Running Against the Impossible: Eliud Kipchoge, the world's fastest man.

Eliud Kipchoge

NNrunning Team

Running against the Impossible: ELIUD KIPCHOGE (THE WORLD’S FASTEST MAN)

The Autodromo Nazionale Monza is a historic race track located near the city of Monza, north of Milan, in Italy. This race-track has witnessed the cutting edge of automotive competition, with the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Nelson Piquet and Michael Schumacher having raced on the asphalt. This is hallowed ground for competitive racing, and Nike’s special projects unit led by Sandy Bodecker, knew this when they selected the 1 and 1/2 mile Formula 1 circuit, to host ‘The Two-hour attempt’.

The Two-hour attempt is centred on the possibility that with enough preparation one could run a marathon (about 42 Km) in 2 hours or less. This attempt has been branded as ‘Breaking2’ to signify the attempt to breach the two-hour mark. Over the years a few individuals have come close with a time of 2:06:05 being set in 1991, following which a famous paper was published by an American Physician named Michael Joyner in The Journal of Applied Physiology. The paper estimated the best possible time that an ideal athlete could run a marathon by factoring in 3 main factors, that is, V02 max (the maximum oxygen an athlete can consume while running). Lactate threshold (the running speed above which lactic acid in muscles accumulates prohibitively). Running economy (the efficiency with which a runner moves down the road.) – Joyner theorized that the ideal athlete could do run the marathon in 1:57:58. To Joyner, the Sub-two (under 2 hours) marathon was possible but only in Theory.

This statement of an impossibility gave many a goal to strive towards.

The night of 5th May 2017 Eliud Kipchoge lay tossing and turning in his bed. His mind sharp, His heart racing. On the Morning of 6th May he would face the Two-hour attempt head on, this is what 7 months of persistent practice had led to.

He had asked one of his manager Valentijn Trouw, to wake him at 2:45 am, but when he checked his WhatsApp at 2:29 am he found Mr Kipchoge online already up and awake. At 4:15 am, Kipchoge was driven to the Monza racetrack. It was a cold, humid and starless morning. For about half an hour Kipchoge did a warm up. No one can speak to what was going on in his mind or heart prior to the race, but one would imagine the intense pressure of having to perform extraordinarily in less than ideal conditions. Not to mention that Nike has invested millions of dollars in preparation for the Two-hour attempt. More so as a personal endeavour, 7 tireless months of preparation collapsed into this moment.

The race kicked off!

Eliud Kipchoge ran the 42km marathon in 2:00:25, which is the fastest ever recorded time for the Marathon. (However, some say that the clock read 2:00:23 when he crossed the line). This means he was a mere 25 seconds away from doing something that was thought to be physically impossible. The audacity of this attempt lit a spark in the global athletics community.

The journey so far.

November 5, 1984, Eliud Kipchoge was born without much pomp and circumstance. He had a humble upbringing in Kapsisiywa, Nandi County surrounded by friends and family. In fact, it was one of these friends, a close neighbour, who introduced him to Athletics while he was younger. He quickly learnt the ropes and began to notice that he had a knack for the sport. He kept pushing himself and in 2001 his efforts caught the eye of his coach Patrick Sang, who he still trains with up to date. Mr Sang’s vision and wealth of experience came in handy when refining strategy and Kipchoge focused on 3000m and 5000m track events.

Practice made perfect and Kipchoge took 2003 by storm. He won the junior race at the IAAF Cross Country Championships, setting a world junior record over 5000m on track. He confirmed his victory by becoming the 2003 world champion in Athletics. A champion was unearthed.

An avalanche of medals followed. He achieved a bronze medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics and another bronze in the 2006 IAAF World indoor championships. A series of Silver medals followed, starting with the 2007 World Championships in Athletics, then another at the 2008 summer Olympics and he reached the podium again at the 2010 Commonwealth games for the 5000m track race. He set some of the fastest times for the 3000m and 5000m track races with his 3000m best of 7:27.66 ranking him as the 12 fastest at the distance ever and His 5000m best of 12:56.53 making him the 4th fastest ever at the event.

It hadn’t been easy for Kipchoge on his journey to prove himself, but in 2012 his love for sport and mental toughness was tested to the limit when he failed to qualify for the Olympics. This was his lowest point and he began to question

everything. The future he imagined for himself seemed uncertain and he began to reflect inwards. It then occurred to him that he could try his hand at road running and the marathon, a far tougher race for the athlete, but what would he have to lose given than the worst had already taken place.

He regrouped and in an absolutely stunning performance, he made his half-marathon debut setting a time of 59:25 minutes –which is the third fastest half marathon debut in history. In 2013 he made his marathon debut in the Hamburg marathon setting a new course record of 2:05:30. He sharpened his performance and pushed himself to the limit and it showed when shaved more than a minute off his time to achieve 2:04:05, at the 2013 Berlin Marathon.

