four-time London Marathon winner—and possibly his world record.
By Cathal Dennehy
Sep 30, 2020

eliud kipchoge
Courtesy Virgin Money London Marathon

Can anyone stop Eliud Kipchoge? For 10 straight marathons, and six
straight years, the answer has been a firm “no.”

The Olympic champion and world record holder has stamped his
supremacy on the 26.2-mile distance like no one before. In an event
filled with uncertainty, where the only thing harder than getting to
the top is staying there, he has become the safest bet in sports.

But at the 40th edition of the London Marathon this Sunday, Kipchoge,
35, will square off with an athlete who could give him cause for
concern.
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Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia is a man who once dominated Kipchoge on the
track and an athlete with the credentials to also ruffle his feathers
on the road. A three-time Olympic gold medalist, the 38-year-old has
been written off many times, yet he has a habit of mounting a comeback
when you least expect it.

That’s exactly what he did in Berlin last year, with his 2:01:41
falling just two seconds short of Kipchoge’s world record. Two weeks
later, Kipchoge shot back with his 1:59:40 in Vienna at the INEOS
1:59 Challenge, which didn’t count for record purposes. But the message
was clear: In this domain, he was still the boss.

Kipchoge hasn’t raced since then, but he has had a strong preparation
and arrives to the London Marathon’s race bubble in flying form. For
much of his buildup, however, he was unable to train with his usual
large group in Kaptagat.

“It was really difficult for us athletes in Kenya and Africa in
general,” Kipchoge said during Wednesday’s prerace news conference.
“For the last 17 years I’ve been with the whole team, training with 10
to 20 people. This (pandemic) came in like an electric shock where
everyone started to train in isolation or even skip training. But I
tried to hold pace to make sure I’m fit and get a high level of
training. Lately I consolidated the whole team together and training,
actually, was good.”

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Bekele, meanwhile, had difficulty accessing his usual training
locations because of the restrictions in Ethiopia, and he also lost
time due to small training pains. “Because of COVID-19 sometimes
it’s not going as perfect as I planned,” Bekele said today. “More or
less, I prepared well.”
kenenisa bekele
Kenenisa Bekele trains within the grounds of the biosecure bubble.
Courtesy Virgin Money London Marathon

Asked about the rapid development in shoe technology in recent years,
Kipchoge struck a familiar tone: “We live in the 21st century whereby
we need to accept change,” he said. “Development goes hand in hand with
technology. We need to accept technology in our hearts and move on.”

Bekele will race in the Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% on Sunday, which
he wore in Berlin last year, while Kipchoge will opt for the Nike
Air Zoom Alphafly Next%, which he introduced to the world in Vienna
last fall.
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The two athletes have been rivals since 2003, when Kipchoge outkicked
Bekele to win the world 5,000-meter title in Paris, and in that time
the mutual respect between them has only grown.

“I respect the humanity, the success, the mentality of Kenenisa,”
Kipchoge said. “Being able to train and be disciplined even after huge,
huge success.”

Bekele was equally gracious. “I respect him as an athlete,” he said.
“What he did is a really great thing for the sport.”

“This (pandemic) came in like an electric shock where everyone
started to train in isolation or even skip training.”

Kipchoge has a flawless record in London—four runs, four wins
(including the course record of 2:02:37 set in 2019)—but this year’s
race will take place in a far less familiar format. Instead of the
usual 26.2-mile course that snakes through the city, athletes will run
19.6 laps of a 2.15-kilometer loop around St. James’s Park before
reaching the usual finish on The Mall.
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The effort by organizers in getting it over the line has been immense.
They chartered a plane last week to transport athletes from Kenya and
Ethiopia, while every athlete and member of support staff was tested
for COVID-19 before traveling to London, upon arrival at the meet
hotel, and they will have their final batch of tests on Friday, 48
hours before the race.

Degitu Azimerew, a 2:19 marathoner who was a leading entrant in the
women’s race and coach Haji Adilo tested positive in Ethiopia, so they
did not travel to London. Runners have been based in a biosecure bubble
at a hotel outside the city with 40 acres of ground on which to train,
while they’ve also been wearing a “bump technology” device around their
necks that records time spent in close proximity to others.

While both Kipchoge and Bekele were tight-lipped around their desired
pace on Sunday, it’s expected a first half of 61 minutes or faster will
be requested. The course is flat and fast, so Kipchoge’s 2:01:39
world record is not out of the question.

Organizers are hoping the forecasted rain won’t arrive when the races
get under way on Sunday morning, with the women setting off at 7:15
a.m. local time (2:15 a.m. EDT) and the men at 10:15 a.m. (5:15 a.m.
EDT).

While Bekele admitted he would much rather a point-to-point course,
saying “it gets boring repeating the same lap multiple times,” Kipchoge
was unconcerned with the layout.

“The laps will be okay, there will be no problem,” he said. “I think
the race will be really beautiful.”

Victory this year would make Kipchoge the oldest ever winner of the
men’s race in London. Still he shows no signs of slowing down, and if
there’s one thing that fuels him it’s the inspiration his feats give to
the masses.

“I have shown the way that running under 2 hours is possible,” he said
today. “I’ve done my part to show that anything is possible.”

While fans are savoring a clash between two distance-running titans,
it’s unwise to discount their chief rivals. Ethiopia’s Mosinet Geremew
finished second in 2:02:55 last year, just 18 seconds behind Kipchoge,
while Mule Wasihun—third last year in 2:03:16—is also back. Fellow
Ethiopian Shura Kitata finished second in London and New York in 2018
and is sure to go close again, while Sisay Lemma, third in Berlin last
year in 2:03:36, is another to watch.

The lone American in the men’s field is Jared Ward, 32, whose PR is
2:09:25 from the 2019 Boston Marathon. Ward was an Olympian in 2016,
finishing sixth at the Games in Rio. He told Runner’s World he is
excited.

“I’m optimistic, he said. “I’ve never had a seven-week training cycle
for a marathon. But I’ve had some good workouts. And I had some good
speed training prior to starting the cycle. My volume has been low, and
I don’t have quite as many quality long runs as I’m used to, so I have
my apprehensions. But I’m also optimistic based on how I feel.”

It’s no surprise that this year’s prize money has taken a hit, with the
winner earning $30,000 compared to $55,000 last year. But in a year
blighted by cancellations, race director Hugh Brasher believes the
event will be a “beacon of light in the darkness” that will “show the
power of the family of making coming together.”

While the action in the biosphere will be elite-only, 45,000 runners
have signed up to run the virtual London Marathon, with 150,000 school
children expected to race a mini-marathon of 2.6 miles at various
locations over the coming week.

As Brasher put it: “The 40th race is very different, but it’s going to
be remembered forever.”
Cathal Dennehy Contributing Writer Cathal Dennehy is a freelance
writer based in Dublin, Ireland, who covers the sport for multiple
outlets from Irish newspapers to international track websites.
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