by Dave Devine, DyeStat Assistant Editor
Photos by Kirby Lee, imageofsport.com


Like Colby Lowe of Texas and Ben Johnson of New Mexico, Paul Lonyangata returns to Portland Meadows for the Nike Team Nationals this year after an impressive run at last year’s event. And like his fellow NTN veterans, Lonyangata faces the ardors of a long flight, high expectations and the challenge of adapting to a climate quite different than the one in which he typically races.

Unlike Lowe or Johnson, however, Lonyangata's flight includes a stopover in Paris, France. It will take him nearly 24 hours to travel to Portland, Oregon, for a fifteen-minute race. And his journey will have begun from a home without electricity or running water, six hours—on foot—from the nearest major road.