Why world marathon record holder Kipchoge is not about to slow down
Athletics
By
Stephen Rutto
| Mar 28, 2023
Marathon world record holder Eliud Kipchoge will be lining up in Boston Marathon on April 17, and he has trained his sights on setting the fourth Abbott World Marathon Major course record.
Kipchoge, a two-time Olympic champion says he is ready to deliver another good show, with a focus on obliterating Geoffrey Mutai's 2:03:01 record which has stood since 2011, on the uphill Boston marathon course.
To achieve that dream, Kipchoge is training in a course nicknamed Boston in his Kaptagat base.
The high altitude 40km 'Boston' uphill course, he says, is preparing him well for the US race.
In a NN Running video released on Monday, Kipchoge who already has Berlin, London, Tokyo and Chicago titles under his belt says he is also ready for sudden weather changes at the Monday April 17 race.
"I think this is the right time to train on the Boston route, which we have nicknamed it in Kenya, and it is really uphill and a tough course all through the 40km. I think I will benefit from it," Kipchoge said.
"This will be my first time to put all my work on the Boston Marathon. I have always trained on a Boston course."
According to Kipchoge, the Boston Marathon course would require patience during the race.
He said he was confident of a remarkable race and another history-making moment after what he described as a tough training ahead of the April World Marathon Major.
Kipchoge did not however indicate whether he will be taking part in the 2023 edition of the New York City Marathon, which will be the only WMM he will not have participated in, after running Boston.
Harsh weather conditions took a toll on the world's Greatest of All Time (GOAT) during the 2020 London marathon, relegating him to a disappointing eight place.
"In Boston, you can't predict (the weather); tomorrow it will be too windy..., the next day the weather might be ultimately challenging, but I am trying to be all-round so that if anything comes my way that very morning (April 17), I will go with it," said Kipchoge.
The first man to run a sub-two-hour marathon during the 2019 INEOS 1:59 challenge in Vienna said he was aware that racing in Boston would be more challenging than running the Berlin Marathon where he has set two world records - 2:01:39 in 2018 before demolishing it last year, and resetting it at 2:01:09.
He compared the Boston Marathon to a championship, saying it will be like the battle for a gold medal.
In the NN Running video, Kipchoge is seen tackling an uphill course in a training session alongside a team of training mates among them three-time World Half Marathon champion and double New York City Marathon winner Geoffrey Kamworor.
"Berlin and Boston are actually two different races, from two different continents. In Berlin, the course is flat, and in Boston it is uphill and it needs a lot of patience, and a lot of hard work to go through," said Kipchoge.
He added: "I just don't want to participate in the six Abbott WMMs, I want to participate and win them all. It's two different things, and above all, to get a course record for at least half of the races. I have a course record for London, Tokyo and Berlin."