EdwardCheserek

He has competed in five NYRR races previously, including a runner-up finish at the 2022 United Airlines NYC Half and a fifth-place finish at the same event this year.

Cheserek was a high school and collegiate phenom. As a student-athlete at New Jersey’s St. Benedict’s Prep, he was the most highly recruited high school distance runner in the country. He went on to win 17 NCAA national titles at the University of Oregon to become the most decorated NCAA runner in history. He turned pro in 2017, and the following year ran a 3:49.44 mile at the BU Invitational, the second fastest indoor mile in history. In 2019, he tied the 5K world record of 13:29 at the Carlsbad 5,000 road race.

Cheserek grew up in Kenya in a family of farmers as the fourth of seven children. He immigrated to the U.S. at 14 to pursue a career in running, attending Saint Benedict’s in Newark. He was named the 2012-13 Gatorade Cross Country Runner of the Year and set the high school indoor 2-mile record of 8:39.25.

Cheserek often goes by the nickname “King Ches” as a reference to his many winning streaks.

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Race History