Living legend Kipchoge in Vienna, waiting for weatherman’s signal

World marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge left Nairobi for Vienna, Austria, to for an epic challenge to run 42km in under two hours. The Ineos 1:59 Challenge organisers have now narrowed the window for Kipchoge to run to between October 12 and 14, with target date being this Saturday.

However, the actual event date will be confirmed tomorrow Wednesday, three days out and start time the day before the INEOS 1:59 Challenge.

Kipchoge was flown out from his training camp in Kaptagat to Vienna overnight, with his coach Patrick Sang and a number of his team-mates, now pacemakers.

It’s now down to the INEOS 1:59 meteorology and performance experts to provide weather data to Kipchoge’s coaching team and collectively make the decision as to what date and time for the race, to give Kipchoge the best possible chance of success.

One of the reasons Vienna was picked for the venue was its favourable weather conditions in October.

The conditions are, for now, looking to be within an acceptable range for the first weekend of the window.

“The unique nature of this extraordinary event means we are not in a position where we can confirm the date or the start time of the Challenge until we can be absolutely certain the weather conditions are suitable,” a statement from the Ineos 1:59 Challenge yesterday read.

Tomorrow (October 9), three days out from the targeted Challenge date, is very important. The performance team will then decide if the date for the INEOS 1:59 Challenge will either be confirmed as October 12 or delayed.

If the green light is given the three-day countdown begins and Kipchoge will switch his nutrition and begin carb-loading. Kipchoge and his team can then make their final preparations and the world can start getting ready to watch the INEOS 1:59 Challenge live.

Once the date is set, the exact start time will be confirmed the day before. The start time will be between 6am–10am Kenyan time.

The decision for the optimal start time will take into account various factors including weather, nutrition and Kipchoge’s circadian rhythm.

Robby Ketchell, who is leading the weather analysis for the INEOS 1:59 Challenge Performance Team, said: “The unique nature of this extraordinary event means we are not in a position where we can confirm the date or the start time of the Challenge until we can be absolutely certain the weather conditions are suitable.

“We’ve got a world-class team of meteorological experts working on this alongside the Austrian Meteorological Office to inform the Performance team and enable the decision process.” [Ineos1:59]