The Leap of Faith

Making history stride for stride

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I was still a campus student when Eliud Kipchoge broke the sub-2-hour marathon time.

Moments before he actually broke this record, the campus became a single organism, cheering in unison. If ever there were aliens observing in the distance, this must have been a puzzling time for them.

Safaricom, the leading service provider in the country, had given us a bundle package for easy streaming of the marathon. That morning, everybody witnessed history.

Yesterday, I asked myself why I was keen on Faith Kipyegon’s attempt at breaking the 4-minute-mile. I could only think of that day, inside my hostel cubicle, behind my desk, the halls chanting, all windows open, everybody outside running into a frenzy. The energy was infectious.

I imagined it would be no different from what we expected from Faith.

In the Olympics, the 100 and 200-meter races have unmatched anticipation. The former ends in less than 10 seconds and the latter in around 20. Yet, the whole world never misses out, for both male and female categories. The wave of energy lasts longer than mere seconds. Seeing how Bolt and Tebogo claimed their titles was no different from how Eliud raced to the final line.