Collins Kibet Rono
Premium memorialLovingly known as “Coach Collo”
14 February 1994 — 19 July 2025 · aged 31
1500m runner turned teacher and coach who taught the children of Langas to chase the sun
Eldoret, Kenya Born in Kitale, Trans Nzoia County Resting at Family farm, Cherangany, Trans Nzoia CountyAbout Collins
Collins Kibet Rono's father gave him a stopwatch when he was nine years old, and he never put it down. By ten he was timing the walk to the well; by twelve he had timed every runner in the village who would stand still long enough; by fifteen he was the one being timed, dawn after dawn along the murram road behind the family farm, with his father waiting at the gate with a flask of chai.
Born in 1994, he moved to Eldoret at eighteen on a sports scholarship to Moi University, and trained at Kipchoge Keino Stadium beside athletes whose names the world knows. A middle-distance runner, he won the 1500 metres at the university games in 2016 and ran for his county at the national championships. A stubborn hamstring ended his professional hopes in 2019. Most people would have left the track. Collins stayed, took a job teaching physical education at a primary school in Langas, and founded the Langas Young Runners with eleven children, two stopwatches and a borrowed field.
Within five years the club had ninety members, and three of them had won scholarships. He never charged a fee. Parents paid in eggs, vegetables and once a very surprised goat. He was gentle, funny, and strict about two things: stretching, and thanking whoever held the finish tape. He sang in the choir at AIC Eldoret, supported Arsenal despite what it did to his blood pressure, and cooked ugali with sukuma wiki for the whole team after Saturday sessions.
Collins died in July 2025, aged thirty-one, after a brief illness, five years after the father who had given him his first stopwatch. He leaves his mother, his sister, his brother, his partner Faith, and ninety young runners who keep the clock going.
“Run the first lap for yourself and the last for whoever is behind you.”
- Faith
- Christian
- Place of birth
- Kitale, Trans Nzoia County
- Resting place
- Family farm, Cherangany, Trans Nzoia County
- Passed away
- 19 July 2025, Eldoret
Celebration of Life
Sunday, 27 July 2025 at 10:00 UTC
Add to calendarMemorial fund
Langas Young Runners fund
Keep Collins's club running: shoes, transport to races and school fees for the young athletes he coached.
$2,574.50 raised of $5,000
51%20 recent contributions
- UJ
Uncle Wayne Jones gave $9.50 · 12mo ago
“With love from the diaspora.”
- NN
Nomathemba Ncube gave $47.50 · 1y ago
- MO
Marisol Ortiz gave $47.50 · 1y ago
- AK
Allan Kiwanuka gave $14.25 · 1y ago
- MT
Masaru Tanabe gave $19 · 1y ago
“God comfort you all.”
Life journey
Bachelor of Education (Physical Education)
Moi University2012 – 2016 · Eldoret
Sports scholar; won the 1500 metres at the university games.
1500m champion
Kenya Universities Sports Association2016 · Kenya
A personal best that he never stopped timing in his head.
Middle-distance runner
Kipchoge Keino Stadium training group2016 – 2019 · Eldoret
Raced for his county and trained beside national athletes.
Physical Education Teacher
Langas Primary School2019 – 2025 · Eldoret
Taught running, stretching and gratitude.
Founder and head coach
Langas Young Runners2020 – 2025 · Eldoret
Grew from eleven children to ninety, free of charge.
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Family & connections
Also remembered on Evermore
Collins is survived by
- Priscilla Jepchirchir Rono· Mother
- Sharon Chepkoech Rono· Sister
- Brian Kiprono Rono· Brother
- Faith Jelagat Koech· Partner
Tributes & memories
6 people have shared a memory of Collins.
Knew Collins? Share a memory with the family and everyone who loved them.
Sign in to write a tribute- DK
Cousin, Calgary
When I visited in 2023, Collins took me to Langas at six in the morning. Ninety children were already stretching in the dust. He did not make a speech; he just clapped his hands, and they ran. I cried behind my sunglasses.
- FK
Partner
Collins timed everything, including our first date. He said eleven minutes late was acceptable for a girl worth waiting for. He kept the ticket from our first match together, and in his stopwatch case I found it, folded very small.
- PR
Mother
He was my quiet one, the child who would hold the door and wait for everyone to pass. His father gave him a stopwatch and he gave the whole of Langas a reason to get up early. I miss him on every dawn.
- EK
Coach at Kipchoge Keino Stadium
Collins had speed, but what I remember is his patience. He would stay an hour after every session to help the slowest boy finish. I told him to focus on his own times. He said, 'My time is when they finish.' He was right.
- MC
Runner he coached, now at Moi University
Coach Collo found me barefoot at the Langas fence at ten and said, 'Come and try.' I ran in borrowed shoes and he never told anyone they were his. I am now on a running scholarship. I will tell every child that someone saw me first.
- KC
Family friend from Cherangany
I watched Collins run behind the farm as a boy, his father shouting times from the gate like a radio commentator. I am glad Wilson did not see him leave so early, and glad Collins is with him now. The two of them will time every cloud.
