Iten is a town in Rift Valley Province of Kenya. It is located along the road between Eldoret and Kabarnet. Elgeyo escarpment and Kerio River are located east of Iten. The town has a population of 4000 [1].
It forms a common local authority (Iten/Tambach town council) with Tambach, a small town in the vicinity. Iten is the capital of the Keiyo District. Iten was also the headquarters of the former Elgeyo-Marakwet District since 1966, when it replaced Tambach as the headquarters.[1]
The name of the town is corruption of Hill Ten, a local rock formation named by Joseph Thomson.[1]
The mayor of Iten is Mary Ruto (as of 2009), one of the few female mayors in Kenya.[1]
St. Patrick's High School is located in Iten. The school has, over the last 30 years, produced world-class long distance athletes and is preferred by many promising Kenyan runners. Some of the alumni include Ibrahim Hussein, winner of three Boston Marathons and one New York City Marathon; Peter Rono, a 1988 Olympic gold medalist at 1,500 meters; Wilson Boit Kipketer, a 1997 world champion and 2000 Olympic silver medalist in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
The town hosts the high altitude training centre, HATC [2], founded by Lornah Kiplagat.