JOHANNESBURG – Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge won’t commit to chasing a world record in the London Marathon in April, but he is confident it will still be a race to remember.
Goals, or as Kipchoge puts it - rabbits - are never-ending in his pursuit of greatness.
“I always say, I'm chasing one rabbit at a time. And the rabbit I'm chasing, as we are sitting here now, is the London Marathon. So, after London Marathon, I will tell you about the next rabbit,” the 35-year-old told the website sportstar.thehindu.com.
Asked directly if his current world record (2:01:39) is under threat, Kipchoge said: “Not at all but you can expect a good race, a fruitful race and a race which will get the fans up.”
Kipchoge is also the first man to break two hours for the marathon when he ran 1:59:40 in contrived conditions in October last year, which included the Nike AlphaFly Shoes which has prompted World Athletics to bring in new regulations for footwear.
“I think the shoes are good, the shoes I used were extremely cool. Anyway, you can check with Nike. But I think they are good.”
While for the vast majority of the population, running long distances can be a gruelling endeavour - Kipchoge said it was liberating.
“They say running is the only place where you can get freedom. So, when you see me smiling, you know that I'm free in this world. I'm really exercising this freedom when I'm running.”