TRAIN LIKE KIPCHOGE

LEVEL UP YOUR RUNNING WITH THESE FIVE LESSONS FROM THE MARATHON GOAT AND HIS TEAM.

- SARAH GEARHART

THE MOST REMARKABLE aspect of the fastest marathoner in history is how unremarkable - and how accessible - his training is. Eliud Kipchoge has the best resources in the world at his disposal; but rather than relying on treadmills that cost more than a Lexus, or recovery devices worthy of NASA missions, he follows simple training tenets that maximise how he recovers, what he eats, his mindset, and the conditioning he does after his runs. We talked to Kipchoge and the team at his Global Sports Communication training camp in Kaptagat, Kenya, as well as outside experts, to find out how anyone can apply his strategies.

1 SLEEP LIKE YOUR RUN DEPENDS ON IT

ELIUD KIPCHOGE SLEEPS up to nine hours at night, often also taking an hour-long midday nap. Most of us don't have the time or the 190km weekly workload to clock that much shut-eye, but we can still benefit from Kipchoge's sleep hygiene cues.

At least 30 minutes before bed, he turns off or puts down all electronics. The habit reduces his exposure to blue light, known to delay the release of melatonin, leading to a decrease in sleepiness, says Dr Kannan Ramar, past president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Then, instead of scrolling through social media (he prefers Facebook), Kipchoge winds down by reading at least two chapters of a book.

"If I have enough sleep, my body and my mind are free of stress and ready to go with the programmes," says Kipchoge.

While you're asleep, your body is doing more than resting. Crucially, your pituitary gland releases growth hormone, which helps your muscles repair and grow, says Ramar.