A marathon, a farm, and a friendship: How a Kenyan runner ended up in southern Wisconsin
A chance meeting at a marathon in Hong Kong brought a professional Kenyan runner to rural southern Wisconsin. Dennis Beggs, a Leyden native and farmer, met Kenyan farmer Betty Chepkwny at a race in Hong Kong.
WKOW — LEYDEN, Wis. — A chance meeting at a marathon in Hong Kong brought a professional Kenyan runner to rural southern Wisconsin. Dennis Beggs, a Leyden native and farmer, met Kenyan farmer Betty Chepkwny at a race in Hong Kong.
The two discovered they shared a passion for both marathons and farming. "When she said she was a farmer, I'm like 'oh well, I met a professional marathon [runner] and a farmer, you know, that was like double jeopardy in my world," Beggs said. Beggs invited Chepkwny to visit and run races in the United States.
"He asked me, [have] you have been in America? I said 'no', and [he said] maybe you can come and run some races here in United States, and [I said] yeah, I'm excited to come," Chepkwny said. Chepkwny has spent her time in Wisconsin training, exploring and helping Beggs with the farm.
She drove a tractor for the first time. "It was nice, exciting. I'm learning something new, apart from running," Chepkwny said.
Their friendship is drawing a crowd. A "Run with Betty Day" is set for Saturday at 8 a. m.
at the Janesville YMCA. "A lot of people want to run with Betty. I think everybody's interested in Kenya and what it's like to be a professional runner.
I know I was," Beggs said. Chepkwny shared a saying that captures their unlikely friendship. "We're riding someplace, and we're talking about how we met, and she said, 'Mountains never meet, but people do,' and that's monumental when you think about that," Beggs said.