This is Mt Kenya (Point Lenana) Chogoria Route from Chogoria Roadhead (rather than from Chogoria Gate). It sets a precedent for this route, which had not been run yet on the FKT site. I think it is more sensible to run the Chogoria route starting/finishing at the roadhead for the following reasons: (1) KWS guards are present at the Chogoria Gate, so if one would like to run an FKT attempt from there, they would notice and could prevent you from running on your own without a guide, and (2) the road between the gate and the roadhead is accessible by vehicle and guides normally drive you up to the roadhead anyway.
On Monday, 14th September 2026, our driver picked us up in Chogoria Town at 6:50am. We later picked our guide up and continued to the KWS Office, where we had to pay for the National Park entry fees (2 persons + 1 vehicle ended up being $160). We drove past the Chogoria Gate (2900m), where we were checked by the guards, and finally got to the Chogoria Roadhead (3300m) at 8:25am. The guide would stay with my partner for a hike to Nithi Falls and Lake Ellis and would wait for me at the roadhead.
I set off at 8:33am, solo, with 1L of water and a couple of fruit purées. I reached the summit of Point Lenana in 2h29'10", spent there like 8'-9', and completed the round trip in 4h18'25".
The trail is pretty much straightforward, not technical and not steep until the last 2km or so of the ascent. It has sections of up and downs so the way back is not a pure descent, which you regret on tired legs. I was surprised by the presence of vegetation quite high up, as the terrain only becomes more alpine above 4200m. Despite this, I was feeling the lack of oxygen with a mild headache from 4400m (even though I thought I was coming acclimated from the Alps).