FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Eliud Kipchoge considers mental sharpness is the crucial factor as the
Berlin champion turns his attention to Olympic Marathon in Rio
By Andy Edwards
Given his status as the current unofficial world number one in the men's
marathon, following Sunday's win in the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON to complete a
triumphant year at the distance which began with an equally commanding
victory in London in April, Eliud Kipchoge's approach to peak performance
provides a lesson to any runner, whether elite or those among the 41,000
and more who followed him through the Brandenburg Gate to the finish line.
Reflecting on his career so far a few hours after victory in Berlin,
Kipchoge emphasized that he and his longterm coach Patrick Sang, the
Olympic silver medallist in the steeplechase in 1992, regard maintaining
mental freshness as even more important than physical conditioning.
Kipchoge is, of course, in superb shape and has demonstrated his ability
for more than a decade, winning the World 5,000m title against Kenenisa
Bekele in Paris in 2003 and following that with a silver medal at the same
distance four years later and an Olympic silver in Beijing in 2008. But
their philosophy offers a wider framework than a mantra of "Train Hard, Win
Easy."
"After Berlin, I need to prepare for Rio and plan but that is eleven months
away so I would want to do another marathon, probably next spring. Eleven
months without a marathon is too long, you need to test the body and that
will tell the mind and body that another marathon, [the Olympic Marathon]
is coming," explained Kipchoge.
Simple enough in one sense and, given his status, any major race promoter
is likely to be checking their budget in a bid for his services. But this
additional comment reveals the subtlety of approach by athlete and coach:
"The main thing is the mind, not the body. If you train for eleven months,
the mind might get tired so it's better for the body to get tired than the
mind. So I'll do another marathon before the Olympics," said Kipchoge.
The byzantine world of championship selection can follow all manner of
twists and turns, so Eliud Kipchoge is by no means taking an Olympic
marathon place in the Kenyan team for granted. Where he and coach Patrick
Sang are confident is in the development of their training programme, begun
12 years ago, which has taken him from one of the best on the track to as
strong as anyone in the marathon at present:
"I've been with my coach all my life as an athlete. In fact, we were
neighbours, Patrick lived about one or two kilometres from me in the same
village of Kapsisiywa [Nandi district]. When I was eight or nine, I'd see
him training and began to notice him. Our plan was to run very well on the
track, then we decided to turn to the road. The transition so far has been
good and I can say our plans are up to date," explained Kipchoge with a
touch of understatement.
He now lives in Eldoret and the training base is in Kaptagat, some 30 km
away. Whatever he may or may not achieve at the Olympics next year, Eliud
Kipchoge has unfinished business in the German capital, promising to return
to the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON in 2017 with the aim of improving his time of
2:04:00, although without flapping insoles to add to the challenge.
The ability to shut out distractions, set realistic short and long term
goals and yet relax when required, can mark the potential champion among
the pack. It was once commented in connection with Sebastian Coe that the
most important part of an elite athlete's equipment, given the requisite
physical talent, was "The Top Nine Inches," ie, the power of the mind.
Eliud Kipchoge has that in abundance.
More information is available online at: www.bmw-berlin-marathon.com
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