11 Brilliant Pieces of Running Advice From the World’s Greatest Marathoner

It starts with you

Photo by Peter Okwara on Unsplash

Who am I to give running advice?

Nobody compared to Eliud Kipchoge, the greatest marathoner of all time.

Yes, I have previously doled out running advice based on my 20+ years of running, but it’s different this time. In this article I’m channeling the world’s most celebrated runner as a source of wisdom on how to improve your running.

So here are 11 pieces of timeless advice you can turn to whenever you need a boost of inspiration on your running journey.

1. Whose Success Can You Emulate

I started running because my neighbour, Patrick Sang, was an athlete and I wanted to be just like him. Patrick came from the same village as I do and my mother used to be his teacher. I was so inspired by his success.

How you can apply it

If there is one thing successful people have in common, it's that they have someone to look up to. And the same can work for you too.

It need not be someone famous, even someone in your everyday life can inspire you. The only rule that applies here is that you have to admire this person, strive to become like them and value them for what they are and what they achieved.

When you find such a person, you’ll be much closer to achieving your running goals.

2. It All Starts in Your Mind

If you have that belief — pure belief in your heart — that you want to be successful then you can talk to your mind and your mind will control you to be successful.

One of the main ideas behind Kipchoge’s running philosophy is that sports are more mental than physical. Once you win the battle in your mind, the physical will fall into place.

Developing a positive mindset will yield real, tangible improvements in your running, and Kipchoge is proof. He credits his positivity with leading the way to his success.

How you can apply it

It’s a fact that most athletes fatigue mentally way before they fatigue physically. This is because their minds are not in as good a shape as their bodies.

The mind-body connection is a very powerful one, and for everything you think in your mind, your body has a reaction, regardless of whether it is real or imagined.

As a runner, you need to be aware of how your attitude contributes to your success. If you approach your running with a sense of it being an obligation; a must do rather than a choice, you are more likely to drop off. But if you see it as a chance to care for both your mental and physical health, then you can achieve your goals.

3. Take Charge of Your Emotions

Only the disciplined ones are free in life. If you aren’t disciplined, you are a slave to your moods. You are a slave to your passions. That’s a fact.

Kipchoge is renowned for his work ethic. This is his routine during training season:

He works out from Monday to Saturday.
Bedtime at 9pm and up by 5am.
Takes a one hour nap daily.
Gets two massages a week from his physiotherapist.
He drinks 3 litres of water every day and doesn’t take any supplements.

His diet is simple, consisting mainly of homemade bread, local fruits and vegetables, lots of Kenyan tea, some meat, and a generous daily helping of his favorite food — ugali, a dense maize-flour porridge.

How you can apply it

You won’t always feel like running. A bad mood, crappy weather, low energy and boredom can come between you and your endorphins. While all of us have off days, it is not an excuse not to run. By staying disciplined, you can escape your own forms of self-sabotage.

Discipline will help you develop consistency.

4. Consistency Is the Key

I’m confident to say that if you want to grow in a profession, consistency is the key… I’m strict about my work goals and training.

Kipchoge runs between 5,900 and 6,200 miles (9,500 to 10,000 kilometers) per year. His breaks come during the three weeks after a major race, time he uses to recover at home.

After the break he begins a three-to-four-week preparatory phase, during which he alternates an hour of strength exercises and step aerobics one day with an hour of easy running the next.

How you can apply it

I’m not saying you need to run as long as Kipchoge does, but you need to develop an ambitious yet realistic schedule. Aim for at least three running days a week.

Find a time that works best for you. This will help you remain consistent and stick to your running program.

Ensure you increase your weekly mileage as your strength improves.

Don’t be too hard on yourself though- even with the best intentions, life will happen and you will miss some runs.

5. It Is Important To Plan

The prepared and planned person will take the day, and I think I was the best prepared and planned one.

Kipchoge credits his success to planning and preparation. Being prepared gives him peace of mind. He is able to endure serious physical pain because he knows he has prepared in advance. He has already hit the target during the training season.

How you can apply it

A successful running habit has many moving parts. It includes setting annual, monthly, and weekly goals. It requires you to plan your pre and post run snacks, to plan your running gear, charge your smart watch and hydrate properly throughout the day.

While you can get up and go for a run on the spur of the moment, this approach doesn’t lead to consistency.

A plan will help take the guesswork out of your routine. It will come in handy when the little voice is urging you to chill on the couch.

As a wise person once said, failing to plan is planning to fail.

6. We Will Break the 1:59:40.2 Record

Others will absolutely be able to break 2:00, too, as long as they believe in themselves.

On May 6th 1954, Roger Bannister, a 25-year-old medical student from Oxford England, cracked the track and field’s most notorious barrier: the four-minute mile. He won with a time of 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds.

Gunder Hagg of Sweden had set the previous record of 4 minutes and 1.3 seconds in 1945.

For years, so many athletes had tried and failed to run a mile in less than four minutes that people made it out to be a physical impossibility.

