Hong Kong Marathon
Rono began her career with a tour of Mexico. She won the 2009 Gran Pacífico Marathon, had runner-up finishes in Culiacán, Mexico City and Ciudad Juarez in 2010, then took back-to-back wins at the Panama City Marathon and Mexicali Marathon in December that year. Despite having won three marathons and having a personal best of 2:37:08 hours, she failed to get invites to major races. She decided to fund her own travel and entry to the Hong Kong Marathon in 2011 and the move paid off, as she won the race in a personal best of 2:33:42 hours and a top prize of US$34,000.