If there is an external force that can make someone run faster, Eliud Kipchoge may just have found it at the Berlin Marathon.
“It always feels like coming home,” the marathon world record holder wrote recently on X (formerly known as Twitter), as he took aim at his fifth win in the capital of Germany.
Kipchoge first stood on the start line in Berlin a full decade ago, when he came home second behind a world-record-setting Wilson Kipsangin 2013.
Since then, it is Kipchoge who has made the race his own, winning four titles and breaking the world record on two occasions on the famously rapid course that makes up one-sixth of the annually-run Marathon Majors.
But when he looks back on that very first race 10 years ago, it is not the taste of near-victory he speaks of, but the support and passion of the Berlin crowd.
“I remember all the people at the course cheering us on,” he said of the occasion. “It was a very special environment.”
Even now as a seasoned winner and the athlete considered to be the greatest marathon runner of all time, Kipchoge cites the influence of the crowd when he talks about his return to Berlin for the 2023 edition of the race.
“The streets of Berlin you know will be packed, and you know when you hear the voices of the people, those are the people who are passionate about sport,” he says. “Those are the real fans in Berlin so those are the things that motivate me and what’s pushing me ahead.”
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Kipchoge’s first steps towards Berlin Marathon greatness
The 2013 race, which was also Kipchoge’s second-ever attempt at the marathon distance, was the first and last time he has experienced defeat in Berlin.
By the time he laced up his running shoes for another shot at the Berlin Marathon in 2015, the Kenyan was evolving from a promising novice into one of the world’s greatest practitioners of the 42.195km race.
A maiden Marathon Major victory in Chicago in 2014 was followed by victory in London in April of 2015.
But it was his return to the German capital later that year that showed the true mettle of this distance running master.
At around the 10km mark, Kipchoge’s insoles of his running shoes detached from under the soles of his feet, leaving his bare skin to rub painfully against the coarse material of his footwear, leading to bleeding and blisters.
But Kipchoge did not give up, finishing the race in 2:04:00 in his fastest - and certainly grittiest - performance to date.
“It was not easy,” he said after the race. “There are blisters on the left foot and my big toe is cut with lots of blood.”
However, even then there were hints of what might come in Berlin as the Kenyan outlined his outright goals for the marathon.
“The world record was my target, I didn’t manage it but I’ll be back next year,” he said.
Eliud Kipchoge poses with fans in Berlin
Kipchoge cements his place as the world’s best in Berlin
In fact the world would need to wait two years for Kipchoge to once again race on the streets of Berlin, with the not-so-small matter of an Olympic marathon - and victory - in Rio becoming the focus of his 2016 season.
When he did return to Berlin in 2017 he was once again in ominous form, finishing first in suboptimal rain-drenched conditions in a time of 2:03:32.
While the weather may have scuppered any chances of a world record that year, 2018 would see the now four-time marathon winner stake his place as the fastest marathoner in history.
And this time, the result wasn’t even close.
Returning to his favourite stomping ground, Kipchoge raced to victory in 2:01:39 - a full minute and 18 seconds faster than the previous world’s best.
"Whatever happens, this will surely go down as Kipchoge's crowning glory, his marathon opus,” the Guardian remarked of his win. “ It would be no surprise if his record stood for a generation unless, of course, he himself has other ideas."
In a world of his own: Kipchoge reaches new high over the 42.195km distance
Of course, Kipchoge did have other ideas when it came to the world record.
In 2022, having won a joint-record second Olympic marathon the year before, he signed up once again for the Berlin Marathon.
And while he was coy in the build-up about his chances of breaking his own world record, it was clear that he still had a burning desire to test just what he could achieve over the mythical marathon distance.
“Berlin is a very good place where a human being can actually push limits,” he said before the race. “I still have to come back to Berlin to try and push limits.”
In a race that only cemented his absolute dominance, the then 37-year-old demolished his own world record by 30 seconds, finishing in 2:01:09 to secure his fourth victory in Berlin.
As had become customary, nobody could live with him as he beat his closest competitor to the line by a full four minutes and 49 seconds.
Once again the streets of Berlin bounced to the chants of Kipchoge’s name. The city that has become synonymous with his greatest victories embraced him as one of their own to celebrate another re-definition of just what is possible in the world of the marathon.
Now, a year later, Berlin is once again engulfed in Kipchoge mania, with new street art even unveiled in the build-up to the 2023 marathon showing the Kenyan legend in full stride.
Berlin is as in love with Kipchoge as ever, as he once again aims for greatness in a city he has made his own.
Eliud Kipchoge will race in the Berlin Marathon on Sunday 24 September with coverage live on Olympics.com (territorial restrictions may apply).
Mural of Eliud Kipchoge unveiled in Berlin
