The running legend from Kenya on why he attempted to be the first human to run a marathon under 2 hours, and how he achieved it
Eliud Kipchoge runs alongside students at Earlsmead Primary School to show support for the London Marathon Daily Mile Initiative on December 13, 2019 in London, England. Image: Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images
On a misty morning in Vienna in October 2019, Kenyan long-distance runner Eliud Kipchoge struck down the finishing tape as well as “the last barrier of modern athletics” by running the marathon distance of 26.2 miles in under 2 hours. Kipchoge’s timing of 1:59:40 isn’t officially recognised as a world record as the conditions—a straight and even track, a battery of world-class pace-setters and special shoes, among others—were carefully chosen to propel him towards it. But it takes nothing away from a feat that transcends the realm of mere statistics and accomplishes what was once considered invincible: No athlete since Roger Bannister in 1954, a British medical student who became the first ever to run a mile in under 4 minutes, had upended notions of human endurance as Kipchoge. The 35-year-old, a gold medallist at the 2016 Olympics, has now been roped in as the ambassador for the Sunfeast India Run As One initiative, a virtual movement that is raising funds for livelihoods affected by Covid-19. In an email interaction with Forbes India from London, where he is housed in a bio-bubble for the marathon on October 4, Kipchoge discusses his running philosophy and why the initiative is close to his heart. Edited excerpts: Q. How did you start running? What led you to take it up professionally?