Eliud Kipchoge's revolutionary training methods: How the Olympic champion's slow runs have made him the fastest
An in-depth look into Kipchoge's 80%-20% training method that focusses more on high volume, and less intense work-outs. The world record holder will make his Boston Marathon debut on 17 April.
Athletics
Eliud Kipchoge is a structured man.
The Kenyan legend likes to stick to a simple but holistic routine that is powered by hard work and his laser focus, that have helped him become a double Olympic champion and the fastest marathoner.
Kipchoge's routine totals up to 220km a week, in which he only pushes hard about 15-20 per cent of his training time.
The world record holder is careful not to overtrain as that can lead to burn out or injuries. Most of his six training days per week are for controlled and comfortable paced runs and minimal high-intensity efforts.
Read on to know more of Kipchoge’s training approach as he prepares for his first ever Boston Marathon on 17 April, and how spending so little time pushing hard in training has made him the fastest ever.
Eliud Kipchoge’s strategy to running faster – easy and slow runs
At his training camp Kaptagat in the Kenyan highlands, Kipchoge, who is guided by his mentor and coach Patrick Sang, sticks to a training programme that he follows religiously. On paper, it may seem repetitious and even boring. But those simple habits have been a core part of his marathon success that has seen him win 15 of 17 marathon races.
Like most elite athletes, his training involves a ton of running, some track sessions for speed and exercising his core.
There’s the famed long run, which he does once every two weeks and ranges between 30km and 40km. Most of his training consists of several slow runs and one or two fartlek sessions (speed sessions on track).
His training is spaced out and he never does back-to-back high intensity sessions.
Kipchoge and his crew at the Global Sports Communication started by Sang, an Olympic silver medallist in the steeplechase, have perfected the "80%-20%" method preferred by many elite distance runners.
What is the 80%-20% method?
This training strategy that is also known as ‘Pareto Principle’ has been around since 1896. It is believed to have been introduced by Joseph M. Juran, a Romanian-born American engineer.
In 1941 he came across the work of an Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto who began applying the 80%-20% method to quality issues – an issue is 80 per cent problem and 20 per cent cause.
Translated to running, the principles hold that 20 per cent of the training routines result in 80 per cent of the impact. Broken down in training, it suggests that only 20 per cent should be high intensity training and 80 per cent easy or light training.
Eliud Kipchoge’s training breakdown
To become a better, stronger, and well-rounded runner, Kipchoge has mastered the art of running high volumes at low intensity.
Last year, a Norwegian based running research group published a review titled The Training Characteristics of World-Class Distance Runners that analysed the training methods of 59 Olympic and world-class runners, including Kipchoge, and 16 coaches.
The in-depth study on the Kenyan marathon star focussed on how applying the 80%-20% science leads to results, and revealed that Kipchoge clocks between 200-220 km weekly.
The breakdown of the four-time Olympic medallist's simple training was even more interesting: to run faster, Kipchoge slows down significantly. According to data from runningclinic.com, Kipchoge trains:
- 82-84 per cent at an easy or light intensity
- 9-10 per cent at moderate intensity
- 7-8 per cent at hard training or high intensity
Kipchoge spends most of his ‘easy training’ covering a kilometre in four-and-a-half or five minutes.
This allows him enough time to recover for his high-intensity sessions, which he normally does only twice a week: a track session on Tuesday and a fartlek session, usually on Saturday.
“These trainings,” Kipchoge posted on Instagram, “tell the body what hard work is and also helps us to run in a smooth way.”
After his hard training on Tuesday, he tapers down with a long run on alternate Thursdays and ends his weekly training with the speed sessions.
“The long run, we do once every two weeks,” Sang told NN Running in a documentary.
“The idea is to alternate. [If] the last one we did on a hilly course, this time is fairly medium.”
A simple training plan that has also kept the fastest marathoner largely injury-free throughout his international career that launched at the 2002 World Cross Country Championships.