12/10/2019
ELIUD KIPCHOGE ACHIEVES HIS MOON-LANDING MOMENT
With metronomic precision Eliud Kipchoge raced into history today on the Hauptallee in Vienna by becoming the first man to achieve the barrier-breaking sub-two-hour marathon as part of the INEOS 1:59 Challenge.
The greatest marathon runner of all time Eliud achieved a jaw-dropping time of 1:59:40.2 to secure his moon-landing moment.
He was supported by a world-class team including an electric pace car complete with futuristic lasers and a fabulous team of world-class pacemakers, featuring some of the best athletes in the world.
Dissecting the last great barrier in athletics with remarkable consistency – he completed 24km of the 42.2km distance in precisely the pre-designated pace of 2:50 – his slowest kilometre was 2:52 and his fastest 2:48.
It was a performance which perfectly encapsulated Eliud the man - calm, consistent, patient and totally unflappable.
“This was the best moment of my life,” Eliud explained after the race.
“From the first kilometre today I was really comfortable. In my heart and my mind I hoped to run under two hours and make history. I hoped to leave a positive message to the whole world that no human is limited.”
He admitted to facing the pressure. Calls from the Kenyan President plus tens of thousands of encouraging messages around the world inevitably intensified expectation levels.
Yet following 18 years of hard, consistent training under the tutelage of his coach and mentor, Patrick Sang, the wise management of Valentijn Trouw and the additional support of INEOS he was able to achieve a moment in human history to match that of Sir Roger Bannister’s first sub-four-minute mile in 1954 and Neil Armstrong first moon-landing in 1969.
“I was really calm, I just wanted to maintain the pace,” added Eliud whose wife, Grace and three children; Lynne, Griffin and Gordon were watching him compete for the