Janet Bawcom

Janet Cherobon-Bawcom

Cherobon-Bawcom competes in the Mississippi Blues Marathon January 9, 2010.
Personal information
Born	(1978-08-22) August 22, 1978 (age 38) Kenya
Residence	Rome, Georgia
Height	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Weight	115 lb (52 kg)
Sport
Country	United States
Sport	Track and field
Event(s)	10,000 m
Club	Atlanta Track Club
Coached by	Jack Daniels
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	10,000 m: 31:12.68 Marathon: 2:29:45

Janet Cherobon-Bawcom (born August 22, 1978) is an American distance runner. She grew up in Kenya, before attending college in the United States. In college she won three Division II national championships and was named an All-American eight times. She became eligible to compete for the United States in 2011. In 2012, she made the U.S. Olympic team in the 10,000 meters and placed 12th.

Cherobon-Bawcom was born as Janet Cherobon on August 22, 1978 in Kapsabet, a small village in Kenya, to a single mother. She is the oldest of eight children. At the age of 19, she was walking to the bus stop when a stranger offered her a ride. She accepted, and the man turned out to be 1988 gold medalist Peter Rono. He told her that running could serve as a route to gaining a scholarship to an American college. Intrigued, Cherobon took up running, with Rono as coach. After two years, Rono was able to secure her a scholarship to Harding University in Arkansas. Cherobon left Kenya in 2000. Upon arrival at Harding, she discovered that the school had been given false information about her running ability. Fearful that her scholarship would be pulled, she trained hard all summer to improve her times.

Cherobon's training paid off. Over the next four years, named an All-American eight times, and set multiple school and national records in the process. In 2005, she won the Division II championship in the indoor 5,000 meters, the outdoor 5,000 meters, and the outdoor 10,000 meters. For her exploits, she was inducted into the Division II Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Harding Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012.

Cherobon graduated from Harding in 2005 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in health care management and nursing. Of her college experience, Cherobon later remarked: "I don't think I ever really became interested [in running.] I ran to get a scholarship so that I could get my education. My goal was to come here, learn as much as I can, and then go back. So if you had asked me my goal then – that was my goal."