It sounds like the opening line to a good joke: “Two of the greatest runners of all time walk into a garden.” And when Eliud Kipchoge and Faith Kipyegon take their seats — on blue plastic lawn chairs, in the lush green courtyard they helped cultivate at the Global Sports Communication camp — they can’t stop laughing. “Not this guy!” Faith calls out, a wide grin on her face. “Oh no, he won’t stop talking!”
The warm, jovial back-and-forth typifies the relationship between mentor and mentee, and it’s possible that it’s what carries these two runners through the hard work they do. They live and train together here at camp in Kaptagat, Kenya, from Monday to Saturday, week in and week out, covering hundreds of miles while living simply alongside their teammates. For all the laughter, Eliud and Faith’s connection is rooted in focus and discipline, two qualities the pair share in abundance. They also share GOAT status.
To break it down: In 2019, Eliud Kipchoge became the first person to run a marathon in under 2 hours, confounding critics who, until that day, had insisted that such a feat was impossible. He won Olympic gold medals in the marathon in Rio in 2016 and in Tokyo in 2020, set the world marathon record in Berlin in 2022, and has won 15 of the 19 marathons he has competed in around the world. His global rallying cry is to “make the world a running world” and demonstrate to legions of followers that “no human being is limited.”
Faith Kipyegon, for her part, is a three-time Olympic champion in the 1,500 meters (the only person to ever three-peat gold in the distance), a former world record holder in the 5,000 meters, and a world record holder in both the 1,500 meters and the mile. When we sit down to speak, she is deep in training for her greatest feat yet. This June, with Eliud’s guidance and unwavering support, Faith aims to become the first woman ever to “break 4” in the mile, running the distance in under 4 minutes.
With teammates and friends such as Eliud and Faith, talk of training, inspiration and dreams is never dull, and we were delighted to sit down with the two to chat through it all. That is, for as long as they could successfully avoid one another’s eye contact. At that point, laughter won out.
“Eliud has shown me that boundaries are meant to be pushed. So I’m there to dare to try, and I will give it my all.”
Faith Kipyegon
Maisie Skidmore: Faith, tell me how the idea for this project first came to you.
Faith Kipyegon: We [said], with the team, “We have achieved everything!” Three Olympic gold medals. World Championship medals. I’ve been the best miler on the track, the fastest 1,000 meters, the fastest 1,500. I said, “What else can I achieve?” We decided it‘s high time to think about empowering girls and inspiring the next generation in pushing barriers.
MS: What did Eliud say when you told him?
FK: Eliud is like a computer! I don’t know who told him, but he had already read my mind. Maybe he had this thought as well, that I could try something to cement my legacy. When I told him, he told me, “I think you have decided on a good thing to do.”
Eliud Kipchoge: After 1:59, I told everybody, “Now you know what to do! You can come, you can train, you can run the marathon in under 2 hours [like I did].” Now, a new challenge comes to women. It comes to Faith. I’m so happy that Faith has dared to think and is ready to try to run the mile in under 4 minutes. This is the chance of a lifetime. Faith will be going up to the moon, actually, and coming back to Earth, and [then] we will celebrate together. On that really crucial day, the world will be united for 4 minutes. We will celebrate for 4 minutes. We will make the world beautiful for 4 minutes.
MS: The two of you have a mentor-mentee relationship.
EK: Yes, we share a lot.
FK: He’s giving me his support, his encouragement and inspiration. Knowing that he has already tried [something of this scale] and he has achieved it, that encourages me. I encourage myself that Eliud did it, and I think I am gonna do it as well.
EK: You know, I think the most important things are the systems. Faith has already built the real system. It’s like crossing a bridge to get to the other side — the systems themselves are the bridge. Faith has just to step on them and cross to the other side. So our work is actually to motivate her, tell her what’s right, and make sure her mind is calm. The hardest thing to control is the mind, but Faith is focused.
MS: How do you overcome the psychological barriers?
EK: The psychological part follows what you have been doing in training. If you are hitting the right targets, training in a happy way, it makes the other side — the psychological part — very easy. The moment you accomplish one, it will help the other one.
MS: How does it feel now Faith, to talk about what you are trying to do?
FK: It feels great. To be together with Eliud, to be with a person who has tried and achieved it, has inspired me a lot. Eliud has shown me that boundaries are meant to be pushed. So I’m there to dare to try, and I will give it my all. Being at the side of Eliud and the team, with our coach, and training in a healthy way — it’s easier for me, because the team behind me has already been successful.
MS: How will you celebrate afterward?
EK: One of our values at camp is that we take time to celebrate our wins. We want Faith to accomplish the mission, to make history. Then we will absorb the whole history, and then we celebrate.
MS: How did you celebrate, Eliud, after you ran 1:59?
EK: I ended my celebration at the finish line. It felt like there were 1 billion people there. I needed to celebrate with everybody, and I think that’s the best place to do it. As much applies to Faith; when she's going through that line with everybody — all the people watching on TV, online, live, everybody — the highest energy will be there. It’s good to celebrate that moment and appreciate everybody in the world that’s watching.
MS: You’ve known one another for 10 years. Did you get along straight away?
EK: Yes, we had a good relationship. The only problem was that I was on the road, and she was on the track, so at first, to interact was a little bit hard. She was doing one thing, and I was doing another thing.
FK: I joined them here in 2019, after I came back from maternity leave. I’ve learned so many things. Teamwork is the most important thing, but also, having fun together in camp. That is what we do here.
MS: You’ve worked with your coach, Patrick Sang, for a long time — Eliud for 23 years, Faith for six. What role does he play for both of you?
EK: A coach can influence an athlete’s life much more than a parent; I think he has influenced us more than where we come from. We are here for five and a half days a week, and we interact here. Patrick has played a fatherly role for us. That’s the real impact that he has had.
FK: Eliud has said it all — Patrick is like our father, he has really mentored us. He knows what’s best for us.
MS: Coach Patrick told me that you’re alike in many ways. Is that something that you feel too?
EK: I’ve never thought about it like that! Maybe we are alike in our focus and our purpose in life, yes.
FK: I think...[laughs] I think we are similar in knowing how to be in the right place at the right time. When it is time to be in camp, we are in camp, and when it’s time to be in training, we are in training. We have learned that from each other.
MS: Living in such close proximity here, you read one another closely. What do you do to lift the mood?
EK: If I realize Faith is in a low moment, I just talk to her. She’s easy to interact with, and in five minutes, she’s laughing again. She’s forgotten the stress [laughs].
FK: Eliud is a person who reads my mind. Sometimes when I come in here and I’m not talking loud or laughing, maybe something is bothering me, he’s like, “I think there is something disturbing you. What is it?” I feel free to share with him because he’s like my brother — I’m with him all the time here. I listen to him, and after two minutes, I’m laughing again. Then we keep going and focus on the day.
MS: Eliud, what’s the most meaningful thing that you’ve learned from working with Faith?
EK: The most meaningful thing is that she takes risks. Faith takes on anything that comes along. That’s the beauty of her.
MS: How about you, Faith?
FK: What I’ve learned from Eliud is that being disciplined is the key to every success. Work hard every time. And be yourself.