SELF-BELIEF is what drives Eliud Kipchoge.
The greatest marathon runner of all time says that’s where his inner strength comes from.
His answer lies in the power of the mind.
“If you have that belief that you want to be successful, then you can talk to your mind and your mind will control you to be successful,” he said.
“My mind is always free. My mind is flexible. I want to show the world that you can go beyond your thoughts, you can break more than you think you can break.”
Success in the world of marathon running is a lucrative business.
But money is not the motivation.
For nearly 300 days a year he lives and trains away from his wife and three children at a simple training camp in Kaptagat, a tiny village in the Kenyan highlands.
He is known as the “boss man” by his training partners but that doesn’t stop him cleaning the toilets or doing his share of the daily chores.
“I enjoy the simplistic training and life in marathon,” he says. “You run, eat, sleep, walk around - that’s how life is. You don’t get complicated. The moment you get complicated it distracts your mind.”
Eliud, who was 16 when he began his journey to becoming the greatest marathon runner of all time, hopes to concentrate on inspiring others after he retires.
“My dream is to make this world a running world,” he said. “A running world is a healthy world. A running world is a wealthy world. A running world is a peaceful world. A running world is a joyful world.”