The GOAT is back: Eliud Kipchoge to run the 2025 London Marathon
If, for whatever reason, you haven’t done so already, mark Sunday 27 April as brightly and boldly as you can in your 2025 diary. The date, in 100 days’ time, will see the best elite marathon runners of the moment – from big-name Brits to reigning Olympic champions – saturate the streets of the English capital for the 45th London Marathon.
And the icing on the cake? Eliud Kipchoge will be one of them.
In fact, it’ll be the first time that the long-distance running legend has raced the London Marathon since 2020 – so get your popcorn at the ready.
Rising, receding and resurfacing
Eliud Kipchoge is...Well, he needs no introduction, really.
Essentially marathon royalty, Kipchoge is the most decorated marathon runner in history. Since breaking the tape at his debut marathon in Hamburg, Germany, in 2013, the Kenyan has gone on to cement his dominance over 26.2 miles, becoming a two-time Olympic marathon champion and unprecedented 11-time winner of Abbott World Marathon Majors races.
This unmatched collection of 11 victories includes a win in Chicago, a win in Tokyo, five wins in Berlin – including two world records in 2018 and 2022 – and four wins in London. No elite man has won the Berlin Marathon or London Marathon more times than Kipchoge, whose ratified marathon PB of 2:01:09 makes him the second-fastest person of all time over the distance, behind only the late Kelvin Kiptum.
And let’s not forget the extraordinary experiment that was the INEOS 1:59 Challenge of 2019, where – in lab-like outdoor conditions – Kipchoge became the first-ever person to break the two-hour barrier for the marathon. As it stands, he is still the only person to have achieved this, too.
Kipchoge’s professional running CV is overpopulated with immense achievements. He has worked his way up to his position as the GOAT – the Greatest Of All Time – and deserves to hold this title. However, he has not been completely immune to disappointing performances.
Despite being seemingly unassailable for so long, Kipchoge placed fifth at the elite-only London Marathon in 2020 due to difficulties with an ear infection. In 2023, he finished a surprising sixth at his inaugural attempt at the Boston Marathon, then 10th at the Tokyo Marathon in 2024. That summer, at the Olympic Games in Paris, he then pulled out of the elite men’s marathon close to the 31km mark, clearly struggling with his hip. This was the first DNF of Kipchoge’s lengthy running career.
‘It was not my day,’ said Kipchoge, reflecting on his incomplete race in the French capital. ‘What I learnt from this is that running isn’t a straight path all the time. Sometimes you hit a bump. It’s like driving a car – if you miss something, you can get a puncture. That’s what happened to me in Paris. It was a big challenge and it was demoralising. But after all, it’s sport. You need to wake up, go again and push on every day. It’s life.’
The allure of London
Famously philosophical in his approach to running and to life – and to running as life – Kipchoge is almost ethereal in the way that he tackles training, racing and existing. And yet, while it may be easy to assume that he takes a relaxed approach to the marathon, Kipchoge is, still, an athlete – and a competitive fire still burns within.
Indeed, he believes that both his training and his mindset are as strong and productive going into the 2025 London Marathon as they were when he raced (and won) in London for the first time in 2015.
‘I still think that I can compete,’ asserted 40-year-old Kipchoge, who feels ready to give London his all after a period of rest post-Paris. ‘I’m training in a good way. I can race with the youngest people and it’s a huge inspiration to see people half my age running with me and training hard.
‘I know that I can handle every kilometre of a marathon in a good way – in a happy way,’ he added. ‘Success in marathon running, to me, is mastering the road and the distance and finishing the race.’
While whispers of Kipchoge’s retirement are on many people’s lips, they don’t appear to be on his just yet. In his own words, ‘I will retire when the world becomes a running world’ – and in the meantime, he will continue to love running and thrive upon the uplifting atmosphere and community of London.
‘The London Marathon is a race that holds a very special place in my heart, filled with so many beautiful memories – and I am eager to create even more this year,’ he said. ‘Let us celebrate the joy of running and the collective spirit of thousands of runners coming together at the start line. It’s a privilege to share this journey with everyone else who will be taking part as we push ourselves to deliver our best performances.
‘I am an African – and in Africa, we say that you are chasing one rabbit at a time,’ continued Kipchoge, again deflecting the notion that London could be his last dance. ‘This one rabbit that I am chasing now is the London Marathon. I’m giving it all my heart, all my mind and all my energy.’
He smiled. ‘After that, I will make a new announcement.’
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