08/10/2019
I don't know if you people really feel the weight of what Kipchoge is up to which he carries with pure, unadulterated humility. If you are a Kenyan, you should already be having butterflies in your stomach.
In fact, if we were a civilized society, over one thousand of us would have already arrived in Vienna, Austria so Eliud can see the big noses of the Luo, the sunken eyes of fellow Kalenjin, the blank faces of the Maasai, l mean the real faces of fellow Kenyans as he takes the turns.
If you don't know what this means for you in Kenya, let me tell you what it means for others:
1. A lady from Spain last month booked nearly a plane full of her friends, landed in JKIA then took another flight to Eldoret. Her mission? She went to tell Eliud that she loved him. And wished him well. That she came to encourage him. That he is the greatest man she will ever know. And that she will stand in Vienna, with her friends all the way from Spain to shout his name as he takes the bend.
2. One of the richest men in Britain, Billionaire Sir Tom Ratcliffe, told Eliud l will send my private jet worth Kshs.1.4 billion to pick you, your family and your staff from your hometown of Eldoret. Don't go any other way. The Gulfstream G280.
3. Billionaires have placed bets worth billions to hand to Eliud. If it happens.
4. In Austria everybody is gathering their families so they are together to witness history, when it happens.
Because this will be the first human to achieve this feat. If it happens. Because for only the second time since he was born, Eliud will not be competing against fellow humans but against the clock. Against time.
Already a prominent American has so confidently said, 'It can't happen. If it does he will die.' Because he needs to run more than 7 metres per second to pull this.
Me and you can only hold our breath and wait! As Winston Churchill would say, 'Never has so much been owed by so many to so few.'
I leave you with the words of the legend himself Eliud Kipchoge:
“In life, the idea is to be happy. So, I believe in calm, simple, low-profile life. You live simple, you train hard and live an honest life. Then you are free.”
Will you be alive?