Kiptum was once considered useless by his family.

When he was in middle school, marathon record holder Kelvin Kiptum didn't own any training shoes and was doubted by many people in his family about his ability to succeed at running.

Before Kiptum became a superstar, his family had lost hope in him when he was still in middle school. According to Kiptum’s uncle, Kiplagat Cheruiyot, some family members doubted the Kenyan’s chances of success in running. Some family members even advised Kiptum to focus on his studies, as they saw no potential, and the lack of training shoes added to his problems.

"Kiptum started running when he was young," Cheruiyot told K24TV on December 27. "Kiptum did not go to school, where he was studying to improve his electrician's certificate. When Kiptum started running, we said he was useless, useless, and had no goals in life. At that time, we saw no future for him, because Kiptum did not even have running shoes. He tried to borrow shoes from athlete Geoffrey Kamworor, but was unsuccessful."

Kelvin Kiptum (left) runs to celebrate his victory at the 2023 Chicago Marathon on October 8, while compatriot Rhonex Kipruto crosses the finish line. Photo: Reuters — Kelvin Kiptum (left) runs to celebrate his victory at the 2023 Chicago Marathon on October 8, while compatriot Rhonex Kipruto crosses the finish line. Photo: *Reuters*

Kiptum started training in 2013, when he was just 13. That year, he finished 10th at the Family Bank Eldoret Half Marathon in Kenya and 12th in 2014. Four years later, the Kenyan runner claimed his first title, winning the Family Bank Eldoret Half Marathon in 62 minutes and 1 second. In March 2019, he made his international debut, finishing fifth at the Lisbon Half Marathon in a personal best (PB) of 59 minutes and 54 seconds.

In December 2020, Kiptum continued to improve his PB by placing sixth at the Valencia Half Marathon in 58 minutes 42 seconds. In 2021, he won the Half Marathon in Lens, France in 59 minutes 35 seconds, and finished eighth in Valencia in 59 minutes 2 seconds.

In the past 12 months, Kiptum has gone from unknown to holding three of the top six marathon times in history, in just three attempts at the distance.

At the 2022 Valencia Marathon - his first 42.195km run, Kiptum won in 2 hours 1 minute 53 seconds, becoming the best debut runner in history for this distance. Five months later, he improved his PB (personal best) to win the 2023 London Marathon in 2 hours 1 minute 25 seconds, setting a new race record.

At the Chicago Marathon 2023 on October 8, Kiptum continued to make history when he won with 2 hours 0 minutes 35 seconds, setting a new world record - 34 seconds faster than the milestone of the legendary senior Eliud Kipchoge (2 hours 1 minute 9 seconds set at Berlin 2022). This is the first time the men's world record has been broken by more than 30 seconds since the approval of parameters began 20 years ago.

Kiptum takes first place, sets world record at Chicago Marathon 2023 — Kiptum finished first, setting a world record at the Chicago Marathon on October 8.

According to coach Gervais Hakizimana, Kiptum trains constantly, without a fixed day off, running between 250 and 280 km, sometimes more than 300 km per week, significantly more than Kipchoge's 180 and 220 km. The 23-year-old runner's training plan is set for four months and also involves increasing physical strength and fitness.

In 2024, Kiptum will aim to become the first person to break the sub-2 mark - running a marathon under 2 hours - at the Rotterdam Marathon, a non-World Marathon Majors tournament, on April 14. His ambition then is to overthrow Kipchoge at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Hong Duy

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