Eliud Kipchoge- The G.O.A.T of the Marathon

On Mar 5, 2022the Tokyo Marathon took place. Many professional runners competed in this race, one being Eliud Kipchoge. As this would be the first marathon of the 2022 season, Kipchoge hoped to have a strong debut. Benefiting from a mostly flat course, Kipchoge has managed to win another marathon title coming close to beating his own world record.

A marathon is a long-distance running race with a distance of 26.2 miles or 42.195 kilometers. It takes a lot of preparation and concentration in order to complete. A professional runner like Eliud Kipchoge runs an average 136 miles each week plus endurance strength training. During the marathon, it is very important to hydrate and fuel with simple carbohydrates. Carbohydrates include sports drinks, energy bars, energy gels, energy chews, and bananas. Although most professional marathon runners do not normally eat during the marathon, they do take sips of water every now and then. 

Eliud Kipchoge is no stranger to the Marathon. He has major marathon wins in the Chicago Marathon, the London marathon, the Berlin marathon, and has won gold twice at the olympics over the past decade. Although the weather conditions were not perfect with strong wind gusts, Kipchoge still managed to run an outstanding time of 2:02:40 in the Tokyo marathon. This is the fourth fastest marathon in history. The world record for the fastest marathon currently belongs to none other than Eliud Kipchoge with a time of 2:01:39. 

Unlike any other marathon runner, Kipchoge manages to make running a marathon look easy and effortless. He does this by concentrating on his thoughts and calming himself down. Kipchoge told runnersworld.com, “I always say I don’t run by my legs, but I run by heart and my mind. If your mind is calm and well concentrated, then the whole body is controlled.” as stated in the runnersworld.com website. During the Ineos 1:59 challenge, Kipchoge successfully attempted to break the two hour mark in the marathon. When he was crossing the finish line, he had a big smile on his face and continued to run even after finishing the race. He seemed as if he could run another sub 2 hour marathon. 

Unfortunately the Ineos 1:59 challenge did not count as an official world record because it was not an open competition. As stated in Wikipedia, “Due to rotating pacemakers, delivery of hydration by bicycle, and the lack of open competition, the achievement was not eligible to be ratified as a marathon world record…” Although the Ineos 1:59 challenge will not count as an official world record, Kipchoge still managed to prove that no human is limited. 

As a runner myself, it is amazing and so inspiring to see Eliud Kipchoge running. The way he manages to challenge himself and prove that no human is limited is truly breathtaking. I aspire to be like Kipchoge or at least maintain the same mindset he has. 

Running a marathon is truly one of the hardest things our bodies can go through. But the G.O.A.T Eliud Kipchoge manages to make running a marathon look like a child’s play. As Eliud Kipchoge moves along his career I am excited to see what other barriers he can break.