Is This Running Sensation the Next Eliud Kipchoge?

This article originally appeared on Outside

Comparing athletes from different eras will always provoke debate, but few would argue that Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge is the greatest marathoner of all time.

Since he marked his debut in Hamburg ten years ago, Kipchoge has twice been crowned Olympic champion, twice beaten the world record--lowering it to its current 2:01:09--and won 17 of 19 marathon competitions. Let's not forget he also ran a 1:59:41 for the marathon distance (albeit on a non-ratified, pancake flat course in a Vienna park with a rotating cast of 41 wind-breaking pacemakers).

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One of his losses came at this year's Boston marathon, leading some to wonder if retirement is imminent following the Paris Olympics. After all, he will be 39 years old. But then, defying his critics, he won the Berlin Marathon for a record fifth time September 24 (in 2:02:42) improving the odds he will capture that third consecutive Olympic title in the French capital. The logical question though is who can fill his shoes once his competitive juices are satiated?

On December 3, we might well get an answer as Joshua Cheptegei treads uncharted territory with his marathon debut at Spain's Valencia Marathon.

In the Business of Breaking Records

Like Kipchoge, the Ugandan star is of the famed Kalenjjn tribe and made his name first on the track. While the Kenyan won just one major title wearing spikes, the 2003 World Championship 5,000m, Cheptegei easily collected his third consecutive world championship 10,000m gold medal August 20th in Budapest. Two years earlier he grabbed Olympic silver at the same distance. The Olympic 5,000m and the 2019 World Cross Country gold medals also hang on his wall at home in Kapchorwa in Eastern Uganda.

But Cheptegei also found time to break both the world 5,000m (12:35.36) and 10,000m (26:11.00) records in 2020, something Kipchoge never accomplished. The latter standard was set in Valencia a year after he first visited the city and broke the world record for 10K on the roads (26:38). Valencia has been good to him.

"For me the plan is to fully focus on the marathon after the 2024 Olympics," says the 27-year-old. "I want to focus on Valencia and see what I can do there for my first marathon and then come back, recover, and have a great track season. The target I am aiming at is winning the Paris Olympics 10,000m. I got the silver in Tokyo so I need to upgrade and win a gold because the 10K is a very special distance for me and actually it is my favorite distance."

Another candidate who could be next in line after Kipchoge is 23-year-old Kenyan wunderkind Kelvin Kiptum, who, unlike Cheptegei, doesn't have an extensive background on the track. Kiptum, who is running the Chicago Marathon on October 8, emerged on the scene when he ran a pair of sub-60-minute half marathons as a 19-year-old in 2019. Then last December, he won the Valencia Marathon in his debut at the distance in 2:01:53, and then followed it up by winning the London Marathon in April in 2:01:25--the second-fastest time behind Kipchoge's world record.

"I Am Really Living a Dream Now"

Cheptegei grew up in the Kapchorwa district as one of nine children. Education was a priority in his family despite the surrounding poverty. Both his parents are teachers and encouraged him to study. He would eventually spend a year studying English literature at Bugema Adventist University.

Like most of the boys at his primary school, he played soccer. But he was captivated by the exploits of Kenenisa Bekele, the Ethiopian superstar who won successive Olympic 10,000m golds in Athens and Beijing. It was Bekele's world 5000m/10000m records which Cheptegei went on to beat. Ironically, Bekele who is the third-fastest marathoner of all time (2:01:41), will also line up in Valencia this year.

"I was in primary school when Kenenisa was winning the 2004 Olympics. Also I was just beginning high school when Kenenisa was winning the Olympic Games in 2008," Cheptegei recalls with affection. "At that time I was very passionate about the sport and I said to myself 'I want to be like him when I grow up.' I am really living a dream now."

Later, the victory of his countryman, Stephen Kiprotich in the 2012 Olympic marathon, added fuel to his desire to become one of the world’s best runners. They are from the same area in Kapchorwa district. In the absence of domestic facilities Kiprotich had also trained in Kaptagat. "Stephen's performance is still very fresh in my mind. It was a great time in my country when he won," Cheptegei says. "But everyone thought he was a Kenyan. That gold medal was more special because people were not expecting it, and it came on the last day of the Olympic Games. Now the dream was getting closer because one of our countrymen had done it at the Olympic level. The dream was becoming more alive."

New Territory

The dream of marathon success, like Kiprotich and Bekele, has fueled his willingness to sacrifice further. Among his training group are several experienced marathoners including Stephen Kissa, the Ugandan national record holder (2:04:48) and Victor Kiplangat, winner of the 2023 World Championships. They will undoubtedly provide valuable insight as he transitions into marathoning.

"It's going to be new territory. I want to discover and enjoy it," Cheptegei says. "I want to see the pain they always speak about and I want to learn the marathon and be able to become the best marathoner in the future."

