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Running to America: One Airman's journey

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Ronald Lafosse
  • 22nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. --  Twenty-eight years ago, two babies were born to Paul and Cecilia Nyikei in Kericho, Kenya. For one of these children, Moses Tum, it would be the beginning of a 20-year journey to America; he got here by running.

Airman 1st Class Moses Tum, 22nd Comptroller Squadron, joined the Air Force nine months ago. Of those nine months, seven have been served here at McConnell.

Moses Tum's childhood days started out with walking to school. After returning home, he tended cows and crops. In Africa, where survival for many families depends on farming, children are counted on to help.

"Unlike here, where there is an upper, middle and lower class, in Africa, there are only two extremes, upper and lower class and the difference between the two classes is immense," said Airman Tum.

Airman Tum's inspiration to come to America came from a fellow student, while he was attending college in Kenya, who said he could get a scholarship if he ran well.

"At first, I didn't believe him until I saw people [going to America]."

In 1999, Airman Tum began running because he wanted to earn a scholarship to an American college. His training consisted of running more than 30 minutes a day with a group of friends. With the ehlp from his friends, Moses Tum kept running through the pains a new runner might experience.

"What got me into running was just to get an athletic scholarship here in America," said Airman Tum. "At first I found it hard...but after running every day, the hurting and pain associated with running subsided while speed and endurance developed significantly. After getting myself deep into a running culture, I have found it fun and captivating."

After a year of training, Airman Tum earned a scholarship to the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs. Speaking with Graeme Badger and Sandra Badger, coaches at UCCS, is what fueled Moses to apply to UCCS.

"Training at UCCS was just like training in Kenya," he said. "We had the same routine of training like I had in Kenya but more competitions."

"I had good relationship with the coaching staff and they supported me from the first minute I got to UCCS till I graduated, even when I wasn't running well due to injuries," Airman Tum said. To this day, his coach supports him.

Airman Tum was the first athlete to win a national championship at the UCCS. "Nobody believed that I was going to win nationals but I myself believed it because of the training I had done," Airman Tum said.

Airman Tum recently became the first person to win Wichita's 10k and 2-mile River Run races in the same year.  Althoug he has no major running events planned now, he wants to represent America in the Olympics one day.

While many might find Airman Tum's story unbelievable, he would disagree. "Running has helped me become a person who believes in the unbelievable," he said.