His world record in the mile did not stand long, and the record continued to be lowered with increasingly controlled climatic and surface conditions, more accurate timing devices, and improvements in training and running techniques.

How you can apply it

I am talking about your personal record, not a sub- 2-hour marathon. Unless, of course, you are an elite runner.

Running is 90% mental, the rest is physical. Once you learn how to sharpen your mind, the rest will follow. There are many things you can do to harness your mental power and improve your running.

These include, but are not limited to:

Visualisation: Learn to hold an image of yourself completing your runs, in time and with energy to spare.
Self-talk: The running commentary that accompanies you throughout the day. This voice can either make or break your habit. However, with patience and practice, you can teach it to be in your favor and not against you.
Reflection: Take time after a race to review how things went. When did you start to tire? How did you feel when someone overtook you? What were your energy levels like at the end of the race?

Mental skills are simply one of those pieces to the competition puzzle. Like physical and technical skills, they need to be taught correctly, fine tuned and then practiced regularly.

7. You’re Your Biggest Competitor

I always treat myself as my biggest competitor.

Kipchoge enjoys setting the world record, but the most important thing to him is that he continues to improve on his past success.

How you can apply it

There is nothing wrong with admiring others, or allowing someone else to inspire us, but don’t fall into the trap of comparing to them.

Because there will always be someone better or worse than you are. Each time you compare yourself to others, you’re either looking up or down. It is an ever moving goal.

The best thing to do is to race against a previous version of yourself. Look within yourself for motivation and discipline.

8. There Are Multiple Benefits to Running

A run {in the morning} is like eating a fruit a day — it chases the doctor away. It is good for your mind.

To Kipchoge, running is more than a workout, it is his life. It is through running that he has managed to live a life free of disease and ailment. Running has allowed him to travel the world, enjoy a good lifestyle and to inspire others.

Running is a lifestyle he is not willing to part ways with.

How you can apply it

Running isn't much fun at the start. It hurts; both physically and mentally. Suddenly, your legs will seem to weigh a ton, the sweat will sting your eyes and your mind will convince you that this is an epic waste of your time.

But once your body learns how to do it well, running can be relaxing, meditative, invigorating and, yes, fun.

And let’s not forget about the social benefits of running. Group runs will connect you with like-minded individuals, open your city and the world to you, and provide a boost when you want to quit.

9.Learn To Keep a Journal of Your Life

I have kept a training diary to record my plans and my feelings and emotions for a long time.

Kipchoge’s journaling habit is a testament to his belief about the power of the mind. Journaling helps him to stay present at every moment; makes him aware of what he is doing and what has happened.

The power to control his thoughts helps him push through the physical exertion inherent in marathon training. This strength allows him to stay calm and smile at the finish line.

Kipchoge records all his training sessions in a journal. He has 15 journals so far, one for each year he has been on the racetrack.

He says that you can only remember what you write down. He does this not only on his athletic sessions but also on reading books on success and productivity.

How you can apply it

It need not be lengthy, organised or eligible. You need not show it to anyone or to read what you have written. The point is to get the thoughts out of your mind and onto the paper.

When you do that, your working memory improves, since your brain is freed from the enormously taxing job of processing experiences.

Journaling is one of those rare and valuable mental health tools that doesn’t require you to leave your house or even see another human being.

10. Learn to Find Pleasure In Whatever You Do

In any profession, you should think positively. That’s the driver of your mind. If your mind is really thinking positive then you are on the right track. Pleasure in what you’re doing puts perfection in your work.

To Kipchoge, running is not a chore. It’s not boring; he always wakes up motivated and ready to hit the road. He learned to find joy in his training, which has helped him run for close to two decades.

How you can apply it

I’ve got news for you; no one is coming to rescue you. If you spend days lamenting your lot in life, it is your loss. Yes, it might not be where you want to be, but it is where you are now.

Rather than gritting your way through life; train yourself to take action towards what you want. Find ways to improve, accept, or leave your situation.Develop a bias for action; not passive acceptance of situations.

Remember how you do one thing is how you do everything. So if you find yourself complaining, chances are that is the attitude you carry throughout life.

11. There Is Power in Teamwork

You cannot train alone and expect to run a fast time. There is a formula: 100% of me is nothing compared to 1% of the whole team.

If you’ve ever watched footage of Kipchoge training, you’ll notice that he is never alone. He spends his training season each year on a compound with dozens of other elite runners, all helping each other to succeed. Even the best runner in the world knows that he can still learn from his teammates.

How you can apply it

The joys and simplicity of a solo run. You get dressed, find a place to stash your keys and head out the door. Alone. At your own pace. Alive to the present moment.

Few things can match up to the wonder of it.

But this coin has two sides. On the flip side are the multiple benefits to be gained from running with a group.

It can be a great way to improve your training. You’ll have the chance to learn from more experienced runners, and you are sure to find the motivation to increase your speed.

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11 Pieces of Running Advice From the World’s Greatest Marathoner