Eliud is the greatest marathon runner of all time, reigning Olympic Champion, reigning world record holder, the perfect marathoner. His body has high maximum VO2, high lactate threshold and excellent running economy. The team knew they didn’t need to improve him, how can you improve on perfect? He has a fantastic team around him already.

Instead, the INEOS 1:59 Performance Team started looking for other ways we could help him achieve his moon landing moment, taking lessons from their cycling and sailing teams, athlete first, performance led.

This was a mythical barrier that was broken, something which many thought to be impossible, something scientists had said that physically couldn’t be done. INEOS has always been drawn to those with grit, determination, and focus. INEOS believe that those individuals can excel when challenged and that great teams can achieve extraordinary results. Eliud is one of those individuals.

Having almost proved it possible coming tantalizingly close in Monza in 2017, Eliud knew in his heart and mind that it could be done, he had convinced himself it was possible and just had to convince the world of the same.

Valentijn explains: “To succeed, an athlete needs to believe it is possible and when I look at Eliud and look into his heart, I see that belief inside of him. So, it is Eliud’s conviction that makes me convinced that history can be made.“

Choosing Vienna was an important team decision. The course itself and weather conditions were key factors. Every decision, however, was athlete first and the course had to work for Eliud from an athlete perspective as well. Indeed, the first filter for the course selection was simply that it needed to be somewhere within three-hour time difference from Kenya to eliminate the effects of jet lag.

It also needed to be somewhere with plenty of oxygen so Eliud could push his body harder. At 165M above sea level and a tree lined course, the course provided the lung boosting natural oxygen boost Eliud needed to maximise the effect of his altitude training in Kaptagat, Kenya.

The team then set about assessing Eliud’s fuelling. The body of a marathoner is believed to be burning so much fuel that it becomes a furnace on the move. Nothing but your own body will sustain you and there is no charging station.

The INEOS Grenadiers are experts in time trials, they assessed the Breaking 2 attempt in meticulous detail, trying to find any way that they could help Eliud gain 26 seconds. One of the things they noticed from the 2017 attempt was that Eliud missed two feeds. “That seemed like a missed opportunity to us. We had to make sure that nothing similar happened in our attempt”, explained Fran Millar, former INEOS Grenadiers CEO.

Eliud explains: "I spent time with my nutritionist, Armand Bettonviel at my training camp in Kaptagat. Nutrition is a critical race day component, I practiced training my nutritional intake required during the record attempt. We took great care to get this right"

As well as helping Eliud practice his fuelling strategy Armand’s major role was to make sure Eliud was properly fuelled in the days leading up to the race. “We needed to know the exact day and time three days before the challenge”, explained Armand, “once this was confirmed there was no going back on Eliud’s nutritional fuelling. I could not extend it very much because he would start to put weigh on from having more fuel and that would not enhance his performance”.

Thankfully, three days out, the INEOS 1:59 Performance Team were able to make the call to race on the 12th October. Leaving Eliud reassured and able to focus on the task ahead.

Self-belief is what drives Eliud.

The INEOS 1:59 Challenge was also the first time Eliud’s family have ever been to see him race, that was how important this was and showed how confident he was of making history, making sure his family were there to be with him.

On the day the Vienna authorities estimated that there were 120,000 people in the Prater to cheer on Eliud on October 12th, 2019. People travelled from across the globe, from Kenya to the USA to Mexico to Australia to support Eliud and help him achieve his dream. Those that couldn’t be there gathered around TV screens and devices to follow live on YouTube worldwide.

History was made.