Culture17 Apr 2020


Eliud Kipchoge’s lockdown reading list

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Eliud Kipchoge (© Dan Vernon)

Training alone because of government restrictions following the Covid-19 outbreak, life is currently far from the norm for the world’s leading marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge.

Running solo from his home in Eldoret every day, he fills up the rest of his time by overseeing his three children’s schoolwork, watching old Formula One and Moto GP races with the family and feeding his other passion for reading books.

Here the world marathon record-holder offers a peek into his reading activity during the coronavirus pandemic.

What I’m reading at the moment...

bookTalking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell

“It is a moving story which poses many questions not least in one chapter, What Happens When The Stranger is a Terrorist? He also asks why we are so bad at understanding people we have never met before. He says we often can’t tell when a stranger lies to us and meeting a stranger face to face doesn’t help our understanding of this. It is a good book.”

The last book I finished...

bookThe Infinite Game by Simon Sinek

“This is another good book, which talks about both finite and infinite games. Some of which are finite with fixed rules and end objectives and other infinite games such as business, politics etc with no exact rules and an infinite amount of time. The infinite games is less about competing but more about thinking.”

My go to book...

bookWho Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson

“I have read this book many times and it very appropriate during the Covid-19 pandemic. We are currently enduring hard times in the world. We are in lockdown and the world needs to change. We need to accept the lockdown and abide by the guidelines by accepting social distancing and the regular use of hand sanitisers etc. This book is all about embracing and accepting change.

A book to inspire...

bookThe Magic by Rhonda Byrne

“The premise of the The Magic is to say thank you. There is magic throughout all 250 pages but the real magic in the book is it teaches you the importance of gratitude.” 

Steve Landells for World Athletics