Eliud and His Beautiful Gift

"Me and the kids, we are so proud of you. Tomorrow is your day. Your day to inspire the world with your beautiful gift"

- Grace Sugutt, wife of Eliud Kipchoge, one day before the Berlin Marathon

On Sunday morning, I live-streamed the Berlin Marathon to watch Eliud Kipchoge break the world record. The Berlin Marathon stops the stream at the last 5k to make you pay (which is pretty wack, but I digress), so I witnessed the last bit of history in French (at least I think so). Crossing the tape at 2hrs, 1 min, 09 seconds, Kipchoge broke his own previous record by 30 seconds (2:01:09). What people forget is that his previous record broke the previous-previous record by a minute and 18 seconds. Not to sound like a broken record recording its thoughts on records, but Eliud is a class of his own. This is so much so that he broke away from the field around 25km and the 2nd place finisher, Tadu Abate, finished 5 minutes slower (2:06:28). For the last 15km or so, there were no pacesetters, no Andamlak Belihu--just Eliud Kipchoge, a car with a clock at his front, one at his back, and his gift. His gift for running. His unbreakable mental toughness (could you imagine staring at a clock for an hour) and his platform to inspire the world and show that #NoHumanIsLimited .

He inspired this human. Being in four countries in seven weeks, I found myself burnt out, struggling to find purpose/direction in a new city/culture, and having a hard time knowing how to start again. However, on Monday morning, I decided to lace up and went to Karua Forest, a nature preserve a couple km away from my apartment with miles of trails, views, and monkeys ( A couple monkeys and I had a face-off on the trail). I covered about 10km, I walked some bits, and fought off mosquitos (can't have a malaria pt.2) While I ran, I listened to a Comeback Podcast episode with Darren Waller & Kelsey Plum (so good--I've listened to it three times now). I hadn't heard it in a while, but I put on ClearEyeView after the podcast.

ClearEyeView is a playlist on Spotify I created during the pandemic. One of the hardest times of my life, it has songs that I associate with isolation, losing friends, Zoom University, George Floyd's passing, and a 7month struggle to rehab a broken fibula, and I think it--and the forest-- was just what I needed to get out of the funk I was in. I hit this point in the run where I got into a heavily wooded part of the forest and "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) " by Shakira (don't judge me) and I cut loose (listening to "This Time for Africa" while in Africa is exhilarating, let me tell you). My NikeRunClub app glitched, so I had no idea how far or fast I was going--I was just going. I started zigzagging through the trees, pash rushing on tree trunks, flying up and down hills, and yelling "WOOOOOO!!!!" in the middle of the forest loud enough for the monkeys to wonder what was up.

Karua Forest, Kenya

I wrote the first two paragraphs three weeks ago ( I gotta do better, I know), but I think that it has given me a little bit more perspective on Eliud's beautiful gift. Over the past three weeks, I have gotten to spend time in Nairobi and Iten. In meeting with athletes, I see how people think he must be a robot with that kind of discipline. I see how people from all over the world--Sweden, Norway, the US, France, New Zealand-- to train on the same grounds as he does--how he can alter an economy. I also see how a generation of Kenyan athletes look to him for inspiration and a role model of integrity. The life of a runner here in Kenya is so difficult, but while Eliud's watching the clock, we're all watching him. That gift, his passion, is infectious. It makes amateurs buy running shoes and "WOOOOOOO!!!" through the forest, it makes discouraged runners lace up and try one more time, and reminds us to run our race, at our pace, and keep on keeping on.

Athlete, if you need a reminder like I did a couple weeks ago:

Lace up and try one more time. Run your race. At your pace. Keep on keeping on because you never know who in this world you will inspire with your beautiful gift.

#NoHumanIsLimited

-Chi