Beatrice Murugi was once the kind of story that villages celebrate: a girl from Nyahururu whose running talent carried her all the way to Japan, a professional marathon career and earnings that lifted an entire family.
Today, she is reportedly picking tea in Kerugoya to pay for a rental room that costs KSh1,000 a month, while struggling to keep her 10-year-old child in school.
How Village Runner Reached Japan
Murugi’s journey began when her talent was reportedly spotted by a village elder who helped facilitate her move to Japan in 2009.
She completed her secondary education there, developed her athletics further and turned professional in 2012.
The years that followed brought prize money and stability, and she used both generously through purchasing land in Nyahururu, building a home for her family and funding her siblings’ education.
She later invested in a plot in Kiamaina, viewing it as a long-term security net for herself. At the height of her career, few would have predicted the direction her life would take.
Investments That Unravelled
Two financial decisions, both made with genuine purpose, ended up accelerating her hardship.
A commercial lorry she purchased as a post-athletics income source was involved in a fatal road accident near Del Monte.
The vehicle’s insurance had reportedly lapsed without her knowledge, leaving her liable for accident-related costs with no compensation. What was meant to be a safety net became a financial burden.
The Kiamaina plot also turned complicated. Murugi reportedly learnt that her family had not received the title deed for the land she purchased while abroad.
The full circumstances remain unclear, but the outcome added another layer of uncertainty to an already fragile situation.
Illness, Abandonment and Starting Over
In 2021, the mother of one developed a severe stomach-bloating condition that has persisted despite medication.
For a woman whose career was built on physical endurance, the diagnosis was particularly cruel. It reduced her capacity to work at precisely the moment she needed income most.
Around the same time, her marriage fell apart, after which her husband allegedly moved her and their child into a rented property after she fell ill and reportedly abandoned them.
Murugi is now struggling to make ends meet, and her child was recently sent home from school over unpaid fees.
One Day at a Time
She continues to pick tea and take whatever casual work she can find, with each day’s earnings directed at the most immediate need: her child’s next meal.
The woman who once ran marathons professionally is now engaged in a quieter, harder race. She built a future for her family during her years of success.
She is now working, day by day, to secure the most basic version of one for herself.
