Career
He ran his personal best time of 2:06:58 hours in 2008. He has also competed in half marathons and has a best of 1:00:14 hours in that event. The following year he was fifth at the Stramilano Half Marathon.
After a fourth-place finish at the Prague Half Marathon in April 2005, he made his debut over the full marathon distance.
His first outing at the Madrid Marathon also brought him his first victory in the event and his winning time of 2:12:29 hours was a course record. Rono reached the podium at the 2007 Paris Marathon, coming third.
His next competition, the 2008 Rotterdam Marathon saw him deliver a lifetime best performance as the runner-up behind William Kipsang with a time of 2:06:58 hours. Rono made his first appearance at a World Marathon Major event that November as he entered the New York City Marathon and claimed third place on the podium behind Marilson Gomes Dos Santos and Abderrahim Goumri.
He returned to the American circuit for the 2009 Boston Marathon.
He gained his first international selection at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics, but days before the competition he was forced to withdraw under doctor"s orders due to an ankle injury sustained in training. Upon his return from injury, he saw his podium streak come to an end at the Rotterdam Marathon, where he came seventh in a very fast race which saw the top four runners all go under two hours and six minutes. Rono rebounded at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon that October when he came third in a time of 2:08:15 hours (the second fastest of his career).
He came sixth at the Ljubljana Marathon in October 2011 in a time of 2:10:11 hours, a result that represented one of his worst marathon career performances at the mid-level race.
He was back under that time at the 2012 Marrakesh Marathon, taking third in 2:09:50 hours, but he slowed in the final stages of the Ottawa Marathon and fell back to fifth place in two hours and twelve minutes. He was runner-up at the Turin Marathon in November.
He missed the early year road racing season in 2013 but made a return to top form at October"s Beijing Marathon by coming third in a personal best of 2:07:20 hours – his best time since 2008.