Let Max Run: The Story of Kenyan Runner Max Imali

“Let Max Run” is the phrase used by supporters of Maximila “Max” Imali, a Kenyan middle-distance athlete from Ngong. This site gathers the public record of her career and explains the sport around it, so that readers can understand why her name has been in the news and what the discussion is about. It is an informational resource written in the third person, and it is not run by the athlete or her representatives.

Who is Max Imali?

Imali began running seriously as a teenager. At sixteen she was noticed for her talent in Ngong, a town on the edge of Nairobi, and with the support of an encouraging coach and her family she started training for the 400 and 800 metres and racing at local meetings across Kenya. Her results soon took her further. In 2014 she earned a place at the World Junior Championships in Oregon, which gave her first experience of top-level international competition and raised her profile outside Kenya.

Record and honours

The achievements listed in the archive include:

• Silver medal at the African Championships in Mauritius in 2022.
• Finalist at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in 2018.
• Kenyan national champion in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022.

Her listed personal bests are 11.19 seconds for 100 metres, 23.12 for 200 metres and 51.18 for 400 metres. The combination of sprint speed and 400-metre strength is typical of athletes who can compete across several distances. For guidance on how to read numbers like these, see how to read track and field results.

Why the campaign exists

The archived material states that Imali has been judged ineligible for international competition. This site does not speculate about the reasons or the merits of that decision. Instead, it offers background on the topics that surround it: the basics of training for the 400m and 800m, the culture of Kenyan middle-distance running and a plain-language explanation of how eligibility works in athletics.

About this site

The pages here are meant to help readers follow the story with accurate context. Statistics come from the archived record and may be out of date, so consult official athletics federations and recent news for current information.

Read more about her career on the profile page.