The Greatest Distance Runner of Them All

On the 12th of October 2019, history was made in a park in Vienna.

Eliud Kipchoge, the extra-ordinary Kenyan long-distance runner, broke a barrier that most people thought was humanly impossible: a full marathon in under two hours.

Over the weekend, I watched a new documentary about that run called Kipchoge: The Last Milestone [you can watch the trailer here], and while that was both enjoyable and inspiring, this isn't a movie review.

Instead, I thought it would be a good moment to compile some of the notes I've previously shared about Kipchoge, a man who's not just a remarkable athlete; but also lives like a monk and speaks like a philosopher. In fact, the more I've read about him, the more fascinating he seems. 

One of the things he likes to say is ''Marathon is Life", which is maybe why so much of his wisdom and insight applies well beyond the race track. I've divided these into five different sections or 'themes'.

Even if you're not into running, I hope you'll enjoy reading.

TEAMWORK

You know teamwork is important when Eliud Kipchoge, perhaps the greatest exponent of one of sport's most solitary pursuits - marathon running - says this:

"You cannot train alone and expect to run a fast time. There is a formula: 100% of me is nothing compared to 1% of the whole team."

STAY HUMBLE

Two years before breaking the two-hour barrier, Kipchoge had made a similar attempt and fell short by 25 seconds. At the end of the run, he was asked how it felt to come so close but not achieve his goal.

As always, he smiled a huge Eliud smile before he answered-

"The world now is only 25 seconds away. It was hard to shed all those minutes. But I think it will be easy for another human being to shed those 25 seconds."

What's revealing about this comment is an awareness that it's not just about him- for Kipchoge it's about all who've gone before and all who will come next. 

Even the day he attempted to break the record was significant- on the same day sixty-three years earlier, Roger Bannister had broken the 4-minute mile barrier.

It's an poignant reminder that we're all part of something bigger. Personal accolades are great, but true legacy lies in the ripple effect- your role in moving the needle and playing a part in collective success. 

As he himself said in another interview:

“The reason for running 1:59 is not the performance. The reason to run 1:59 is to tell that farmer that he is not limited; that teacher that she can produce good results in school; that engineer... that he can go to another project.”

As the old proverb goes-

A society becomes great when old men (and women) plant trees in whose shade they know shall never rest.

STAY POSITIVE

Eliud Kipchoge doesn't complain. In one of his interviews he describes how being raised by a single parent meant he had to work much harder than other kids in his village. 

And yet; he says, softly- "I've never complained, and will never complain." 

Instead, he thinks only about people and things he's grateful for- his mother, wife and kids, his coach who he says changed his life. 

The attitude of gratitude and positive mindset drives him from within, but there's another more visible characteristic of Kipchoge that's difficult to miss.

HE SMILES. A LOT.

This isn't just because he places such a high value on happiness, or because he derives so much joy from running- there's a little bit of trickery at play, too.

Kipchoge has admitted that smiling while running helps him work through the pain. “When you smile and you’re happy, you can trigger the mind to feel your legs.”

Recent studies have backed this up [after all, science often proves what people in the hills have always known]. Smiling, even when you don't feel like it, helps relax the body, regulate breathing, and improves overall running economy, which in turn makes you more happy. 

Of the many advantages out there, the happiness one might be the most under-rated of all.

SERVANT LEADERSHIP

Eliud Kipchoge lives and trains for six days of the week in a camp up in the hills of western Kenya. Visiting journalists and athletes are often stunned at how basic it is; but it is here, 8000 feet above sea-level, that he spends almost all his time when not competing. 

The camp houses around thirty athletes at any one time, and Kipchoge has the same type of dormitory room as everyone else.  When he's affectionately called "boss man" in acknowledgement of his celebrity status, Kipchoge winces. 

"When you become a boss, you don't think straight," he says. "It's better to be a leader than a boss. That is why I do my share of the cleaning. I am trusting that I'm leading them in a good way."

Compare this to a recent story from the Indian Premier League (IPL), a cricket tournament currently underway in the UAE. 

A couple of seasons ago when a star player left the team and returned home, news reports suggested it was partly to do with the type of hotel room he'd been allocated.

In response, the management issued a statement stating the team was like a family and only the owner, coach, and captain had special suites. [in other words: everybody is equal, but some are more equal than others]

As for Kipchoge, servant leadership seems to stem from quiet humility rather than false modesty. And never was this more apparent than when a journalist asked about how he feels when people call him the Greatest Of All Time. 

His response?

"I respect their thoughts." 

RESILIENCE

The remarkable thing about one of the greatest ever marathon careers is the fact that it almost didn't happen.

Although initially coming to the spotlight through cross-country, Kipchoge spent most of his early career running 5000 meters, winning World Championships and Olympic medals in 2004 and 2008. 

In 2012, ten years after his debut, the former world champion finished seventh in his own national trials and missed out on qualifying for the London Olympics.

Kipchoge is candid about this experience, describing it as the lowest point in his life. 

However, instead of retiring to his small farm and tending to his cows [as some people expected] he used it as a catalyst to shift his attention to the marathon. Since then, he has won 13 of the 15 races he has entered, and has run the distance faster than anybody else in history. 

The key for Kipchoge is always to just keep moving forward- a favorite analogy of his is where he's climbing a tree: once you step over a branch, then you forget about it and focus on the next one. 

It is perhaps this attitude to growth that helps him, as Kipling once wrote, to "meet with Triumph and Disaster, and treat those two imposters just the same"

So whether it's a world record time, or an 8th place finish in the London marathon last year, Eliud Kipchoge reacts the same way he always does: head back to his training camp, have a cup of tea with his team, and hit the road again. 

And with that, we'll end this article the same way the great man ends one of his team talks:

"With these few words, I'm saying thank you"- Eliud Kipchoge

Thanks for coming along for the run!

[all images taken from Kipchoge's official Twitter account here.]