Bizlife Smarts

It’s impossible! The past suggested it, and the range of naysayers are myriad. The official marathon world record, set by Eliud Kipchoge himself, is 2 hours 1 minute 39 seconds. Eliud’s first attempt at breaking the 2 hour mark under perfect conditions, set up by Nike in Monza in 2017 called Breaking2, fell short by 23 seconds. That effort left him in pain, breathless and totally spent. Even previous marathon greats and world record holders like Paul Tergat said that it was impossible.

Eliud Kipchoge’s firm belief was that this barrier could be broken, and his mantra is that ‘No human is limited!’. So, what is the relevance of this we should ask. Is this just a man trying to break a running barrier for the glory, or something deeper? When you look at the background and character of the man, his spirit goes deeper than this.

I believe his intent is twofold. On the one hand, he wishes his running to leave a legacy of a better world. On the other, he wishes to enable the marathoners who follow him to believe that they can break this barrier, under normal conditions; just like the 4 minute mile.

Learnings on beating the impossible

The INEOS 159 Challenge demonstrated principles that we can all apply; both in our lives and in our workplaces, when we wish to overcome the perceived impossible, and push the ‘im’ aside.

Let us be clear. It all begins with mental fortitude and mindset. Eliud, more than any other runner of his generation, had the belief in both himself and human limits that this was possible. The world’s greatest athletes have possessed similar mindsets. https://bizlifesmarts.com/Tiger_mindset

Going together: the pit change support teams

As the African proverb says, ‘If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together’. Eliud had to go both far and fast; and it was a team effort. Some of the world’s best champion distance runners, put together by Spencer Barden, came together to contribute to Eliud’s efforts.

From legendary champions like Bernard Lagat; the Ingrebrigtsen brothers from Norway; Kota Murayama from Japan; Matt Centrowitz from the US; Brett Robinson from Australia; or his fellow Kenyan, Ethiopian and Ugandan brothers; this was truly a global effort, and a feat for all humanity. From training in Iten, Africa to running in Vienna, Europe. His team was made up of 15 Kenyans, 7 Americans, 6 Europeans, 6 Ugandans, 4 Australians, 2 Ethiopians and one Japanese. A team of 41 runners from across the globe!

I was in awe at the level of support from Eliud’s fellow runners, many of who are champions in their own right. They set aside their own egos to commit to his endeavor. And they were not just ordinary pace setters, but more like a formula 1 support team. In formula 1, the driver gets all the glory, yet he cannot cross the finish line without his pit crew support and efficiency. Eliud’s pace setters, helped to control the race speed for him, and interchanged teams after 9.6 kms every lap, reminding me of the efficiency of an auto racing pit crew. It was fascinating!

We too cannot overcome the impossible on our own. We need mentors, colleagues, friends and those coming behind us, to support us in overcoming insurmountable obstacles.

Precise preparation against the impossible

Nike’s Breaking2 attempt to break this barrier was instructive, and that experience taught Eliud a lot. He realized that not only must they manage the external conditions, but he must manage his internal energy against these conditions. His physical prowess, character and mental strength were not at issue, but he realised that the outside conditions sapped his energy.

Here stepped in the scientists from INEOS, a company with interests in the energy sector. Eliud’s team did all the testing and planning, leading to the identification of Prater Hauptallee https://www.wien.info/en/sightseeing/prater/green-prater as the perfect venue. This then only left the operational tactics for the challenge, and they came up with the unconventional formation for the pace setters, to create an energy saving bubble around Eliud. https://www.ineos159challenge.com/

Before facing an insurmountable challenge we need to plan for all foreseeable circumstances. Such planning will position us for the best outcome and bring us as close to our predicted result as possible.

Impossible perfection of pace – 2:50

There is nothing worse than the best of ideas being let down by poor execution. INEOS ensured that didn’t happen with the 159 challenge. They woke up on the day to weather conditions that were less ideal than expected. However, that didn’t worry them, because they were prepared. Once they set off, the measure of possibility was to achieve a consistent 2 minutes 50 seconds per kilometer. They were never more than 1.7% outside this pace.https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a29430499/eliud-kipchoge-ineos-159-challenge-result/

This consistency was not just being determined by the green laser tracking beam from the pace setting car, but in the little things they had practiced. Communication between the running team was paramount, particularly from the team captains. You would hear, ‘captain in, captain out’; ‘slow it down; speed it up’. And the team captain’s role was to ensure that Eliud was protected from everything around him, including his own pace setters erringly tripping him up.

Does this ring some bells for what you need to do yourself and with your workplace teams?!

It is possible!

As they came down the final stretch, and all our hearts were racing and tears welling in our eyes, we knew it was possible! As Eliud charged past his pace setters, and waved them aside we all started to cheer and holler. His triumphant sprint across the finish line left us all crying tears of joy, to see the impossible become possible.

Even his own pace setters were cheering him as hard as those of us on our couches at home. Eliud had broken a barrier and achieved something that not only inspires humanity, but has now made his fellow long distance runners believe what is possible, beyond the realm of imagination.

So, what did you learn from the 159 challenge and how are you going to apply it to make the impossible, possible for you and your teams?! You would be remiss, and a disappointment to Eliud Kipchoge’s mission, if you didn’t take some lessons away from this, beyond the joy of having watched the greatest of all accomplishments.

Feature image by Arnold Lakita.

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