Eliud Kipchoge has already hit the ground running just hours after landing in Austria ahead of the INEOS 1:59 Challenge.
Kipchoge left the country aboard a privately chartered plane on Monday evening, October 7 at Eldoret International Airport, touching base in Vienna on Tuesday.
1. The world marathon record holder boarded Sir Jim’s Gulfstream G280, which was flown by two pilots from his base to to the Austrian capital.
2. The 34-year-old will be keen to ink his name in history books as he attempts to run a sub two-hour marathon in Prater park.
3. With the race's date already set for Saturday, October 12, the countdown for the historic event now appear to have officially begun.
4. Several factors are understood to have played an integral part in settlement of the date, with event organisers declaring the day's conditions look ideal.
5. And as Kipchoge's fans hold their breath ahead of the event, the marathoner has been keeping everyone abreast in all his preparations.
6. Kipchoge's career on the track has been on an upward trajectory, winning his first individual world championship title in 2003 during the IAAF World Cross Country Championships.
7. Kipchoge won the Berlin Marathon in 2015, posting a then-personal-best time of 2:04:00 despite his shoes malfunctioning.
8. This will be the marathoner's second attempt at breaking the two-hour barrier, after coming up, making his first at Italy’s Formula One track in Monza in 2017.
9. Saturday’s finishing time will however not be ratified by the IAAF as an official world record owing to several variables including pacemakers entering mid-race.
10. Up to 41 pacers including Olympic 1,500m champion Matthew Centrowitz and Ethiopia’s Selemon Barega will join Kipchoge in Vienna.
11. Meanwhile, the London Marathon champion has since switched his nutrition and begun carb-loading.
