In this life, there are a few things Kenneth Waichigo loves unconditionally: his wife, his daughter (his only child), running—and his beer. If you listen to him talk long enough, you might think he loves his beer a little more than the rest.
“Bro, I wouldn’t lie to you—I love my beer. Been that way for years,” he says with a chuckle, without the slightest hint of apology.
Not even a diabetes diagnosis—and the looming threat of a stroke—could convince him to give it up.
At 41, he was forced to confront the consequences of a lifestyle filled with beer, nyama choma, and litres of soda. Now, at 51, he has ditched the grilled meat and fizzy drinks, replaced them with daily jogs—but the beer remains firmly on the menu.
When I ask why, he scoffs, as if the answer should be obvious. “I can explain,” he says.
From lean to 117 kilos
Ken, who works as a manager in a food processing company, has always been on the heavier side. Growing up in Kariobangi South, Nairobi, he wasn’t one for physical activity—except for the occasional school football game. As the years passed, life took over. Fitness faded from his priorities, and his appetite flourished.
“I ate everything. If it was edible, I ate it. Nyama choma, beers after work, litres of soda—I didn’t care much about my weight or fitness. As long as I felt fine, I saw no need to exercise,” he admits.
By his 41st birthday, Ken had ballooned to 117 kilos at 5’8. But he still wasn’t worried—until his body began to break down.
Two months before turning 41, Ken landed in hospital after experiencing a cascade of alarming symptoms.
“I was always tired. I’d wake up exhausted. I couldn’t walk a few metres without gasping for air. I gasped for breath when talking. I would wake up feeling low on energy and many times I felt like I could fall off. My vision was blurry, even with the large fonts on my phone, I still struggled to read messages. I was constantly thirsty and craving for soda. The bathroom visits were endless—even when I hadn’t drunk much water. I felt my body was kind of shutting down, so I checked myself into a hospital,” he recalls.
He knew something was seriously wrong. The diagnosis was swift and sobering: type 2 diabetes, dangerously high cholesterol, and elevated blood pressure. He was immediately put on a high dosage of medication.
“The doctors were shocked I hadn’t already had a stroke. That scared me,” Ken says.
It was a harsh reality: he would be on diabetes medication for the rest of his life—unless something changed drastically. "I was put on a high dosage of diabetes control drugs as well as medication for high cholesterol," he says.
He removed sugar and beer from his diet, but determined to avoid being dependent on drugs for the rest of his life, Ken began researching how people manage or reverse diabetes. Jogging kept popping up.
He started slow—just walking—but within two months, he was jogging comfortably. By the sixth month, he was running 10 kilometres a day and had dropped from 117 to 70 kilos.
At the time, he remained on his medication and visited his diabetes clinic regularly. Then a work trip to Zanzibar accidentally put his new lifestyle to the test.
“I had packed medication for two weeks, but my stay got extended by a week. I couldn’t find the same drugs there. I panicked, but kept running,” he explains.
When he returned to Nairobi, he went for a check-up—ready for bad news. Instead, he received a shock.
“My sugar levels had stabilised. The doctors were stunned. Slowly, they began to reduce my dosage, until eventually, my body began rejecting the medication.”
That was the turning point.
Becoming a marathon man for the past 10 years, Ken has transformed into a serious recreational runner. He now fancies marathons and ultra-marathons (anything beyond 42 km) and regularly travels the world for races.
He’s completed the Two Oceans in Cape Town multiple times, tackled the Paris and Chicago marathons in 2019, and finished the Berlin Marathon in 2023.
Kenneth Waichigo stretches during his workout at the Impala Grounds along Ngong Road in Nairobi on April 5, 2025.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
“I’ve turned my running trips into family vacations. My wife and daughter come along to explore and enjoy the cities. For me, the goal is always to finish the race.”
He’s currently preparing for the legendary 90 km Comrades Marathon in South Africa this June—to mark 10 years since he became a runner.
“My training is intense. On a good week, I clock around 100 km. As of today—Friday—I’m at 60. I’ll do 30 km on Saturday and 10km on Sunday. I usually close the year with about 3,800 km logged.”
Last year, a knee injury forced him to pause, causing him to gain a bit of weight. He now weighs around 80 kilos, but he’s aiming to shed 10 more before June. “I’ve added strength training to my routine to prevent further injuries.”
Why he still drinks beer
Despite the transformation, one thing hasn’t changed—his love for beer.
“I paused, but I never quit. I’m just more cautious now. I choose beers without added sugar and drink less frequently.”
He balances it out with running.
“If I drink today, I’ll definitely be out jogging tomorrow,” he says, half-laughing.
“For me, life is about balance. You don’t have to enslave yourself. Be intentional, yes—but allow yourself to enjoy the little things you love.”
