On Sunday, 25 September 2022, Eliud Kipchoge ran a new world record during the Berlin Marathon. A historical performance! Eliud is a member of the NN Running Team and we invited him to our head office in The Hague. NN employees lined up to welcome Eliud and congratulate him personally. In addition to an autograph and a photo, there was time for some questions to the men’s marathon world record holder with a stunning time of 2:01:09.
First of all: what an amazing achievement. How are you doing after running the Berlin Marathon last Sunday?
‘Thank you very much. I'm happy to be here at NN headquarters. Happy to sit here, especially to celebrate together after the world record in Berlin. My recovery is going well, I can walk around now in The Hague, I can still run. I can say that my muscle soreness is no longer there, and my mind is also on the right side.’
What would be your most important advice to others to be successful and deal with challenges we face?
‘First and foremost, to have the right systems working. What I mean by the right systems is that I have my teammates, I have the management, I have the coaching, I have the doctors, I have the physios, I have the sponsors. It’s teamwork and all of them are the systems which can lead to success. Actually, I am a good embracer of change. I love change. And I trust that the moment we change, anything comes at us and we change for it. That’s the only way to move on. So I encourage people to change. I change, every now and then, the sort of training. We are actually getting more knowledge not only from running but also from cycling teams.’
What role does food and nutrition play in your life?
‘Nutrition is key number as far as what I am doing is concerned. I follow nutrition that is part of science. Technology also, with the shoes, the apparel and the watches. Another thing is knowing what is going on in your body. I now monitor my glucose level, and see whether my glucose is low, middle or high. So I am able to change what I eat and actually select the right food to give me energy to move.’
You said before you love change. You are already the fastest. How do you keep motivated to keep on improving?
‘My motivation actually comes from the inspiration that I am instilling to the general public. The general human family in the world. That I am receiving the positive vibes, that I am impacting their lives. People are changing their lives because of the way I am running. Because of my performance, because of my longevity in running. People are changing and that’s my happiness. That’s actually what motivates me. That’s what is pushing me out of bed in the morning.’
The changes you made obviously paid off but you never know in advance. So how do you deal with that uncertainty?
‘Uncertainties are there, and any uncertainty you have to swallow it, and move on and find a solution. I always say that there are two types of human beings in this world. The ones that give solutions, and the ones that create problems. So with every uncertainty, I choose to be the one that gives the solutions and move on.’
