Eliud Kipchoge to drop down in distance
The former world record holder will line up for his first non-marathon race since 2016
Photo by:
Giovanni Santori/Flickr
Eliud Kipchoge is unquestionably one of the greatest marathon runners in history. Kipchoge has become the face of marathon running over the past decade, winning more than 75 per cent of his career races, including two Olympic golds and 11 Abbott World Marathon Majors, not to mention holding the marathon world record from 2018 to 2023. Now, he’s announced he’s set to tackle a shorter distance, the 10K.
On Dec. 1, Kipchoge will line up for the Thailand 10K at the 2024 Bangkok Marathon as part of a new partnership bewteen the race and the NN Running Team. This will be Kipchoge’s first non-marathon race since the 2016 Delhi Half Marathon, where he clocked 59 minutes and 44 seconds to win.
Happy 40th birthday to marathon king @EliudKipchoge 👑
📸 @NNRunningTeam pic.twitter.com/IOuyS7nI1R
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) November 5, 2024
Kipchoge, who celebrated his 40th birthday this week, boasts a 10K personal best of 26:54, set at the Madrid 10K in 2006. The last time he raced this distance was in 2014, at the prestigious Giro di Castelbuono in Italy. However, in his recent marathon performances, the second-fastest marathoner in history has shown signs that he is human, finishing 10th at the 2024 Tokyo Marathon (in 2:06:50) and a DNF at the Paris Olympic marathon. Hip pain in Paris reportedly prevented the Kenyan star from claiming a third consecutive Olympic marathon title.
In addition to the Thailand 10K event, Kipchoge will tour southeast Asia with the NN Running Team, aiming to promote distance running in the region. “There is tremendous potential in the Asian running world, and I am happy to start working together with Amazing Thailand to promote running in the Asian region,” Kipchoge said in a press release. “I have always said that I want to make this world a running world, because a running world is a happy world, a running world is a healthy world, and a running world is a peaceful world.”
Kipchoge has also confirmed he isn’t finished with the marathon quite yet. In an October interview with Runners World, he reiterated his aspiration to complete all seven Abbott World Marathon Majors before retiring. To date, he has run five, with only New York and the newly added Sydney Marathon remaining on his bucket list.
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