In an extraordinary effort, he won the Berlin Marathon again in 2015 and trimmed 5 seconds off of his personal best to achieve the coveted time of 2:04:00, all this with the insoles of his shoes had come loose earlier in the race. He proceeded to win the London Marathon in the consecutive years of 2015, 2016 and 2018, with him improving on his personal best at the 2016 London marathon achieving the 2:03:05 time.

A peak behind the curtain

When asked how he does it, Kipchoge opened up about some of the methods to his success. He is a great believer in having a philosophy and is known to often read the works of Aristotle.

He distilled his secrets to a few points:

1. Self-Discipline:

“Discipline and self-discipline are different.

Discipline has to do with using rules to get good behaviour, but self-discipline is centred on sacrificing a person’s personal passions in order to attain something higher. This involves having to say no to sudden impulses and passions. This is a very difficult thing to do, and cannot be done overnight. It’s a step by step process that requires a focus. The further you go on this journey, the more you learn to complain less and just move forward.

Prayer plays a big role in this for me personally. You have to ask God to hold your thoughts and continually be grateful for what you have achieved.

It takes a lot of self-discipline to train every day consistently.

When preparing for a marathon, I start about five months in advance. I run about 30 Km a day and on some days I push myself to 40 km. Then about a week to the race, I taper my training to about half that distance.

This requires single-mindedness and focus.”

2. Belief in Self:

“Belief in self is very important. This gives you the opportunity to demonstrate faith. You have to give yourself the freedom to define faith for yourself as per your heart and mind. Understanding this will give you the strength to push yourself. Your thoughts about yourself are very important, and this is where you choose what to believe about yourself.

In the garden, we have both flowers and weeds. Flowers are the positive thoughts you have about yourself and about life. The weeds are negative thoughts. Which ones will you pick?

It is also important to define success for yourself early. For me what really matters isn’t the success, what matters is how you prepare for success.”

3. Passion:

“For me passion means Love for what you do.

This isn’t a simple thing or something that happens just once. Passion for me means having the ability to hold affection for something no matter what. This is more than a chance, it is an intentional choice that I make every day. This also involves patience. You have to be patient with yourself and with others. You also have to learn to wait and make progress slowly by slowly. You can’t achieve everything in one day or one year. It took me 10 years and plenty of training to run 5km in under 13 minutes. Training for a marathon takes about 5 months. All these things take time.

If you notice that you might have a talent in a particular field, add passion to it. And when your passion matches your talent you will be in your ‘Element’. Being in your element means that your passion and talent are both at their max.

You also need to understand that you can’t do it alone. You need to surround yourself with a team that is as committed as you are, if not more. One thing about my athletics team is that we listen emphatically when spoken to. We do not take advice for granted.

Personally, I have fun in my field. I think it’s important to enjoy what you do or at least try to. I work because I feel as though I am being productive and fulfilling a purpose. Running is also a wonderful way to deal with stress. It has a good impact on the heart. The heart is what drives the person and running is a way to take care of the heart. At the end of a run sometimes I have a solution to an issue that I have been thinking about for a long time.”

4. Accepting Change:

“In life, there’s so much change. How we react affects how well we perform. The rules and regulations surrounding sports are constantly changing, but you learn to adapt and just move on. If you resist change there’s a chance that you won’t make it.”

5. Deleting a money centric/money hungry attitude:

“Why do those people who concentrate on money the most have very little of it?

It is important to earn a living but working for money alone is like driving a car while looking at the back mirror. It is counterproductive. Money should be a result of achieving something, but not the main reason for work. If you want to harvest money then you have to plant the seeds of service.

Why do people dope?

It is because they’re looking for a shortcut to greatness. Money is also a very powerful motivator for those who dope because great performance attracts sponsorships and endorsements.

One thing I hope my career shows the young people is the value of creating a legacy. With persistent practice, you can get better. Don’t use steroids.”

Giving Back

On top of his busy schedule, Mr Kipchoge is still an avid advocate for the environment and wildlife conservation. It’s a mystery how he has the time to do as much as he does. He also takes time to mentor and teaches up and coming marathon runners in his team. He believes that a win for his team is a win for him. If he doesn’t get to breach the two-hour mark he wants to play an active role in helping others achieve it.

Mr Kipchoge is currently in training preparing for the Berlin Marathon 2018.

Conclusion

When asked why he smiles at the most intense part of the race (past the 30 km mark) he responded:

“A smile is a sign of joy. And at that point in the race, my muscles are in a lot of pain because of the lactic acid and fatigue. When I smile, It triggers joy and endorphins are released and it helps reduce the pain I feel from the fatigue, allowing me to improve my pace and power through.”

A fitting metaphor for a way to approach life. When facing the toughest moment, smile and power through!