Eliud Kipchoge an Inspiration On and Off the Roads
by: LetsRun.com
October 12, 2014
Eliud Kipchoge was the man of the day in Chicago as he got the 2:04:11 win in windy conditions.
As impressive as Kipchoge was with his legs, we loved everything he did with the rest of his body as well.
During the race, when he was powering to the finish he was smiling. Then he crossed the finish line, turned around and sprinted up the finishing stretch, high-fiving all the fans.
He wasn’t done yet. He then went into the post-race press conference and said all the right things. He was funny and inspirational. We’ve embedded his clips from the press conference below.
On the wind:
“Chicago is known as the Windy City right?
“I enjoyed the race, from the start to the finish. I enjoyed the spectators… The last 300m was actually fun with all those people cheering. I am happy to be one of the best runners and to win Chicago.”
| Overall |
/10
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| Comfort |
/10
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| Cushioning |
/10
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| Durability |
/10
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| Appearance |
/10
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| Value |
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On the race and his preparation:
“I am still learning the ropes, but I can say I am fully experienced. The race today was a real race, with 3 people still there after 40km. It was like a championship.
“After 30km it was not easy. I tried to push a little but everybody was there. After 36 (km) again they were still there and I was a little bit worried. After 39 (km) towards 40km, I tried for the last time and I succeeded.”
On some words for all the people running 5-hour marathons:
“Sport is a challenge… Even if you finish in 5 hours you have improved a lot. It is about health. For those of you are still running (as I speak), I encourage them to continue running”
Eliud Kipchoge Wins (photo from ChicagoMarathon Twitter Feed)
On his smile:
“To enjoy the streets of Chicago you need to smile. With all these people you need a big smile.”
Some Great Words on Preparing to Win:
“The coaching from Patrick Sang I can say it is coaching of the 21st century. It is up to date. It is the best.
“Personally I believe in the saying which says ‘winning actually is not important but how to prepare to win is critical.’ The coaching system I used in Kenya makes me to prepare very well. That is why I won Chicago.”
On how he went from being a track runner to a marathon runner:
“They say, ‘If you have a will (to do something) then you have 50% success’… Then I needed to train my mind (for the marathon) and it was 100% (success)”