NAIROBI, Kenya, August 29, 2025 – Kenya Pipeline Company managing director Joe Sang is determined to run under three hours at next month’s Berlin Marathon.
Sang says he has been working on the mistakes that cost him at last year’s Chicago Marathon in order to post a good time in Germany.
I run very fast in the first 21km and then at the 35km mark, it is when you start to see stars…as I said earlier. In Berlin, I should be able to manage the race…a 42km race…so it’s a marathon not a sprint. I should be able to pace myself so that when I get to 21km, I can pace myself so that I am able to go through the whole 42km and post a good time,” Sang said.
The MD admitted his preparations for the World Marathon Majors race have not been a walk in the park, noting that he’s had to balance between his busy work schedule and his training.
However, he’s thankful for the strenuous moments because of how they have improved his leadership skills.
“Preparing for a marathon is never easy. Given the role that I play as the Kenya Pipeline MD, it is never easy creating time to run so what I do is to sacrifice my time…waking up at 4 am everyday…running out there until 6 am and still manage to be in the office before 8 am. It has been a lot of sacrifice in terms of perseverance, endurance and patience,” the managing director said.
He added: “It has taken me a lot of physical and mental stamina to run a marathon. This is able to help me shoulder the responsibility of being a leader. That for me is big and is a lesson to all our leaders to be able to withstand pressure. For me after running, I am always calm and able to focus as well as make decisions, which are on point.”
At the Chicago Marathon, Sang clocked an impressive 3:07:00.
Sang was speaking on Friday afternoon after the launch of his Joe Sang Foundation through which he plans to raise Ksh 200 million towards an Endowment Fund.
The Endowment Fund will provide school fees for needy children across the country.
Turning passion into public mission
The managing director was in awe of the massive response to his appeal for support in providing countless children with a chance to uplift their livelihoods through education.
“The core objective is create a social impact in the society and support the underprivileged children in our society today. I feel so special to see so many Kenyans coming out to support us today. It is really such an honour to see close to 200 people who have come out today to support this initiative,” Sang said.
Among those in attendance were Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi as well as his Education counterpart Julius Ogamba, among other high profile guests.
Mbadi congratulated Sang for the initiative, noting it is a rarity for someone to transform a passion into a public good.
“You have transformed personal passion into a public mission and that is a great thing. One thing most of us have learnt from you and is that resilience. I wish you all the best…you don’t have to win because the initiative you are already doing is so great,” the CS said.
On his part, Ogamba exalted the objective of the initiative, pointing to his life as evidence of the impact of such noble ventures.
“I am a beneficiary of such support such that my parents only had to pay schools fees for the first term. For six years, I was a beneficiary of support from wellwishers including the late president Daniel Arap Moi,” CS Ogamba said.
So far, the Joe Sang Foundation has taken up four needy students from Kericho County.
