Eliud Kipchoge's greatness and the enduring lessons it offers us

World marathoner Eliud Kipchoge breaks record at the Berlin Marathon. [Courtesy]

Eliud Kipchoge's jaw-dropping time of 2:01.39 that set a new world marathon record in Berlin yesterday, caps a remarkable quest for excellence by the 32-year-old.

Personal success it may be, but Kipchoge's sheer will power to succeed offers plenty of lessons for Kenya. Kenyans swelled with pride as the national anthem reverberated through the historic Brandenburg Gate.

As his feet rhythmically thumped the entire 42km-stretch on the Berlin tarmac, the consistency of his steps portrayed a steely determination and a solid path to success. In fact, one can literally follow Kipchoge's journey to greatness back to 2003 when, as a precocious 19-year-old, he won his first gold medal at the IAAF World Cross Country Championship in Lausanne, Switzerland.

He would blossom into a great competitor on the track at a time Ethiopia’s great; Kenenisa Bekele, scorched European tracks with ruthless efficiency. Kipchoge never gave up, staying true to the spirit of competition.

For that, he was rewarded with the 5,000m gold at the World Championship in 2003 when he beat Bekele and Morocco's Hicham El Guerrouj.

Before switching to marathon, Kipchoge ran and always won cleanly while registering impressive times that show a clear progression in his development. Winning the Olympic Marathon gold in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 seems to have only whetted Kipchoge's desire to better himself.

In a country awash with get-rich schemes; with the end justifying the means, Kipchoge is showing that a singleness of purpose and consistency actually pays off.

Incredibly, all the pacesetters deployed to help him through the race dropped off by the 25km mark, leaving him to plough through 17km alone. His sprint was by many standards, quite remarkable.

He underlined quest to win with his punishing training ahead of yesterday's race. He was supremely confident that he would win by all means. And win, he did.

A scan through the statistical profile of the Olympic, world and now marathon record holder reveals an admirable and consistent quest for personal improvement.

Kipchoge's incredible feat goes only to confirm that where there is a will, there is a way. And above all, in these difficult economic times wrought on us through dubious economics, Kipchoge's performance is an apt reminder that the end shouldn't always justify the means.