5 reasons to love Eliud Kipchoge’s GQ fashion spread

There's way more to the marathon world record holder than meets the eye

Madeleine Kelly March 30, 2020

GQ Magazine put out an editorial on Monday morning that shows a new side of Eliud Kipchoge, the marathon world record holder. The monk-like 1:59 marathoner was a natural in front of the camera in the magazine’s fashion spread, which doubled as a story about his lifestyle, an impending face-off against Kenenisa Bekele and what will likely be the last few competitive marathons of his career.

Kipchoge’s story is one that many runners are familiar with, but the GQ article reveals some very interesting, lesser-known nuggets about the runner. First, he reads business books in his spare time, second, he takes an off-day every week, and third, he’s a natural-born model who knows how to smize. Here are five reasons to absolutely love this spread

The hands

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-XCHevl3Fu/

Kipchoge isn’t running in the GQ photos. He’s posing, and not just casually posing, but model posing. This photo in particular is a favourite. We hope it was his idea to include the face framing, because it’s amazing.

A lot of the jewellery is his own

Kipchoge’s got style. While he was dressed in clothing designed by some of the world’s best, lots of the jewellery in the photos is from his personal collection.

Also, we’re hoping the very cool sunglasses become a staple in Kipchoge’s accessory lineup.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-W3RsNF5ts/

He knows how to ‘smize’

The smize, a term made famous by Tyra Banks, means smiling with your eyes. It’s a skill she would take weeks to hone with models on her show American’s Next Top Model, but Kipchoge seems to be a natural.

Training in Kenya with the man who broke the 2-hour marathon barrier https://t.co/vStEb0CwTT pic.twitter.com/qul5URtQsj

— GQ Magazine (@GQMagazine) March 30, 2020

Everything about this is unexpected

Kipchoge isn’t one for many words and lives a very quiet life, devoted to becoming the best runner he can be. It turns out that the man of few words is a man of many poses (and very comfortable in front of a camera). While a fashion spread for a man who primarily wears Nike workout gear seems unexpected, Kipchoge appears to thrive in this environment.

His look is very ‘work from home’ appropriate

Are you currently working from home and looking to spice up your athleisure look? Kipchoge provides some great inspiration. A Nike track suit, plus a long trench coat, equals a fabulous outfit.

The Olympic dream is still alive

On Monday morning the IOC announced the new date for the Olympic Games. The event will run exactly one year later than intended, starting on July 23, 2021. It will still be called the 2020 Games. It was Kipchoge’s goal to run in this year’s Olympics, but he’s fine to wait another 12 months. He said on Instagram on Saturday: “In life we adapt to the challenges that face us. My Olympic goal? It is still intact.”