It’s been two months since Eliud Kipchoge walked off Boylston Street following a sixth-place finish at the Boston Marathon. It was a bit of a shocker for him. He, entered the weekend with 15 wins in 17 marathons and looking to check off Boston from his list of the World Marathon Majors that he has yet to win. The ideal plan would have been win Boston, win New York and then focus on becoming the first man to win three Olympic gold medals in the marathon. Not everyone gets the storybook ending. The Boston victory will have to wait. Plans for the fall have yet to be announced but are expected soon.

I was invited to Kenya by the NN Running Team to get a first-hand look at how Kipchoge lives and trains in his camp in Kaptagat. I witnessed a morning workout on the track, a 40K long run, a strength session and also got to join in on an easy run. It was easy for him – not so much for me. I stayed on the heels of the greatest marathoner in the world for two miles before he took off. It was a surreal experience and I’ve been comparing it to being invited by Michael Jordan for a pickup game of basketball on his home court.

Eventually, the altitude (7800 feet above sea level), the jet lag and maybe a little lack of fitness compared to all of these pro runners led to me getting dropped. I did manage to complete the whole 10K run and while I was solo for the final two miles, I took a moment to appreciate how my career landed me in such a unique and blessed opportunity to be in Kenya among some of the best marathoners in the world.

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to catch up one-on-one with Kipchoge for a brief interview. We’ve done a few previous episodes of the CITIUS MAG Podcast together. In this short chat, you’ll hear a bit more about what happened in Boston, what happens next, Faith Kipyegon’s recent success and of course – our shared love for Kelly Clarkson, who just released a new album. I made sure to let him know while I was at the camp.

For more, listen to the episode on the CITIUS MAG Podcast feed. Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other major podcast publishers.

The following interview has been edited lightly for clarity.

Last time people saw you was coming off the course in Boston. Maybe a bit disappointed. How did you turn things around and put that past you?

“I was really a huge disappointment when you flash back to everything you have been doing for some months. But the beauty of sport is that today you are up and tomorrow you are down. After sixth place in Boston, I just relaxed, sat at the table and went back to try and think of what has happened.”

Now that you’ve had some time to go back, reflect, think and review things. What exactly happened?

“I think it was not my day. One of my legs had a problem and we only noticed it. The result was not good.”

You get back and you take some time off. How do you feel in that first session back?

“The first session I still felt pain from what made me actually to lose. All in all, the second day you feel more energy and you feel like going back and running again. What has passed has passed. We forge ahead.”

In the press conference in Boston that you had afterward, you said you have to go back to the drawing board and figure out what happens next. You had the plan to win all six Majors. Is that still the dream? It’s not the storybook ending. Many times in sports, it just doesn’t happen and you have to pivot and change things.

“The six stars is still the dream. We’re still seeing what will happen but it’s still a dream. I’m trying to complete the sixth one before I call off the sport.”

In the meantime, how much inspiration have you taken from watching track and especially watching Faith Kipeygon and the success that she’s had? You get to see the work in practice before seeing the moments in Paris and Florence.

“It’s a huge inspiration and a huge motivation for me and the rest of the team. I realized that actually working hard and knowing where you are and where you are going actually reaps a lot of positive fruits. Faith from 1500m made me really happy. (With) the 5000m, we are actually more happy because we saw that she has a lot of mileage in her legs. The only thing is to train hard and that’s what will take you to the finishing line.”

I spoke with Patrick and he explained how he writes the training with a long-term vision. When you show up to the track, you just don’t know what the workout is going to be until you get there. He opens the book or tells you and then you see it for the first time. You’ve been doing that for so many years. How does that element of surprise at practice benefit you?

“I think it’s really beneficial so that when you have free time and your mind will sleep well. You’ll have a good night actually not knowing what will happen tomorrow. In the track, you talk when you’re finishing your strides and then that’s the program. You do it and come back and do it the next day again.”

What have you made of the advances in coaching techniques and workouts? Of course, the Norwegian style of training is trending. Patrick is more “old-school” but you take into account the advances in science and recent studies. You blend it all together. Having been in the sport for two decades, is it hard as an athlete to keep up?

“It’s not really hard. I love change. I always change immediately. I think I am a fan of change if anything comes in whether that’s technology. I want to be the first one to crack and work on it. For the last 10 years, technology has grown and many things have changed but it has handled me well.”

Faith is someone who has adapted and handled all of those changes well. You’re a global superstar. There are so many people around the world who know who you are. How can Faith reach that level? Admittedly, it’s harder to share her story when it’s the 1500m and not the marathon. What does the sport need to do to embrace her as a star?

“I think the first thing is that the sport should value women. They should be proud of the spirit of women and what they’re doing in the sport. That’s the only way to really skyrocket the likes of Faith so that she can go to every high in this world. That’s the first step. The second step is to make many people rally around track and field. Track and field has been lacking behind and not having a lot of followers. If they just market women the way they are as mothers, they’ll get a lot of fans and it will reach where we are aiming.”

On the growth of track and field, you’ve gone to so many places to see it from Brazil in South America to several trips to Japan. Who embraces it and loves it the most that the rest of the world can hopefully take a page from and replicate it?

“I think Japan is the best place. Their culture is wonderful on running and how track and field had been treated.”

Hypothetical: You become World Athletics president. What’s the first thing you would want to change about the sport?

“The first change is to make track and field more attractive. It all starts there.”

More content coming soon from CITIUS MAG’s first trip to Kenya.