Kenyan athletes were forced to postpone their early morning training on Friday by two hours as chilly temperatures, worst ever recorded in recent times, set in at Hamilton Park Race Course two days before the start of World Cross Country Championship in Edinburgh.

Team manager Peter Angwenyi said that they had to retreat to the warmth of their rooms to assess the situation before feeling the course.

However, head coach Julius Kirwa, viewed the winter weather challenge as an inspiration for the athletes to show their true fighting spirit and led them out through the morning jog at 11:00 am Edinburgh time when the temperatures hit a high of seven degrees centigrade.

“These athletes are well prepared, though the condition here are extreme, we have competed under such circumstances and everyone is determined to tackle the weather and the challenge on the course with hope of winning,” he said.