Cheptegei on his 2020 aspirations: ‘I want to go and make history

“Everything starts in the mind,” says Joshua Cheptegei. “If you believe you can do this, then it’s possible.”

For a man who is re-defining the limits of human performance, it’s no surprise the Ugandan’s psychological strength is on par with his physiology.

Such statements may cause eyes to roll in an age where self-help advice is ubiquitous, but few back up their beliefs quite like Cheptegei.

Consider this: in the past 12 months the 23-year-old has won gold at the World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark; the 5000m at the Diamond League final in Zurich; the 10,000m at the World Athletics Championships in Doha; and he closed 2019 by setting a world 10km record of 26:38 on the road in Valencia.

Last weekend he smashed the world 5km record on the road when running 12:51 in Monaco. What’s left to do for the man who has (very nearly) done it all? We’re about to find out.

Eagerly-awaited half marathon debut in Gdynia

Next month, Cheptegei will try to become the first athlete in history to win consecutive world titles over cross country, 10,000m and half marathon. When he takes to the line in Gdynia, Poland, for the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships, it will be his first try at the distance.

Having made his name at the shorter distances, is there any apprehension at taking on the world’s best over 21.1km (13.1 miles)?

“For now I don’t have any,” says Cheptegei. “I just feel it’s an upgrade because I have been running 15km, 10 miles already, so it’s not far.”

He knows the pressure will be heaped on chief rival Geoffrey Kamworor, the Kenyan who has been peerless at the distance in recent years, winning the last three world titles and setting the world record in Copenhagen at 58:01.

“The goal was to prepare for a race where I am not having any pressure because I (have not run it) before, but of course I want to go for the victory.”

To prepare, Cheptegei has added more volume to his weekly training, which is typically 120-140km when preparing for track races. “Now I’m doing 150, 160,” he says. “It’s still not that big. But the half marathon is quite demanding in terms of endurance so we’re trying to work on that.”

His weekly staple is a 30-35km long run over rolling hills near Kapchorwa, a town in Eastern Uganda that sits at 1800m of altitude (5900ft). He trains there under the watchful eye of Addy Ruiter, a Dutch coach who has overseen his progress since 2015.

In his spare time, Cheptegei likes to play ludo with training partners and he is also an avid Manchester United fan, though his arc of progression in recent years has run in the opposite direction to his favourite team.

His manager – Jurrie van der Velden of Global Sports Communication – first spotted his talent in 2014 at the World University Cross Country Championships in Entebbe, Uganda, where Cheptegei cruised to victory in the men’s race. Later that year he added the 10,000m title at the World U20 Championships in Eugene, USA, and the following year Van der Velden brought Cheptegei to train alongside the greats in Kaptagat, Kenya, under renowned coach Patrick Sang.

But Cheptegei loved home and missed his family too much to train abroad all year, so Van der Velden and Ruiter set about building a world-class training group around him in Uganda.

SRC:AllAfrica