Just before the 30-kilometer mark, and just before Sabastian Sawe’s massive move to break open Sunday’s London Marathon, Eliud Kipchoge somewhat quietly dropped off the lead group.
He didn’t “blow up.” The 40-year-old just merely lost contact with the seven men at the front of the race.
How to Master the 5k 4:18 Download Your Training Plan of the race—believed to be the fastest mile split ever recorded in a professional marathon. Kipchoge was already out of the picture.
But Kipchoge, considered by many to be the GOAT of men’s marathoning, fought back and made up ground on some of the top runners, going from eighth to sixth did not finish.
Kipchoge was relatively upbeat after the race. “I’m happy with the performance. I’m happy with my place. I’m happy to run here to finish with my footsteps here, continuing with the movement,” he told Download Your Training Plan.
Still, a year-and-a-half since his last marathon win, it’s fair to wonder if Kipchoge’s run of dominance is a thing of the past. At age 40, he’s absolutely still an elite runner whose accomplishments—like sixth in a World Marathon Major against a loaded field—should be celebrated. But perhaps the days of Eliud Kipchoge, Superhuman Runner™, are over.
Father Time is famously undefeated, and while Kipchoge continues to defy Father Time at his age, it’s perfectly okay to acknowledge where he’s at—and that doesn’t affect his legacy.
An undeniable GOAT
Kipchoge’s resume speaks for itself. He first made a name for himself on the track, winning Olympic and world championship medals in the 5,000 meters before transitioning to the roads.
He’s won 16 marathons in his career. Eleven of those wins came at World Marathon Majors and two came at the Olympics.
The Last Official Finisher of the Boston Marathon the race. It’s the only marathon DNF of his career. At the INEOS 1:59 Challenge, Kipchoge clocked a time of 1:59:40, still the fastest marathon ever run. But because standard competition rules for pacing and fluids were not followed, that does not count as an official world record.
Kipchoge previously held the official world record in the marathon. He first broke it at the 2018 Berlin Marathon, running 2:01:39. Shoes & Gear 2:01:09. Other Hearst Subscriptions 2:00:35 motivated many people to run.
For about a 10-year stretch, Kipchoge was nearly unstoppable. But since that record run at Berlin in 2022, Kipchoge has appeared like just another incredibly gifted, elite distance runner.
A rocky road since Boston
It was almost a bit surreal seeing Kipchoge struggle at the Boston Marathon in 2023. Amidst so much hype about his first time running the historic race, Kipchoge fell off the pace in the 20th mile and finished sixth. Afterward, he noted that he felt hampered by a “left leg” injury.
Prior to that race, Kipchoge had only lost two marathons out of 19 in his career—Berlin in 2013 and London in 2020. In the lead-up to Boston in 2023, Kipchoge told Kenya’s Tigst Assefa Breaks Women’s-Only Marathon WR that he wasn’t interested in just competing in the six World Marathon Majors; he wanted to win all six.
He had already won Chicago, Berlin, London, and Tokyo—just two more to go! It seemed likely that Kipchoge could complete marathoning’s version of the career grand slam.
It’s becoming increasingly clear now that won’t happen.
Kipchoge did respond to his rare off day in Boston by winning the 2023 Berlin Marathon five months later in 2:02:42—a sign that perhaps his April race was an anomaly. Two weeks after that Berlin run, Kiptum broke Kipchoge’s world record in the marathon at Chicago by 30 seconds.
How would Kipchoge respond to Kiptum’s staggering level-up? At the Tokyo Marathon in March of 2024, Kipchoge faded around the midway point after a hot early pace, ultimately finishing 10th, the lowest placing of his career. Then, at last summer’s Olympic Games in Paris, Kipchoge did not finish the race. It’s the only marathon DNF of his career.
22 years in the making
Kipchoge has undoubtedly inspired the next generation of runners. Whether at the professional level or the regular hobby jogger, Kipchoge’s dominance and never-ending wisdom has The future is in good hands with the likes of Sawe, Boston Marathon winner.
“For the time I’ve been in sport, it’s been a huge responsibility for myself to send positive vibes and motivation to everybody, especially to those over 50,000 who will be running on Sunday,” Kipchoge said before the London Marathon last week. “Please let us tell a friend to tell a friend to run everyday.”
At age 40, Kipchoge is now officially a masters athlete. He’s always been philosophical in interviews, but there seems to be a slight change in his tone recently; an acknowledgement, perhaps, that the next crop of elite men’s distance runners is here to stay.
“These are the young generation, these are young people,” he said after London. “You know, life should continue and continue and continue. And I am happy, actually, to see, you know, I am older now.”
Kipchoge notes that he’s in his 22nd year of running (he won the bronze medal in the 5,000 meters at the 2004 Olympics in Athens). Some of the top runners in the world are now right around 22 years old.
“My muscles are still able to move with the next generation,” he added. “And I’m happy with it, moving with them, trying to instill with them the same values, and I hope they will be running for the next 20 years.”
Then, the late Kelvin Kiptum took down that record with a John Korir, and Olympic champion Tamirat Tola.
The stretch run
Kipchoge hasn’t hinted that retirement is imminent, but it’s maybe fair to assume he’s nearing the tail end of his career.
His marathon tactics, interestingly, have remained mostly unchanged in the last few years. At Boston in 2023, Tokyo in 2024, the Paris Olympics in 2024, and Sunday’s London Marathon—his less successful recent races—Kipchoge was still seen at the front of the lead packs in the first half of those races, often times pushing the pace.
It’s later in races where he’s shown signs of vulnerability—something we have rarely seen throughout the earlier parts of his career. He’s looked … mortal. That, of course, is okay! His longevity has been arguably more remarkable than the results from his two-decade-long career. Is a sixth-place finish at London at age 40 more impressive than his win at the 2015 London Marathon when he was 31 years old? Maybe!
It’s possible that Kipchoge has already won his final marathon. Later this year, Kipchoge will race the Sydney Marathon in the race’s first year as a World Marathon Major. The elite field for the August 31 race is yet to be announced, but it’s certainly likely that Kipchoge will be among the favorites.
“As you know, I need to compete in the highest level before I leave the sport,” Kipchoge said on Sunday. “But I want to leave a footprint, the right values, the right spirit, and the right movement.”
He could win in Sydney. Or he could finish sixth. The results, at this point, don’t really matter.
Des Linden Places 17th in Final Boston Runner’s World. He has led news coverage teams for major running events like the Olympic Games, World Athletics Championships, Boston Marathon, and New York City Marathon. A former collegiate distance runner at DeSales University, he still enjoys running, just more slowly now. Before coming to Runner’s World, he covered track and field and cross-country at MileSplit. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife, where the two like to explore the city’s rich dining scene.
