He was runner-up at the National Cross Country Trials the following year and competed for Kenya in that discipline for the first time, finishing 18th overall. At the 2008 World Athletics Final he finished sixth in the 3000 metres and fourth in the 5000 metres. At the 2009 World Athletics Final he finished eighth in the 3000 metres and fifth in the 5000 metres. He finished fourteenth at the 2008 World Cross Country Championships and seventh at the 2009 World Cross Country Championships. At the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Final he finished eighth in the 3000 metres. He also took part in road running competitions and finished as the runner-up at the 2009 World 10K Bangalore behind Deriba Merga.