Eliud Kipchoge’s advice for first-time London Marathon runners

The fastest marathon runner isn’t competing this weekend, but said the event was ‘like my home’.

Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge won the 2019 London Marathon (John Sibley/PA) (PA Archive)

Eliud Kipchoge, the fastest marathon runner in the world, will not be taking on the London Marathon this year, but if he was, listening to Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You) by Kelly Clarkson might have spurred him on.

The Kenyan long-distance runner, 38, holds the title for fastest marathon run at 2:01:09, and won the 2019 London Marathon. At an event for charity The Daily Mile, Kipchoge told school children he likes music that motivates him – and that includes Kelly Clarkson’s 2011 hit.

Ahead of the London Marathon on Sunday, Kipchoge told the PA news agency the race is “like my home”, and his favourite landmark on the 26.2 mile route is the iconic Tower Bridge.

With many people taking on their first marathon this weekend, the athlete told first-timers to “just start and make sure you finish. Next time, plan everything.”

In his experience, no mile is the hardest.

“All the miles are the same, if you are fit enough then you will do it,” he said.

But when he begins to struggle, Kipchoge said: “I’ll start to reflect on what I have been doing in my training, over the four, five months and bring it into that moment when it is really hard, and that will carry me forward.”

Following a difficult race at Boston Marathon earlier this week, Kipchoge faced disappointment and placed sixth.

“What has happened has happened, that is how sport is. I am going back to the table to plan for next year… I am going to put more effort on recovery and training,” he said.

“Failure is just a challenge,” he added.

Kipchoge spoke to school children at Cubitt Town Primary School, East London, to encourage their participation in The Daily Mile, a daily running challenge for school children.

“The Daily Mile teaches kids about fitness… That you need to be patient and consistent,” Kipchoge said.

“Four laps every day shows determination and discipline.”

A father to three children himself, aged nine, 11 and 15, Kipchoge sometimes runs with them when he is back in Kenya.

On whether one of them will follow in his footsteps, Kipchoge said: “They have a choice, but I trust one of them will run.”

He is eager to encourage children to run and take an interest in fitness, because “health is your wealth, when you are running you are able to get things right in your mind.

“Running is life… The moment you love running, [is] the moment you will enjoy life and live longer.”

The Daily Mile Foundation is a children’s charity which aims to improve health and wellbeing, and is now one of the world’s biggest children’s wellbeing initiatives, with more than 4 million children taking part across 90 countries.