What did Eliud Kipchoge’s first road race look like?
Kipchoge spent three years on the track before finding his potential on the roads
Kevin Morris
When you think of the greatest road runners of all time, it’s hard not to place Eliud Kipchoge at the very top of the list. Over the course of his career, the Kenyan has been as dominant as it gets on the roads, winning 16 marathons and countless victories over 5K and 10K distances. But one fact many fans might not know is that Kipchoge did not run his first road race until three years into his professional career.
Almost 20 years ago to the day, Kipchoge toed the line at the 2005 San Silvestre Vallecana 10K in Madrid, wearing a pair of Nike Zoom Milers, long before the era of carbon-plated super shoes. What followed was a glimpse of history to come.
At just 21, Kipchoge lined up against some of Europe’s top road runners and put on a clinic, breaking away from the field to win by 24 seconds. He returned the following year to defend his title and raised the bar even higher, shattering the great Haile Gebrselassie’s course record by eight seconds, running 26:54.
Watching footage of that race now, with the benefit of hindsight, it’s hard not to think about Kipchoge’s potential at the time, given his smooth, efficient stride. In retrospect, it almost feels like an early hint that he might one day chase the limits of human endurance, maybe even threaten the sub-two-hour marathon mark.
Those two races in Madrid marked the beginning of Kipchoge’s dominance on the roads, which led to him being nearly unbeatable over any distance for more than a decade. Today, he remains one of only three men to win back-to-back Olympic marathon titles and the first Olympic marathon champion to race all seven Abbott World Marathon Majors.
This year’s San Silvestre Vallecana 10K, held on Dec. 31, marks the 20th anniversary of Kipchoge’s road‑racing debut. Now, as he starts his post‑professional tour, might we see a return to the Spanish capital?
