Chasing Edward Cheserek
It was September of 2012, and Mark Davis was scrolling through high school race results on the running site Mile Split. Something incredible caught his eye-a 13:57.04 in the 5,000 meters posted by Newark, New Jersey, junior Edward Cheserek. The typical teen-runner’s time for that race is closer to 17 minutes. Davis, a photography student at New York University at the time, was floored by Cheserek’s speed-so much so that, for the next five years, he traveled nationwide to photograph Cheserek’s journey as a near unbeatable athlete.
“Watching him for the first time, I was blown away by how easily he ran so fast,” says Davis. “A runner myself, I had a sense of how impressive his times were.” What’s more, Davis added, he knew what the majority of runners look like churning out those times, and Cheserek’s style stood apart. “Edward has this way of gliding, almost like he’s just jogging, which is kind of incredible for somebody moving that quickly. He was better than any runner I had ever seen before.”
Cheserek, 24, is Kenyan-born and moved to the United States in 2010 to pursue an American education as a runner. After standout seasons at St. Benedict’s Preparatory School in Newark-he won two Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships and set a boys’ national high school indoor two-mile record of 8:39.15-he went on to run at the University of Oregon. As a freshman, he won the 2013 NCAA cross-country title, and collected 17 NCAA titles by graduation. Turning pro in 2017, Cheserek now runs for the Skechers Performance team, though he’s still working toward U.S. citizenship so that he might wear the stars and stripes as an Olympian one day.
Davis is certain Cheserek has the talent for that kind of goal. “I’ve seen him break records, pull off unthinkable wins, and become the most decorated collegiate runner of all time,” he says. In the years Davis has photographed him, Cheserek has proven what Davis knew from the moment he first saw the phenom run: The kid’s got something special.
“Running is a gift he uses to help support himself, but also I’m sure he loves just running,” Davis says.
In the waiting area before anchoring University of Oregon’s distance-medley-relay team at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia on April 24, 2015.
“In college, Edward became a fine-tuned running machine. I was struck by the prominence of his legs, and how efficient and raw they looked compared to his high school days,” Davis says.
Cheserek winning the men’s 5,000 meters at the NCAA D1 Outdoor National Championships in Eugene, Oregon, on June 12, 2015.
Cheserek being interviewed after winning the 5,000 meter at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, on June 12, 2015.
“A lot of runners have blisters and missing toenails,” Davis says. “I’ve seen lots of really beaten-up feet, but I was surprised- Edward’s weren’t all that damaged.”
Cheserek racing in the NCAA Men’s D1 Cross Country Championship in Terre Haute, Indiana, on November 19, 2016.
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