Former LU Track Runner Shares the Story Behind His NCAA Record

When Sam Chelanga toed the line for the 10-kilometer race at the 2010 Payton Jordan Invitational, his only goal was to run fast enough to qualify for the NCAA Regional meet. The redshirt junior from Liberty University never expected that he would break the collegiate record and be one of three Americans to eclipse the national record.

His time of 27:08.39 broke his own collegiate record by 20 seconds and stands as one of the more elusive records in NCAA track and field. A decade later, Chelanga still can’t fully comprehend how the race played out.

“Even mid-race I was thinking, ‘Wow, I can’t believe I’m here,’” Chelanga said. “I can’t really explain how that race unfolded other than it was extraordinary.”

What’s even more extraordinary is the perfect storm of events that led to the record-breaking performance – a series of circumstances beginning with a chance conversation at a track meet and ultimately ending with four NCAA titles for the Flames, a collegiate record under his belt and a place in Liberty history. 

But Chelanga did not start his collegiate career at Liberty – he began his time in college running for Fairleigh Dickinson in New Jersey. He didn’t enjoy his experience, however, and while at a track meet, he met Josh McDougal, one of the most successful athletes in Liberty track history.

That chance meeting would change Chelanga’s life – and after some encouragement from McDougal, he ended up at Liberty, where he would go on to take 14 All-American honors, on top of his four titles. 

Though eligibility rules forced Chelanga to sit out McDougal’s senior season, the duo still made Liberty an unexpected training ground for NCAA champions – and 10 years later, Chelanga’s notable performance in the Payton Jordan Invitational still serves as a benchmark for Liberty success on the track. 

One month prior to the race, Liberty Track and Field Head Coach Brant Tolsma received a phone call from coach and former Olympian Alberto Salazar asking for Chelanga to help pace Nike-sponsored Galen Rupp in an American record attempt in the 10k.

“He wanted to know if he could fly me and Sam Chelanga out to Eugene to help them do it. If the weather wasn’t perfect in Eugene on Friday, they were going to fly down to Stanford and do it at Payton Jordan,” Tolsma said.

Chelanga was no stranger to Rupp, the University of Oregon graduate who beat him in the closely contested 2008 NCAA Cross Country Championships. For Rupp to break Meb Keflezighi’s American record of 27:13.98, he needed someone to push him in the later stages of the 25-lap race – and Chelanga was a prime candidate. 

Shortly after that phone call, however, Chelanga experienced a lower leg injury which limited his ability to train and prevented him from competing prior to that point. Still in need of a qualifying time for the post-season, the decision was made to take a trip to Stanford University for the Payton Jordan Invite in hopes of earning a qualifying mark.

A week before the race, Chelanga ran his first two track workouts of the outdoor season to gauge his current fitness level. While the workouts went fairly well, his team wasn’t sure which section of the race he should run in. Despite his coach’s initial suggestion, he opted to run in the faster heat where he would face a field of mostly professional runners.

“I didn’t give him any argument,” Tolsma said. “I could have ruined that moment.”

The decision ended up being a wise one as Rupp and Salazar just happened to break the American record at Payton Jordan, the record attempt that Chelanga was originally supposed to help pace. With pacers set to take Rupp through the first four miles and the weather perfect for racing, something special was bound to happen.

The pacers took the field through the first mile at 4:25, a few seconds off of American record pace. As the race continued, the pacers found their groove, clocking 4:21 and 4:17 for the second and third miles. 

Rupp found himself on pace at the half-way point, but he wasn’t alone. Kenyan Daniel Salel, Simon Bairu, and Rupp’s teammates Chris Solinsky and Tim Nelson were all right with him.  To the surprise of his coach, Chelanga also found himself with the lead group. 

“I kept thinking, when is he going to fall off this pace?” Tolsma said. 

The pacers dropped out of the race, leaving Rupp to lead the final two miles. Eventually Nelson and Bairu started to fall back, but Chelanga stayed ahead.

Four runners — Rupp, Salel, Solinsky and Chelanga — were all running well under American record pace. But Chelanga didn’t pay too much attention to the time on the clock, which isn’t normal for elite distance runners.

“I don’t think we should take things very seriously,” Chelanga said on his mindset to running.

While he enjoys the sport and puts in a lot of work to get faster, he tries not to focus on the things that are out of his control.

“I believe in the idea that you go with the wind,” Chelanga said. “You just kind of let it be and it will all play out.”

This concept and some stories from his running career are highlighted in his newly-released book titled “With the Wind,” a story that details his journey from growing up in Kenya to track success in the United States.

A tired Rupp began to falter after leading the pack for a mile and a half. With two laps remaining it was Solinsky who drifted to the front and began to put some distance on his competitors. A blistering final lap of 55 seconds propelled Solinsky to a time of 26:59, making him the first non-African to ever break the 27-minute mark.

Salel came in second with a huge personal record of 27:07, and Chelanga was right behind him in 27:08 with the NCAA record. Rupp finished in a disappointing fourth, but managed to break the American record while Simon Bairu finished in a distant fifth, breaking the Canadian record in 27:23.

The race has remained a curiosity to many fans of distance running, partly because of the many record-breaking performances that night. Others marvel at Solinsky’s unprecedented performance in his 10k debut on the track.

“There’s all kind of amazing things about it. To me, the most miraculous was that Sam Chelanga ran 27:08 off of a month of just jogging and resting and then two workouts,” Tolsma said. 

This race, perhaps the greatest accomplishment of Chelanga’s career, gave Liberty a place in the national record books, and alongside McDougal’s famous win against Galen Rupp in the 2007 NCAA Cross Country Championships, the two runners sealed their place in Liberty athletics history. 

“Those guys definitely put Liberty on the map for distance running,” Tolsma said. 

But even after Liberty, Chelanga went on to leave his mark on the running scene. After graduating, he signed a pro contract with Nike and joined the Oregon Track Club based in Eugene, Oregon. 

Chelanga accomplished a great deal in time as a professional runner, highlighted by the 2017 World Cross Country Championships where he represented Team USA and placed 11th. In the latter part of his career he focused on roads where he found success in the marathon and half-marathon. In his final year of competing professionally he put his name in the record books by running 1:00:37 at the Aramco Half Marathon, making him the sixth-fastest American to run the event. 

Now, he serves in the U.S. Army after retiring from running, and his book “With the Wind” details the story of his career. 

Looking back, Chelanga realizes that the success during his time at Liberty was important in inspiring the future generations of Liberty athletes.

“When I see Liberty do something, I always say raise the bar, because we put it so high we hope that the next generation will keep chasing this thing until one day people see Liberty as one of the top schools in the nation in any sport,” Chelanga said.

Mario Cosentino is a Sports Reporter. Follow him on Twitter at @Runner_of_steel.