Fastest Marathon Runner of All Time, Eluid Kipchoge, Gives His Best Tips for Mindset Success
MH sat down with the GOAT of marathon running, the record defying Eluid Kipchoge, to talk all things mindset, acceptance, performance, and why he never goes above 80% effort in his training.
MH: Your mental toughness and psychological flexibility are well-known, yet you don’t take a typical chest-beating, 'just toughen up!' approach to maintaining your mental game. What would be your number one practical tip for someone who struggles to push their body when their mind is telling them to stop?
Eluid Kipchoge: You know, I always say your mind is king. If you are able to control your mind, then you will be able to control your body. So mind and the body are going hand in hand. You should try to convince your mind – let us try to push.
Sometimes, I wake up in the morning and feel like my mind doesn’t want to go to training. It’s cold and raining, you know. But I tell myself, ‘If I don’t go, what will happen?’ Life must go on. So, I just press on. Life is about trying to actually press on every day. Life is about challenging your mind. You need to challenge your mind when you're at your toughest moments.
MH: You've been called the Philosopher King of Running, and we find your thoughts on acceptance very profound. What would you say to someone struggling to make peace with a disappointing performance in a race or a big run they're not satisfied with?
EK: You know, running is like life. Life is full of challenges. It’s the same in running. There are a lot of challenges – training, feeling tired, injury – you know, not hitting the targets in training, not hitting the targets in racing. But all in all, it's not the end of anything.
Consistency is the key. If you miss today, you wake up tomorrow. If you have a rest this month and or do not hit the goal you set, don't fall down. Wake up, move on every day and next month you will achieve it. It’s those small things that will become a big thing. It's about pressing on every day. If you do not achieve a goal, collect yourself, begin training again, set another goal, or set the same goal and persist and you will achieve it.
MH: You've mentioned that you rarely push past 80 or 90% in most of your training. How important do you think "stopping short" is for long-term success, both physically and mentally?
EK: Not going beyond 80% is about enjoying runs and not putting all the effort in every day, which can make my muscles and my body tired. The only time I can push to 100% is race day. Being on 80% is the only way you can spare the energy both mentally and physically, and save that energy for the future. And you know, when you run under 80% in a comfortable way, it will be easy for you to transfer that to 100% at the right time.
Kipchoge is a global ambassador for leading electronics brand Shokz.
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