Mutai started running in 1994 while at Tuiyotich Primary School in Nakuru. He graduated from primary school in 1998, but financial constraints prevented him from joining a secondary school. Instead, he worked in a farm, but continued his running career. He was selected to represent Kenya at the 2002 World Junior Championships, but could not make the trip as he had no birth certificate. Soon after he was injured and almost quit running. He later joined Kapng'entuny Athletics Club in Eldoret. In 2007 he made his marathon debut, finishing second in the inaugural Kass Marathon in Eldoret. At this race he met his current manager Gerard Van de Veen of Volare Sports, who provided him with the opportunity of competing abroad.[5][6]
He won the 2008 Monaco Marathon, clocking a time of 2:12:40 to beat second-placed Jacob Kitur.[7] He won the Loopfestijn Voorthuizen 10 km race in a course record time of 28:05 that July.[8] He made significant improvements at the Eindhoven Marathon, setting a new personal best of 2:07:50, which was a course record and over a minute and a half ahead of the opposition.[9]
Mutai opened 2009 with a win at the South Rift Valley 12 km championships.[10] He signed up for the Seoul International Marathon, but was unable to finish the race.[11] He ran at the Daegu Marathon a month later and finished eighth overall with a time of 2:10:45.[12] He returned to the Loopfestijn Voorthuizen race a few months later and improved upon his previous course record, running under 28 minutes for the first time to set a new best of 27:39.[13][14] He had a second consecutive victory at the Eindhoven Marathon, further improving the course mark and his personal best to 2:07:01.[15] He won the Valencia Half Marathon in late 2009, seeing off the challenge from pre-race favourite Boniface Kirui and setting a new best of 59:30 over the distance.[16]
The Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon was Mutai's first major race of 2010, and he beat Tadese Tola to the finish line. Although his time of 59:43 was quick, it seemed a relatively modest achievement given the tactical running and the race's historically fast times.[17] He took on the World's Best 10K in Puerto Rico a few weeks later, but Moses Masai and Sammy Kitwara pushed him into third place.[18] Mutai ran one of the fastest marathons ever at the Rotterdam Marathon in April, improving on his previous best by a large margin with a run of 2:04:55. However, Patrick Makau ran even faster and Mutai had to settle for second place.[19] He took to the track in the summer and set a 10,000 m personal best of 27:27:59 for second place at the Kenyan Championships behind Wilson Kiprop.[20] This earned him selection for the 2010 African Athletics Championships and he won the continental bronze medal, while Kiprop took the gold.[21] He was pitted against his Rotterdam rival Makau at the Berlin Marathon and the two maintained the same positions, with Mutai clocking 2:05:10 for second place.[22] He came close to a personal best at the Delhi Half Marathon and won the race by out-kicking Lelisa Desisa.[23]
On 13 April 2014 Mutai finished in the 2014 London Marathon clocking 2:08:18 for sixth place.
World Marathon Record
On 18 April 2011, Mutai won the Boston Marathon in what was then the fastest time ever recorded for a marathon, which was 2:03.02: this was 57 seconds faster than the world record of 2:03:59, and broke the existing course record of 2:05:52 by almost three minutes. However, due to the point-to-point nature of the (overall, downhill) course, it cannot be ratified as a world record. Running in sunshine and temperatures near 50 °F (10 °C), Mutai was helped by a tailwind blowing 15-to-20 miles per hour. In the late stages, Mutai was pushed by 25-year-old countryman Moses Mosop: the two ran stride-for-stride over the last miles until a final sprint by Mutai gave him the victory by four seconds.
He also competed at the first B.A.A. 10K, which was held in Boston in June, and he won the race in a state record time of 27:19 minutes.[26] At the Giro di Castelbuono, the oldest European road race, he won as it took on a 10K format for the first time.[27] In August he ran the Bogotá Half Marathon in a course record time of 1:02:20 hours, beating Deriba Merga by a margin of over two minutes.[28] In November he won the 2011 New York City Marathon with another quick time of 2:05:06 hours, breaking the course record. This made him the first runner since American legend Bill Rodgers to take both the Boston and New York men's titles in the same year.[29]
He began the 2012 season with a run at the Discovery Cross Country in Kenya and was runner-up to Wilson Kiprop.[30] He returned to try to defend his title at the 2012 Boston Marathon, but dropped out in the second half of the race in hot conditions. As a result, the Kenyan selectors chose not to send him to compete in the marathon at the Olympics, in spite of his pedigree over the distance. He reorganised his race schedule and made his Canadian debut at the Ottawa 10K, winning by a margin of 45 seconds.[31] He defended his B.A.A 10K title with a world-leading run of 27:29 minutes.[32] A world record attempt at the 2012 Berlin Marathon saw him run the fourth fastest time ever (2:04:15), winning just ahead of his training partner Dennis Kimetto.[33] His last outing of the year brought another win, this time at the 15 km Montferland Run, where his time of 42:25 minutes was a personal best and also a course record.[34] He was chosen as the AIMS World Athlete of the Year for a second year running.[35]
He broke 59 minutes for the half marathon for the first time at the 2013 RAK Half Marathon, although his run of 58:58 minutes was only enough for third in the quick race.[36]
Personal life
Born to Andrew Koech and Emmy Koech, Mutai is the eldest of 11 siblings. He is married to Beatrice. They have a daughter, born in 2009.[5]
