Wesley Korir

Korir was born on 15 November 1982 in Kitale, Trans-Nzoia District. When he was young, he would run 5 miles (8 km) each way to school, often running back for lunch or to do errands for his mother.I remember telling God, Hallelujah. I've left the poverty land. I'm going to the land of riches. In my heart and head, I never thought I would go back. He would win both the 5000 m and 10000 m at the Ohio Valley Conference championships in 2004, Ereng put him in touch with University of Louisville track coach Ron Mann, and Korir transferred there. He would go on to win his next marathon, the May 2009 Los Angeles Marathon, in a time of 2:08:24 which at the time was the fastest marathon ever run in the state of California. ==Political career==

In 2013, Korir was elected a member of Kenya's Parliament as an independent candidate representing Cherangany Constituency. Although elected as an independent, in 2016 he joined the Jubilee Party. In 2017, he lost a bid to represent Jubilee as the MP for Cherangany Constituency. Since becoming an MP, Korir has taken up the cause of clean water in his constituency and throughout Kenya:Water is medicine. If you can get water, you get rid of 80 percent of our diseases. That's why water is the song I am going to sing for the next five years. I'll get money from the government. And I'll put as much money as possible in water projects. But it won't be enough. That's why I will partner with people. Every dollar people give us in our area, I'm going to match it. To that end, he briefly returned to Louisville in August 2013 to establish partnerships with individuals, businesses, and nonprofits in that area to assist him in this effort, and to get training in repairing water pumps. According to Korir, a Swedish group had installed pumps in villages throughout his region in the early 1990s, but most of them soon broke down and had not been supplying water for more than 15 years. ==Personal life==

Korir is the son of Nehemiah Kipkorir Koros. He and his wife founded the Kenyan Kids Foundation to improve education and healthcare in his homeland, and they are assisting with the construction of a new hospital in Korir's hometown of Kitale. Before his election to the Kenya National Assembly, the family divided its time between Louisville, Canada, and Kenya; Korir is noted for buying two Subway tuna sandwiches before each race, one of which he eats pre-race and the other intended to eat post-race, but which he often gives to a homeless person instead. When his younger brother John won the 2025 Boston Marathon, they became the first brothers to both win the race. ==Achievements==