The legend of Kipchoge

“No human is limited”, says Eliud Kipchoge, the greatest marathoner our world has ever seen. I heard about Kipchoge few years back from a friend who runs marathons, on how Kipchoge consistently outpaces himself over the years, running marathons under record times, including a sub-2-hour at the INEOS 1:59 Challenge in Vienna on October 12, 2019 – clocking 1:59:40.2! What drew me towards this personality was his discipline and work ethics. I am an avid reader, and I found many of these books writing about Kipchoge – his tenacity of mind, his humility, his persistence and preparedness. Running has become my passion recently, so I wanted to write a blog exploring some of these unique traits that make Kipchoge Kipchoge. There is so much to learn from this person!

Mental Tenacity: In the book “Same as ever“, author Morgan Housel provides an interesting anecdote – Kipchoge and two other runners were waiting to receive their Olympic medals after the Marathon race, which Kipchoge won for the second time. Logistics of the awards ceremony meant the runners would have to wait for several hours in a cramped, dull room with nothing to do but sit. Abdi and Nageeye, the other runners did what anyone else would do – they pulled out their cell phones, found a Wi-Fi network, and aimlessly scrolled social media. Kipchoge didn’t – he just sat there, staring at the wall, in perfect silence and contentment. His fellow runners later joked that he is not human. Well, he was just being Kipchoge. He doesn’t think, act or behave like an ordinary person. Rather than rejoicing the race he just won, he ponders about the next race and how to get better, exemplifying the art of mental tenacity.

Preparedness: Kipchoge shares “Doing is not important. To be successful is also not important. How to plan and prepare is critically crucial“. One of the startling things I read about Kipchoge is that he would celebrate only briefly and immediately start preparing for his next race. For running the sub-2-hour full marathon, he trained for six months – Every day running 30km, totaling 900km every month. He didn’t take the challenge lightly and wrest on his laurels, he doggedly practiced and practiced. In effect he trained for around 5400km to run the “grand” 42.195kms – Incredible determination and discipline. So, this becomes an important second part of his mantra “No Human is limited” – only “If trained and prepared“.

Humble beginnings: One of the 4 children raised by a single mother, Kipchoge, like fellow Kenyans of his region (Nandi County), ran over 2 miles to school and back daily, often barefoot. While this routine was born out of necessity rather than formal training, this humble beginning laid the foundation for his physical endurance and mental discipline. A habit created in childhood, running in high-altitude terrain in all kinds of weather nurtured the resilience and mental toughness. When I started running 3 years back, I started with only 2km runs, then moved on to 3kms and then the important 5kms milestone. I keep telling this to all new runners – Even Kipchoge started with 3km runs (although he was much younger!). Everyone starts from humble beginning, either due to their situation or when starting something new in life.

Self-Discipline: In his speech at Oxford college, he speaks out his pearls of wisdom that has made him Kipchoge: “Self-discipline starts with you. Start to examine yourself. Self-discipline is doing what is right, rather than doing what you feel like doing – that’s the meaning of self-discipline”. He suggests 4 ways to cultivate self-discipline: 1) Stick to your priorities, 2) Don’t make excuses. 3) Learn to say no. 4) Make self-discipline your lifestyle. He further explains “Self-discipline is not one-time event; it’s like building your muscles. Remember that only the disciplined ones are free in life. If you are undisciplined, you are a slave to your moods, you are a slave to your passions“. He ends with a quote from a Canadian school “The first best time to plant a tree was 25 years back. The second-best time is today“. He urges everyone to plant a tree of self-discipline today.

Consistency: Kipchoge talks about the law of consistency, he shares “Get motivated, motivation makes you to move. Go forward. Bring motivation and discipline together, you get consistency. If you want to grow, consistency is the key – in any profession. If you are not consistent you cannot go anywhere“. Kipchoge extends his mantra of “No human is limited” to other professions including (but not limited to) police, engineering, medical, teaching, etc. Being motivated, consistent and disciplined, any human can achieve greatness is the message, and we have had several examples in all fields. Cricketer Virat Kohli and footballer Cristiano Ronaldo always come to my mind when I think about discipline, consistency and extreme motivation. There are more for sure – someone asked Pratik Gandhi, an actor of Scam 1992 fame, about him becoming an overnight sensation, he replied “This night was 15 years long for me” – emphasizing the dedicated effort he put in for past 15 years to become the “overnight success”.

Kipchoge is just 40 years, yet sagely, much beyond his years. Part of this probably comes from the “meditative” time he spends with himself during running. As he shared in one of the YouTube videos “I always believe that anybody who is running for long has the best solutions – because a lot of ideas are on the way – a lot of answers are on the way“. As I wrote in one of the previous blogs on running, a lot of runners do really vouch for this – that running clears their mind, gives them new directions. We just need to practice this consistently and see the magic happen – Keep running!