Meticulous training regime for world record holders Kipchoge, Kipyegon revealed
By Joel Sang, October 8, 2023A meticulous training programme for world record holders, including Eliud Kipchoge and Faith Kipyegon, has been revealed.
Kiochige and Kipyegon have been dominating headlines in the world of athletics this year because of their impressive runs, and now how they train regularly at their base in Kaptagat in Elgeiyo-Marakwet County has been revealed.
Starting time
The athletes start their programme at 6:00 a.m., get dressed, take some sips of water, and go to the toilet, as narrated by World Athletics. The routine is that the athletes do not eat first because it has been determined that there are benefits to running fasted, the most prominent being training your body to get better accustomed to taking energy from your body’s fat reserves.
The programme is always overseen by head coach Patrick Sang, who has assigned the ‘Boston loop’ – an undulating route with far more elevation than its namesake marathon, eventually finishing high on the escarpment a few hundred metres higher than the 2200m starting elevation at Kaptagat.
Apart from Kipchoge and Kipyegon, three-time world cross-country champion Geoffrey Kamworor, fellow 2:04 marathon-man Kaan Kigen Ozbilen, and Kipchoge are among the athletes under Sang.
The coach, who follows the runners inside a pickup, always has meticulous instructions for the athletes. Sang does not prescribe paces, simply asking that his athletes set an honest pace, go on how they feel, and try, if possible, to pick up the pace towards the end of their run.
From the off, the going is uphill, and within 10 km, the group is receiving the first of their carbohydrate drinks being passed from the pickup truck following them.
After 15 km, the group hits the first of the tarmac roads of the C51, and the pace then starts to rise, slowly and subtly. As they do, they gradually catch the groups ahead of them.
Kipyegon’s routine
Kipyegon herself is nearing the end of her run, gradually progressing throughout the 30km but not pushing herself to the point of depletion.
She stops and jogs slowly for a few hundred meters before jumping in the van.
A long line of runners scattered along the road has yielded a few isolated pockets completing the full distance, and the leading group has whittled down to four.
Kipchoge, Ozbilen, Laban Korir, and Hillary Kipchirchir run four abreast, completing these last kilometres in a few seconds within 15 minutes.
Two hours, 22 minutes after they started, they finished their undulating 40km with over 500m of elevation at a pace about 30 minutes slower than their best marathon times. It is an effort they might refer to as’steady’ and one in the midst of a typical 220km training week.