Aliphine Tuliamuk Aims for a Tenth National Title at the NYRR Mini 10K – runnersworld.com

In 2001, when she was in fourth grade, Aliphine Tuliamuk qualified for her first 10,000-meter state race in Kenya. In order to compete, though, she needed a pair of running shoes.

“Back then, people couldn’t really afford to buy shoes,” Tuliamuk, now 30, told Runner’s World. “When I started running, I didn’t own any.”

On the way to the meet, Tuliamuk was introduced to Tegla Loroupe, a legendary Kenyan runner and two-time New York City Marathon champion (she won in 1994 and 1995), who gifted Tuliamuk a pair of racing flats. “I kept those shoes for a very long time,” she said. “I only took them out for special races and then came home and put them away.”

With fast shoes on her feet and the energy of the meet around her, Tuliamuk’s eyes were opened then to the magic of running and the opportunities the sport presented. Away from home, where her parents worked as farmers, she heard stories about how running changed the lives of other athletes.

“That became a turning point for me. I realized for the very first time I actually had talent. I realized I could make something out of running,” she said.

The professional runner has been on a hot streak ever since. She racked up nine NCAA All-American honors during her collegiate career at Wichita State University, where she graduated in 2013 with a degree in public health. Since becoming a U.S. citizen in 2016, she’s notched nine USATF national titles in distances ranging from 5K to half marathon.

And on Saturday, June 8, she’s hoping to add another national title to her collection at the New York Road Runners (NYRR) Mini 10K, which doubles as the USATF 10K national championships.

Stepping Onto the National Stage

Tuliamuk attributes her recent success in part to her HOKA Northern Arizona Elite, or NAZ Elite, teammates—which include talented female marathoners Stephanie Bruce and Kellyn Taylor—who she trains with in Flagstaff, Arizona.

“We encourage each other. We feed off each other’s successes. We believe in what we’re doing and what we’re doing works,” she says.

During her first year with the team in 2018, Tuliamuk dominated on the roads: She won the USATF Half Marathon and 25K Championships; and placed 2nd at BolderBoulder 10K, NYRR Mini 10K, and the Peachtree Road Race. This year, she was 4th at the USATF Cross Country Championships, and won the Gasparilla Half Marathon on her way to notching a 2:26:50—a six-minute PR and an Olympic ‘A’ standard qualifying time—at the Rotterdam Marathon.

NAZ Elite coach Ben Rosario describes Tuliamuk as a “dangerous” road racer who performs best when she runs fearlessly.

“She is strong and doesn’t mind a hard, fast pace. She doesn’t mind battling back and forth,” he told Runner’s World. “She loves the U.S. championships. She loves the Mini 10K. She loves New York City. She’s coming off a great race [in Rotterdam] and has a lot of momentum.”

Plus, Tuliamuk has a soft spot for the NYRR Mini 10K. In the three years she’s raced the event, she’s had two runner-up finishes and one 3rd place finish. She hopes this year is the year she stands on top of the podium. “They bring in the best people, and I race very well when the field is very deep,” she said.

This year, the lineup is indeed deep. Tuliamuk will be competing against her teammate Bruce, as well as Jordan Hasay, Sara Hall, Laura Thweatt, Deena Kastor, and Emma Bates. “The entire group is insanely fast. It’s almost like the Olympic trials,” said Tuliamuk. “This is my kind of field. Everybody is there.”

Since Rotterdam, Tuliamuk has been recovering and slowly building in workouts to prep for the June 8 race. For a tune-up race on Memorial Day, she ran BolderBoulder 10K and finished 3rd in 33:00.

After New York, Tuliamuk will set her eyes on the Olympic Marathon Trials in February 2020, a distance she believes suits her penchant for longer workouts and high mileage. And her coach thinks she has a good shot. “The course in Atlanta favors her big time. It’s a hilly course that’s tough and requires real racing and decision making skills,” he says.

More Than Just Running

Tuliamuk’s impressive running career isn’t the only thing that drives her. She wants to inspire the girls to run, like Loroupe did for her. She’s an ambassador for NYRR’s Run for the Future program, a seven-week program for high school girls who’ve never run before.

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“I want the girls to know they are stronger than they are and they could be whatever they want to be,” she said. “The pain of enduring running can really strengthen you. The mental toughness you get from that prepares you to do anything.”

“She’s really energetic and brings a lot of positivity to any room,” Rosario said. “She’s a total goofball and brings fun to practice.”

Once her running days are behind her, Tuliamuk wants to pursue her ultimate dream: becoming a nurse. It’s an issue close to her heart, since two of her brothers died as infants due to a lack of healthcare. Tuliamuk recalled going to different health clinics when one of her brothers were ill, but they were all closed, and her family couldn’t get medication.

“Even though I’m inspiring people with running, I’m not really helping them as much as I could be,” she said. “I think my true calling is getting that nursing degree and going back home and helping people get better access to healthcare.”

For now, though, Tuliamuk is focused on the upcoming 10K race in New York.

“There’s so much to celebrate on [June 8]. The fact that young girls will be running right before the elite women’s start and then watching you, it gives you a whole other level of inspiration to do your best,” she said. “I think I’m exactly where I need to be at this point in my life.”