When Eliud Kipchoge did the impossible and broke the two-hour mark in 2019, he encouraged the world to think big.
“I am the happiest man in the world to be the first human to run under two hours and I can tell people that no human is limited,” he said. “I expect more people all over the world to run under two hours after today.”
Although Kipchoge’s incredible time of 1:59:40 in Vienna was not an official world record because it wasn’t an officially sanctioned race, his myth-busting run gave hope that he – or another runner – will one day break the two-hour mark officially.
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In the same way no-one thought breaking the four-minute mile was possible, Kipchoge shattered peoples’ perception of what is humanly possible. How he has managed to do that will be explored later.
On Sunday, in Berlin, he took another giant step to breaking the two-hour milestone as he smashed his own world record by shaving off a staggering 30 seconds, as he finished the race in 2:01:09.
Given there were no pacesetters unlike those in Vienna, a strong argument can be made that Sunday’s marathon was the greatest physical feat of all-time.
At the 20 kilometre mark in Berlin, Kipchoge was two seconds ahead of his time during Ineos 1:59 Challenge with his split 0:56:45.
Following the race, Kipchoge admitted he went out faster than he planned (”60:50, 60:40”), but changed his mind when he realised how fast he was running.
“I thought my legs were running actually very fast, and I thought, oh let me just try to run two hours flat,” he said.
Ultimately, however, he said it cost him, with the splits falling away in the second half of the race.
“We went too fast,” he admitted.
“It takes energy from the muscles.”
Yet, his incredible time, particularly the first half of his race, showed that breaking the two-hour mark in a legitimate race is a distinct possibility.
The 37-year-old’s times across his 19 marathons – 17 of which he has won – reveal that he is getting quick with age, too.
Kipchoge ran a time of 2:05:30 at the 2013 Hamburg Marathon, with his times – outside of Olympics, where he took gold at Rio and Tokyo – generally getting quicker with each passing year.
Key to Kipchoge’s remarkable feats is the consistency of his training program, which has been perfected over the years and relies on deep reflection and a lot of running.
But rather than trying to break records each time he hits the running track, Kipchoge has mastered the “shuffle”.
Kipchoge’s running camp is in Kaptagat, which sits at 7,870 feet above sea level.
Interestingly, Kipchoge does not often race out of the blocks. He keeps it slow.
One of the few people invited into Kipchoge’s inner sanctum, Cathal Dennehy, writing for Outside, said the marathon runner would typically run 8:30-to-8:45-minute mile pace, and slowly built up to finish around 6:30 to 7 minutes per mile.
To put that in context, that is four minutes per mile slower than his marathon pace.
Kipchoge runs on average 124 to 136 miles each week, or 199km to 218km – and that allows him to run freely for his next workout.
For more than half a week, Kipchoge says he runs at 50 per cent.
“I try not to run 100 per cent,” he says. “I perform 80 per cent on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday and then at 50 per cent Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.”
Dennehy noted five key principles to Kipchoge’s program.
Those are consistency; balance, including two 60-minute sessions of strength building exercises; recovery, featuring three litres of water a day, massage twice a week and a balanced diet; documentation by analysing and reflecting on every detail of his program including how his shoes feel; natural progression of fitness; and a proven routine from race to race that range between three and seven months.
Here is Kipchoge’s weekly program, as published in Outside:
Monday
6 A.M.: 12 miles easy
4 P.M.: 6 miles easy
Tuesday
9 A.M.: A track workout totalling 9 to 10 miles of speed, run at marathon pace or slightly faster, on a rough dirt track.
Examples: 8 x 1,600 meters, run in 4 minutes 40 seconds, with two minutes of recovery; 8 x 400 meters, run in 63 to 64 seconds, with 30 to 50 seconds of recovery.
4 P.M.: 6 miles easy
Wednesday
6 A.M.: 12 miles easy
10 A.M.: 60 minutes of strength and mobility exercises
4 P.M.: 6 miles easy
Thursday
6 A.M.: A 19- or 25-mile run (alternate weeks)
Friday
6 A.M.: 12 miles easy
10 A.M.: 60 minutes of strength and mobility exercises
4 P.M.: 6 miles easy
Saturday
6 A.M.: Fartlek (13 x 3 minutes fast/1-minute jog)
4 P.M.: 6 miles easy
Sunday
Any time: 2 hours easy
