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Eliud Kipchoge struggling to train alone


Olympic marathon champion and world record holder, Eliud Kipchoge, has revealed he is struggling to train alone due to the government’s directive against public gatherings due to the spread of coronavirus.

Social distancing means Kipchoge has to train solo and not with his NN Running Team mates in Eldoret as he always does.

“You cannot run really in a strong way because you are alone. Physically I am training to make sure that I am fit but when you have the whole team then you can train to make sure that you are in the best-ever shape,” Kipchoge told Athletics Weekly.

“Mentally, you can get tired early because if you have an hour run and you’re running alone, then you can really get tired because of running alone, you are thinking alone. I have been with a team for the last 15 years and it’s really crazy for me. I can say it is not comfortable at all, but safety is my number one priority,” he added.

BEST EVER TIME

This weekend Kipchoge would have gone head-to-head with Ethiopian track and road race great Kenenisa Bekele at the London Marathon in what had been billed as a mouth-watering clash but the race has been postponed to October 19.

“I was coming to London as a defending champion and not really to run under two hours but I trust that it would have been a good race, an interesting one, but I don’t think it would have been under two hours. I think on Sunday if the London Marathon could have happened, we could actually have had the best race ever,” he said.

“Kenenisa has run 2:01:41 and I have run 2:01:39. It could have been the best-ever time and London could have been the best race ever between two people who have the fastest times in the marathon,” Kipchoge reckoned.

Kipchoge is optimistic and convinced that a competitive marathon can be won under two hours in the near future.