Eliud Kipchoge on book that inspired him to pursue bigger goals outside competitive racing
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Reading Time: 3min | Thu. 20.11.25. | 08:00
The 41-year-old earlier this month made the decision to embark on a Tour that will raise funds to support education and environmental causes
Kenyan marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge has credited a book that helped him move into a new phase of his career outside competitive running.
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Known to be an avid reader, the 41-year-old said his new initiative - The Eliud Kipchoge World Tour - was partly inspired by a book by the name “The Second Mountain”, which spurred him from just chasing personal goals, but also making an impact on the world.
Referring to the book written by Canadian-American author David Brook, Kipchoge told The Athletic: “I am reading a book called The Second Mountain. It is about a human tendency to pursue personal achievements (the first mountain), before realising that more joy and happiness can be found in something deeper, more societal and altruistic.
I want to put the knowledge I’m getting into the world tour. That is my second mountain.”
The double Olympic gold medalist made the decision to step away from elite racing on Sunday, 2 November, shortly after running 2:14.36 for 17th place at the 2025 New York City Marathon.
The race finish saw him claim the seven-star, which signified his completion of the seven-star set of major marathons.
Having achieved a feat he earlier said would “complete his marathon legacy”, Kipchoge announced his new tour plans, which are set to see him race seven marathons across all seven continents over the next two years.
At the root of his plans, is to help raise funds for the Eliud Kipchoge Foundation, which supports educational and environmental causes worldwide.
Speaking in more detail about the Tour goals, Kipchoge said: “I want to make education affordable in Kenya, to build a lot of libraries here.
In the future, I want to build a library in every capital city in Africa. I want to make Africa, as far as education, go high. I want to conserve the environment, to plant trees around Kenya, (then) expand to East Africa, to Central Africa, and all of Africa.”
Kipchoge, who took 11 wins from 18 majors, through his foundation set up the Eliud Kipchoge Library in Kapsisywa in 2022, but has bigger plans this time round, including having headquarters in cities across the world as the foundation grows.
©Eliud Kipchoge“To see people changing in sport, getting people to sit down (and listen). That’s what I need, that’s what I’m really focusing on,” he added. “I believe that with my sport, I can push education to everybody, push the environment to change this world. This (planet) is our only home, and we need to make it green.”
Earlier this month, Kipchoge had an opportunity to meet former US President Barack Obama in Washington DC, where the two shared ideas of working together on causes close to their hearts.
On the meeting with his inspiration, Kipchoge said: “We talked about legacy, the future, leadership and mentorship of our youth around the world and in Africa. And above all, how I can use sport to bring change, to mentor people to lead in a good way, to empower communities and to really make everybody think in a positive way to improve the world.”