Kapchorwa is at 8,200 feet, and the camp where he trains sits on a six-acre property Cheptegei purchased with his earnings from running. It's a joint initiative with Global Sports Communications, the management company which represents him and also Kipchoge and Bekele, and was also designed by his wife Carol, a civil engineer. When her father died she took over the family engineering firm 'Afro Construction 2000 Ltd.'

There is a dormitory sleeping two to three athletes to a room, a kitchen, a fully equipped gym, as well as a 400-meter dirt track. The rainy season can cause havoc as it did in June when the curve was washed out and Cheptegei turned his left foot while training on it. The lingering effects demanded caution and, once he had secured his third world 10,000m title, he scratched from the 5,000m and went home.

Training for the Top

Each Monday afternoon he bids Carol and their three children Jethan 6, Jemima 4, and Janaya, 1, goodbye and leaves the two-story home which she also designed, bound for camp five miles (eight kilometers) away. There he will remain until Saturday afternoon.

"Sometimes it's hard because I want to be with them but then, at the same time, you have to balance things whereby the family is ok and the dreams and your career are ok," he explains. "We try to strike a balance where we normally support each other in terms of what we want to achieve as a family. They always ask 'Why are you going?' and 'Why are you not sleeping at home?' Sometimes you explain to them. They also see on TV what I do. I sent them a video of what I was doing at the championships in Budapest. Then they have an idea of what really goes on."

The group will run upwards of 80 miles (130 kilometers) each week in the hills around Mount Elgon. Typically, before each hard session, Victor Kiplangat will lead the group in prayer. He is also an assistant pastor at a nearby church. Faster tempo sessions are completed twice every three weeks at a lower elevation where the roads are flat. Until now his longest run has been 22 miles, but in preparation for the Valencia Marathon, he expects to run the full marathon distance in training.

The setup is similar to that in which Kipchoge trains in Kaptagat, Kenya. Years ago, after Cheptegei announced himself by winning the 2014 world under 20 championships 10,000m in Eugene, Oregon, he took his managers' suggestion to move to Kaptagat, to experience training with Kipchoge.

"It was an incredible opportunity but at that time we didn't have proper facilities or mentors in Uganda," Cheptegei says. "There was not a big organized group for training. I had to go to Kenya. I stayed there for three months and then said to my managers, 'This is not working for me. I need to go back home.' And also I wanted to be able to inspire the young children that you can achieve success where you are and try to do the dream in a home environment."

"He Can Run a Sub-Two-Hour Marathon"

Cheptegei is under no false illusions that moving up to the marathon will be easy. One encouraging factor is that he also ran a superb 59:21 while finishing 4th in the 2020 World Half Marathon Championships, without specific training. (That's four seconds faster than Kipchoge's personal best.)

"Joshua will be the next Eliud Kipchoge," says Jos Hermens, of Global Sports Communications. "He can run a sub-two-hour marathon."

Canadian distance runner Moh Ahmed of the Bowerman Track Club, who finished second to Cheptegei in the Tokyo Olympics 5,000m, agrees. “He has the opportunity to have a great marathon career," Ahmed opines. "He's quicker at 5K and 10K than Kipchoge. He has won more on the track than Kipchoge as well. Why shouldn't he spark that sort of comparison or expectations?"

Cheptegei's coach, Addy Ruiter, has a more cautious approach. He sees the move to the marathon as a motivator. "I will not say directly Joshua will break world records because, with the marathon, first you have to do it before you know the talent is also there for the marathon," he says. "But I know Joshua is an exceptional talent. "After 2020, his motivation was a little less than in the years before. So I offered the [marathon] plan in March. He's getting older and injuries are coming more. Running 10,000m on the track is very hard on the body."

A National Hero

Kipchoge's shoes will be hard to fill but Cheptegei was inspired by his time spent with him in Kenya. They have had a few encounters since. Kipchoge even sent a congratulatory note to the young Ugandan after watching his Budapest victory. Cheptegei is acutely aware that expectations placed upon him are enormous.

"I believe with time everything will fall in place," he says. "We have learned from Eliud. My dream is to become the best of the best and also achieve success in the marathon. For me, whether it's a world record or a personal best or a national record, that would be an honor."

Cheptegei's achievements have made him a national hero and many plaudits have been bestowed upon him. He has been promoted to Assistant Superintendent of the Uganda Police Force, although he retains total freedom to continue his athletics career. Come December, there will be much attention focused on his marathon debut and how it compares to those who came before him like Haile Gebrselassie, Kenenisa Bekele and Kipchoge.

"All these guys are living legends," he says. "Their stories inspire all of us. I want my name to be among the greatest athletes who have ever lived. I may not be Eliud Kipchoge, but I will always be Joshua Cheptegei."

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