Ali, Pele, Usain - the first name is enough for the greatest athletes in the world. Almost everyone has something in common with them, many are emotionally connected to the champions - through memories of a spectacular event, an unforgettable summer, a time that seemed unattainable. This also applies to Eliud, the most successful marathon runner in the world, the fastest in history. He has the advantage that his glorious moments do not just encompass the fifteen rounds of a boxing match (or less), the ninety minutes of a soccer game, the ten seconds (or less) of a sprint, but the roughly two hours of a marathon. Is that enough?

Eliud Kipchoge ran fifteen of these cross-country runs and won thirteen.

He holds the world record, is two-time Olympic champion, was world champion over 5000 meters and in cross, and on the second attempt he even managed to run the marathon distance of 42,195 meters on a small circuit in a bunch of pacemakers in less than two hours .

He calls this successful experiment, because it changed his consciousness and that of the running world, his personal moon landing.

What goal should this man still set himself?

Invest in the future

He found one thing: Eliud will save the world. Last year, when there were no running competitions due to the pandemic, he provided needy Kenyan runners with food parcels. He buys fifty acres of forest to protect it. He urged his compatriots to plant trees on their birthdays to keep the air clean. And he started building a library at the elementary school in his hometown Kapsisiywa in the Nandi region of Kenya. Then he disappeared into training camp for months and prepared for the Olympics.

On Wednesday he announced, the double Olympic marathon champion, that the plans of his foundation would be enlarged to a new scale.

Every elementary school in Kenya should have a library so that every child has the chance to read books.

Eliud does not invest in the school business model, with which many rich people in Kenya secure their future.

It invests in the future and will award scholarships to children whose families cannot afford school fees.

And he will use his fame in the wide world of running to advertise the protection of trees and forests, he will invite you to plant as many seedlings as possible as quickly as possible.

He has decided that running should become a way of life all over the world.

Anyone who trains outside with a long breath knows about the value of oxygen and clean air.