London Marathon 2019: Eliud Kipchoge on Freedom, Simplicity and the Power of Mind

The eyes of Eliud Kipchoge illuminate. He points to an electric blue group that he wears on his wrist, where four simple words are written.

"No human is limited."

This might sound like an inept Instagram publication of a social media influencer. Coming from the greatest marathon runner of all time, he feels everything except.

At the Berlin Marathon last September, Kipchoge set a new world record of two hours, one minute and 39 seconds, an incredible race that took 78 seconds less than the previous record. It was the biggest improvement for more than 50 years.

Such a seismic step was not a surprise. The 34-year-old Kenyan had notified his abilities on May 6, 2017 when he ran to Monza as part of the Nike Breaking2 project.

No one in the story has been closer to breaking the magic barrier of two hours.

This time is not considered the best in the world, because cardiac pacemakers capable of exchanging data were used, but even if the record books ignored it, the world as a whole could not close its eyes .

Sixty-three years to the day since Roger Bannister's historic mile, the run had been changed forever. The conversation had gone from "if" a two-hour marathon was possible to "when". For Kipchoge – the only athlete in his life responsible for moving the sporting axis – the burning question is how?

His answer lies in the power of the mind.

"The mind is what motivates a human being," says Kipchoge. "If you have this belief – a pure belief in your heart – that you want to succeed, then you can speak to your mind and your mind will control you to succeed.

"My mind is always free.My mind is flexible.That's why I wear this bracelet on my wrist.

"I want to show the world that you can go beyond your thoughts, you can break more than you think."

Success in the marathon world is a lucrative business. After winning 10 of 11 marathes in which he has participated since he moved from the track to the road race in 2013, Kipchoge is a multimillionaire.

However, money is not the motivation. Kipchoge believes that "living simply makes you free".

For nearly 300 days a year, he lives and trains away from his wife and three children in a simple training center in Kaptagat, a small village in Kenya's highlands.

He is nicknamed the "chef" by his training partners, but that does not prevent him from cleaning the toilet or doing his share of daily housework.

"I like simplistic training and life at the marathon," he says. "You run, eat, sleep, walk, that's how life is.You do not complicate the task.When you get complicated, it distracts your mind."

Kipchoge was just a child when he started to become the greatest marathon runner of all time.

At the 2003 World Championships in Paris, at the age of 18, he won the 5000m gold, a decisive victory all the more remarkable by two additional facts.

First of all time – a 12: 52.79 minute championship record that is still valid today. Secondly, the identity of the two men he surpbaded in the finish line: the 1500m world record holder, Hicham El Guerrouj, and the future world record holder in the 5000m, Kenenisa Bekele.

His track career did not really progress as he would have liked afterwards.

Between 2004 and 2012, he won many world medals, but none with gold. The Olympic bronze in 2004 was followed by silver in 2008. The only addition to his World Champion collection was a 5,000m silver medal at the 2007 Osaka Championships.

Having not even managed to be part of the Kenyan team for the 2012 Olympics, he turned to the roads. Since then, they have been almost exclusively paved with gold.

To date, three of his 10 victories have arrived in London and he will be the big favorite to become the first man to win four victories in the streets of the English capital this weekend.

A world record is unlikely in London, especially because the course is much less favorable than that of Berlin, where the men's world record has been beaten seven times in the last 16 years.

But in the future?

"One day, once, someone will run for less than two hours," he says. An inquiry to find out if this could be brings him a laugh. "Maybe, maybe not."

Brett Kirby still believes.

He has worked closely with Kipchoge as chief physiologist on the Nike Breaking2 project and continues to advise Kenyan and his coaches in areas such as strategy, training badysis and strategy. race.

"I think it's possible," he says. "I think his race in Berlin [the world record last September] was unbelievable. And I do not see any degradation. "

Kirby's belief is based on the many months spent badyzing Kipchoge during this Breaking2 project. Funded by Nike, three years have pbaded but the goal was simple. Produce the first-ever marathon of less than two hours.

The mere mention of the idea was enough to scare many potential hopefuls. But not Kipchoge.

"When we started Breaking2 at the time, it was really scary," says Kirby. "Many athletes were hesitant to do it.

"For some, the approach was either to be selfish and to say" of course I can do it ", to be afraid of it and just to say" it is not possible ".

"Eliud respected him, he became a partner, he had the discipline and the courage to take up the challenge, it was incredible to see the respect he gave to the boy. idea."

Respects the groom with physical and mental abilities.

"I do not even know how he showed me how important the spirit is," Kirby said in the Breaking2 documentary published by National Geographic in September 2017.

"I have a big, white box open for quantification of the mind." How to quantify a person's ability to push beyond what we thought was possible only on the physiology?

Eighteen months later, Kirby still works with Kipchoge and still likes to try to solve it.

"In appearance, Eliud might look like another Kenyan," said Kirby. "But his mind is different, his body is different.

"In simple terms, he has the ability to run both fast and maintain that speed for a long time.Some people can keep that speed for a half marathon, but being able to do it for a full marathon is what makes Eliud unique.

"Having that sustainable speed – that's all he has to do – he always says that." no human being is limited "and he has shown it." In life as in sport .It has an influence as both human and as athlete.

"Being disciplined, not just about the two-hour race you do, but also about what you do the remaining 22 hours of the day, it has definitely changed, shown and given so much."

Such discipline is evident at Kipchoge. The only time the calm behavior changes? A question about "failure" of the Breaking2 project.

Kipchoge advances forward. His eyes widened and his voice normally soft, slightly raised.

"Let me tell you something," he says. "The Breaking2 project has been the most successful sports project of the 21st century and I have no regrets at all."

An idea of ​​what could have been understandable, because time is running out.

Kipchoge is generally considered to be a few years older than 34 years old. Often, Kenyan runners do not have birth certificates, they were raised in rural areas. His birthday of 5 November 1984 may be uncertain.

And the marathon is a demanding occupation – even for a man like Kipchoge with his philosophy "live simply will free you".

Paula Radcliffe is too familiar with the requirements. When she set the women's world record of 2:17:18 in Chicago in 2002, the effort required was so extreme that she tore her colon. A year later, she lowered that mark to 2:15:25.

His record is still valid today. In fact, Radcliffe remains more than a minute and a half faster than his closest rival, Kenyan Mary Keitany. His physio Gerard Hartmann described his performances as "going to Mars and beyond". A stratosphere showing that Radcliffe rests on a certain Kipchoge-esque simplicity.

"Some people would look at his life and say it's a sacrifice," Radcliffe says. "I also had this singular orientation in my career but I've never seen it as a sacrifice." I love it. "

Radcliffe thinks that Kipchoge still has the ability to run in less than two hours, but has doubts about whether this will happen.

"If someone is able to run less than two hours, he is," she says.

"He's certainly the closest, but now I'm not sure, it depends on the number of fast marathons that he has in him because everyone has a finished point when we start to slow down." is different for everyone.

"For me, I ran each of my marathons thoroughly and so it was probably a little shorter.

"Eliud did not do that in all his marathons, which might help, but it's hard to tell when he could slow down, I do not know how old he really is. At one point, he'll slow down and that's why I'm so happy that he got the world record in Berlin. "

Kipchoge is optimistic about how much time he has left.

"You'll always see me," he said. "I think there are still some nice things in store, I'm always here to do cool things."

And when he finally says goodbye?

"After my retirement, my plan is to focus on inspiring people.

"My dream is to make this world a moving world A moving world is a healthy world A moving world is a rich world A moving world is a world at peace A moving world is a world in motion happy world.

"The race is free – run and your mind will be free – it's what we need all over the planet."