No Human is Limited

Eliud Kipchoge has once again proven his mantra of “No Human is Limited” and set the running world alight by breaking his own world record, set four years ago at the 2018 Berlin Marathon. The new best time of 2:01:09 is a full thirty seconds faster than his previous record. Eliud, a 37-year old from Kaptagat (Kenya) is a truly remarkable human and over the course of his career, he has been a driving force behind elite marathon running. His coach Patrick Sang, a former Olympic medallist in steeplechase (2001), described Eliud in the following way;

“I think we can all learn from him, the way he lives his life and the values he holds. Eliud believes in discipline, in patience, in humility – he fundamentally believes that however much you earn, whatever you have achieved, you must remain humble and that is certainly not easy. I have seen athletes who have had some success in their careers and who have been influenced in a negative way by the money they have earned as a product of that success. But not Eliud. Eliud hasn’t changed. He also possesses an unwavering belief in himself unlike anyone I have ever met and he wants all of us to believe in ourselves in exactly the same way, no matter what we do or what goals we have set. He says No Human is Limited and he truly believes that.” – Patrick Sang¹

In 2019, in Vienna (Austria), Eliud became the first person to break the two-hour marathon barrier with a time of 1:59:40 as part of the INEOS 1:59 project². This was a milestone considered almost humanly impossible. Although not counting as an official record, due to not being an officially sanctioned race and the use of pacemakers that rotated in and out during the run, the achievement is still staggering.

Associate Professor Andrew Bosch, an expert in the field of running (UCT HPALS Research centre/SSISA)³, and co-chair of the Sub2hr Marathon Project⁴, had the following to say about Eliud’s latest achievement; “We see in the physiology of Kipchoge a perfect balance of characteristics of high VO₂ max, excellent running economy, and high lactate turn point; however, other elite runners share similar physiological characteristics. Scientifically, we still need to understand what makes Kipchoge stand out. One factor might be remarkable fatigue resistance and another, his mental strength and self-belief. These elements of performance need more study”. Another factor seems to be Kipchoge’s ability to increase his speed in the closing stages of a marathon to just under his critical speed (maximal sustainable speed), whilst other runners cannot. This is something that Associate Professor Andrew Bosch spoke to in a recent HPALS research centre seminar, suggesting, although speculative, that this may be one factor that differentiates Kipchoge from the rest (keep an eye out for a coming post on critical speed).

Picture (left): Kipchoge shattered his own world record on Sunday (25 September 2022), with a time of 2:01:09 to win the Berlin marathon. Picture (right): Associate Professor Andrew Bosch, an expert in the field of running (UCT HPALS Research centre/SSISA)

How can one man, constantly achieve such a high level of greatness, and profoundly alter the marathon running world? The combination of his refined training program, immense mental capacity to push beyond what is thought possible, and his inherent physiological capabilities is a truly remarkable combination. Although the science behind Eliud’s success and his impressive capabilities can be explored and even studied at depth, perhaps it is fitting to acknowledge that sometimes, you get a once in a lifetime human.

Read more about the SSISA GRIT Team here. To read more about the Health through Physical Activity, Lifestyle and Research Centre, Division of Physiological Sciences at the University of Cape Town, please see the HPALS website or email Ayesha Hendricks for more information about applications, research and consultations.

To get in touch with the Sports Science Institute of South Africa GRIT Research Consultants, get in touch with Warren Lucas at research@ssisa.com or call 021 650 5728 for enquiries.

Yours in Sports Science,

Sports Science Institute of South Africa

References:

1. https://www.ineos159challenge.com/news/patrick-sang-on-eliud-kipchoge/
2. https://www.ineos159challenge.com/history-made/
3. http://www.hpals.uct.ac.za/associate-professor-andrew-bosch-0/
4. https://www.sub2hrs.com/