Eliud Kipchoge has stepped away from elite-level racing, but his competitive career is continuing with a new focus. Shortly before turning 42, the Kenyan runner won the Melbourne Marathon and set a course record, securing his first victory in three years.
Melbourne was the third stop on Kipchoge’s world tour, an initiative designed to take him to seven marathons across seven continents over two and a half years. The project also aims to connect with local communities and raise $1 million for the Eliud Kipchoge Foundation.
Speaking with Footwear News while in New York for the city’s marathon, Kipchoge said that winning remains connected to his broader purpose: encouraging people to run and bringing communities together. Before Melbourne, he had competed in the Cape Town and Porto Alegre marathons, leaving four continents still to visit. He plans to announce the next races in January, including the event in Antarctica.
Kipchoge returned to the New York City Marathon as a spectator after completing the original six World Marathon Majors and earning his Six Star Medal the previous year. During his visit, he cheered runners from the course sidelines, joined a Nike question-and-answer session, served pasta at a public carb-loading dinner and rode a double-decker bus carrying participants to the marathon expo.
The atmosphere made him consider running New York again, he acknowledged, although his priority was to meet runners of all ages and backgrounds. The world tour has also given him more opportunities to take part in clinics and public events before races, since he is no longer preparing for the same level of direct competition.
Nike continues to involve Kipchoge in footwear development. He appeared in campaign imagery for the recently launched Apex, a super shoe featuring two stacked Air Zoom units at the forefoot. Asked which shoe he would choose if limited to one model for all his runs, Kipchoge selected the Apex.
Preparing for Antarctica will require adjustments to his usual marathon training. Kipchoge said he expects to spend time in a colder location such as Sweden, Switzerland or Finland to become accustomed to comparable conditions, though he remains enthusiastic about the challenge.
He is also looking forward to seeing how elite runners continue to approach the two-hour barrier. Sabastian Sawe recently became the first athlete to complete an officially sanctioned marathon in under two hours, with Yomif Kejelcha following 14 seconds later. Kipchoge had previously run under two hours in a private challenge seven years ago, although that performance was not recognized by World Athletics.
Kipchoge said the progress reflects a shift in how athletes view their limits and predicted that more runners will break the two-hour mark in the coming years.
Sources: WWD.