Eliud Kipchoge announced his intention to lead the six majors of the world marathon before his retirement

By Jonathan Gault
April 29, 2019

LONDON – Monday was the press conference of the London Marathon Champions, the last opportunity for the media to see Eliud Kipchoge before returning to Kenya, where he will rest for two or three weeks before resuming training. The first words of his famous humble mouth?

"I think yesterday was a good race."

It's a way to describe his win at 2:02:37, his record in London and the second fastest marathon in his history. From another world, magisterial or magical would be more accurate.

Kipchoge is famous for its concentration. At yesterday's post-race press conference, he was invited to present his projects beyond London and responded with a classic kipchogeism:

"I come from Africa and in Africa we do not hunt two rabbits at a time. My rabbit was actually the London Marathon.

Yesterday, Kipchoge caught this rabbit. And though he announced that he would finalize his next marathon next month upon his return to Kenya, Kipchoge confirmed something that his agent Valentijn Trouw suggested to LetsRun last week.

"I hope that before seeing the sport come out, I will run the six major marathons," Kipchoge said.

So be excited, America. Kipchoge arrives (again – at some point).

Kipchoge ran three of the six majors of the world marathon: London (four times), Berlin (four times) and Chicago (once, during his last race in the United States in 2014). It remains Tokyo, Boston and New York. No man has won them all.

Two of these races, of course, are in the United States. And although Kipchoge had already run and won a US marathon in Chicago, he was not the global superstar that he would become. He was not even the biggest name of the Chicago championship in 2014; Kenenisa Bekele, who had just made his debut at the marathon in Paris this spring, was the star.

The Eliud Kipchoge races in the United States

Date	Event	Distance	Result
June 4, 2005	Classic Pre	2 miles	1st, 8: 07.68
May 28, 2006	Classic Pre	2 miles	2nd, 8: 12.29
June 10, 2007	Classic Pre	1 mile	6th, 3: 57.19
June 7, 2009	Classic Pre	3000 meters	6th, 7: 38.24
April 11, 2010	Carlsbad 5000	5 km of road	1st, 13:11
July 3, 2010	Classic Pre	5000 meters	4th, 13: 01.17
April 3, 2011	Carlsbad 5000	5 km of road	2nd, 13:14
June 4, 2011	Classic Pre	2 miles	6th, 8: 16,74
April 1, 2012	Carlsbad 5000	5 km of road	3rd, 13:14
June 1, 2012	Classic Pre	10,000 meters	7, 27: 11.93
June 2, 2013	Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Half	Half marathon	2nd, 60:18
October 12, 2014	Chicago Marathon	Marathon	1st, 2:04:11

Chronologically, New York would be the next "new" major of the world marathon to be experienced by Kipchoge. And as Kipchoge already has the world record, he will not have the same motivation to return to Berlin this fall in order to save time. But that does not mean he'll be heading NYC in 2019; Someone "in the know" told me in London that the next Kipchoge marathon would not be a major event (perhaps in Amsterdam where his leadership, Global Sports Communication, is taking up the field of the elite?).

It will probably not be the World Cup in Doha either. Kipchoge, to the question of whether he was interested in the title of marathon world champion, replied with a smile:"I'm world champion on the track." We will not know exactly where Kipchoge will play next until we have news of the man himself.

And for Boston? It could take a while. Kipchoge said that London was his favorite place: "The organization in London is perfect, the crowd is really fantastic" – and I would not be surprised if he continues to defend his title in London until losing. (If that ever happens.) But if his goal is to play the six major tournaments, he will eventually have to end up in Boston and how incredible it would be for American fans to see the greatest marathoner ever to show up from Hopkinton, navigating through the Scream Tunnel at Wellesley, taking Right Hereford and left Boylston?

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Some other information about Kipchoge before my flight back to the United States:

Kipchoge's favorite drink after the race? Tea.

Kipchoge was asked today how he would celebrate his return home to Kenya. To hear, the party is already over.

"I'm one of the men who does not really like parties," Kipchoge said. "I think the celebrations ended yesterday at the finish line."

Instead, after the race yesterday, he met with his sponsors and management and enjoyed a cup of tea. Kipchoge said he did not drink alcohol yesterday. In fact, apart from a few traditional ceremonies, he does not drink at all.

"We have traditions in Kenya during circumcision and all those things," said Kipchoge. "But purely, I do not drink alcohol."

Discover Kipchoge's Customized Training Shoes

There was a lot of talk about the shoes that Kipchoge wore during yesterday's race, but the pair that he wore today, a custom pair of Nike Pegasus Turbos, size 10, also interested me. Kipchoge said that he was shopping easy in those shoes that sport his logo – which I had never seen before – from one side and the colors of the Kenyan flag to the other, accompanied by Kipchoge's golden signature and one of his most famous quotes, "no human is limited."