Kip Keino, Moses Tanui, Paul Tergat, they all come from my tribe. Some say it is the food we eat that makes us strong, the way we live. In the history of our people we wear no clothes and we are used to drinking the blood of animals.

Lel is coached by Gabriele Rosa and lives in the Rift Valley region of Kenya. His personal best time as of April 2008[update] is 2:05:15 which he ran in the 2008 London Marathon setting a course record. He ran the 15K Saint Silvester Road Race at the end of the year but was beaten into fourth place.

In August 2010 he ran at the Falmouth Road Race and took third place. After almost 3 years without running a marathon he participated in the 2011 London Marathon as a replacement for Samuel Wanjiru who was originally invited to run but he still placed second with a time of 2:05:44 out-sprinting Patrick Makau at the finish line.