Chicago Marathon champion Ruth Chepngetich shares shocking truth behind her training that led her to break the world record

By Animesh Pandey

Modified Oct 14, 2024 03:04 GMT

Ruth Chepngetich has broken the world record for the women's marathon at the recently concluded Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2024. The 30-year-old former world champion from Kenya clocked an impressive 2:09.57, winning the Chicago Marathon 2024 with flying colors.

Chepngetich achieved her victory purely through her efforts, with zero external assistance. When she was asked about who inspired her or who was her coach throughout this journey, the Kenyan runner calmly replied,

"Me, as Ruth Chepngetich, I don’t have a coach. I am self-coached.”

Chepngetich broke the previous world record set by Olympic silver medalist Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia, who had clocked 2:11.53 seconds at the Berlin Marathon. The Kenyan runner was the first runner to break both the barriers of 2 hours 11 minutes and 2 hours 10 minutes. While the world record timing is yet to be officially ratified, it is still a phenomenal achievement.

Before the world record time at the Chicago Marathon 2024, Chepngetich had previously broken the half-marathon record at the Istanbul Half Marathon in 2021. She had clocked 1:04.02, which is still the 3rd fastest timing in the history of the women's half marathon event.

The Kenyan runner also has two World Marathon Majors titles and one gold medal from the 2019 World Athletics Championships to her credit.

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Ruth Chepngetich on breaking the world record

Ruth Chepngetich after winning the marathon at 2019 World Championships [Image Source : Getty]

For Ruth Chepngetich, this world record was special for multiple reasons. Not only did the 30-year-old athlete become the first female athlete to break the barriers of 2:11.00 and 2:10.00, but she also achieved this at the same venue, where fellow Kenyan and former Kelvin Kiptum had almost breached the 2-hour threshold at the Chicago Marathon held the previous year.

In her post-victory interview, the Kenyan runner mentioned,

"I feel so great. I’m very proud of myself. This is my dream. I fought a lot, thinking about the world record. The world record has come back to Kenya."

However, that was not all. Chepngetich further dedicated her victory to the world record holder in the men's marathon, Kelvin Kiptum.

"This world record I'm dedicating to Kelvin Kiptum because maybe he could have defended his title again,"

For the unversed, Kenyan runner Kelvin Kiptum clocked a timing of 2:00.35, breaking the previous world record of his teammate and two-time Olympic gold medalist Eliud Kipchoge in the men's marathon event at the Chicago Marathon 2023.

Sadly, his career was cut short abruptly by a car crash in early 2024, in which Kiptum died on the spot. He was only 24 years old when he passed away in the unfortunate car crash.

Interestingly, Ruth Chepngetich has won the Chicago Marathon for the third time, after winning it twice in 2021 and 2022. The Kenyan runner had also participated at the Tokyo Olympics, but she withdrew from the competition midway.