I wasn’t even sure, just foreign guesswork and trying to figure it out. Before I became an Olympic medalist, it took me six years to get to that point. With the marathon, I’m not going to just transition and be a good marathon runner. It takes time.”

The team’s workout at Bear Creek was a fartlek of a minute “on” and a minute “off” repped 25-30 times, accumulating around 12 miles in total with a warmup and cooldown. It was an intense workout for Chelimo, who was coming off a high-mileage week with no rest after Boulderthon, but his demeanor didn’t waver. 

Chelimo knows what it takes to be the best at something, so watching him in his element leaves no doubt that he can conquer his next goal.

“When the baby is born, it doesn’t start walking; it crawls first before walking,” Chelimo said. “That’s me right now. Not the same Paul Chelimo on the track in the 5k. This Paul Chelimo is still crawling and trying to find his way in the marathon, but when I get it ironed out it’s game over.”