This week’s guest is someone who I have been trying to set up a face-to-face conversation with for around 2 years. Eliud Kipchoge is a Kenyan athlete who is widely regarded as the greatest marathon runner of all time - he has won two successive Olympic marathons and 10 major titles. And of course, he’s the only athlete to have ever run a marathon in under two hours, which he did back in 2019 in Vienna as part of the 1:59 challenge. Although this was not recognised as an official world record because it was not in an open competition, it was an incredible achievement for humanity.
This conversation took place in London on the weekend of the 2022 London Marathon, exactly seven days after he had once again broken the official marathon world record in Berlin. But the conversation we had for this podcast is about so much more than running. Whether you are a runner or not, I think you are going to find Eliud’s insights highly relevant and applicable in your own life.
One of the main reasons I wanted to talk to Eliud was not because of his running ability but because I have always been fascinated by the energy that he radiates. He has a calmness, a humility and a complete lack of ego, which I and millions around the world, find ourselves drawn to.
We cover many different topics in this conversation. We talk about reflection and why, in this tech heavy world, Eliud still keeps a handwritten training journal. We talk about success and why he doesn’t believe in it - which, I think, is remarkable for a man who has achieved so much of it.
We also discuss why Eliud always does his runs as part of a community, why he smiles in the latter parts of a marathon, how he manages to stay injury free and what he thinks about retirement.
But for me, one of the most insightful parts of this conversation is hearing Eliud talk about self-discipline and why he feels that this is one of the most important skills to develop. Eliud is possibly best known for the phrase ‘No human is limited’ and hearing him explain what this means to him, really brings to life the idea that its self-discipline that will help you reach your own potential.
This really was a special conversation with an incredible man - I hope you enjoy listening.
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Show notes https://drchatterjee.com/304
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