Representing Kenya Police, he gained his first national selection in 2011 with a fourth-place finish at the Kenyan National Cross Country Championships. On his international debut at the 2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in March, he took seventh place in the men's senior race – the fifth Kenyan to cross the line. He proved himself on the roads a month later at the Prague Half Marathon as he won the race with a sub-one hour timing, setting the fastest time ever on Czech soil with his finishing time of 59:30 minutes. A runner-up finish at the Giro Media Blenio came four weeks later. He won the men's title at the World 10K Bangalore in June, where he finished in 28:01 minutes, and set a course record and personal best of 27:34 min to win the Prague Metro 10K. He returned to the Marseille-Cassis race to defend his title, but was beaten into third place. He came fifth behind Sammy Kitwara at the Delhi Half Marathon in November and started his cross country season with a win at the Venta de Baños Cross a month after.