NAIROBI, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya says he holds a crazy dream to be the fastest man in history, which he hopes will inspire his quest to shutter the world marathon record in Berlin on Sunday.
Kipchoge, 33, will be racing in his 10th marathon since he graduated from the track back in 2012. The London champion has only one loss in his career back in 2013 against compatriot Wilson Kipsang. He has won in Hamburg, Chicago, London, Rio (Olympics) and Berlin.
"It's only a crazy dream until you do it. Don't be the fastest runner in the world, but strive to be the fastest runner in history," said Kipchoge on Monday in Nairobi.
Kipchoge will be running his fourth Berlin marathon on Sunday and has sounded out world marathon record holder Dennis Kimetto (2:02.57) saying he will be focused on lowering his personal best time, which is only eight seconds off the mark.
"Don't ask if your dreams are crazy. Ask if they are crazy enough," he added. "In Berlin the focus will be to improve on my personal best time of 2:03.05. Last year the weather was not good but I managed strongly to finish the race," he said.
Kipchoge said he draws his inspiration from top sportsmen including footballer Victory Wanyama of Tettenham, tennis star Rafael Nadal and motorsports elites.
"I am inspired by our own Kenyan footballer Wanyama, (Lewis) Hamilton in Formula 1 and Lebron James from basketball. Wanyama however holds a better push in my career because in Kenya football is not at the top, but he has worked hard to excel. They have shown where talent and passion meets," he said.
Kipchoge, who runs over 40km in his long runs on daily routine, believes many sportsmen cannot equal his endurance status and that it is what pushes him to do well in marathon career.
"Wanyama was shocked that I run 40km in one session. He told me in football match, they cover about 13km. We really get knowledge from each other, but they can't believe that a normal human being can run 40km at once," he added.
Now Kipchoge hopes the weather condition in Berlin will be favorable to him to cruise to a new height and cement his name as a marathon legend.
"My preparation is entirely concentrated on Berlin Marathon," said Kipchoge, who has won nine of the 10 marathons he has contested to date. "I am confident I can beat my personal best on this fast course if conditions are good."
Former world record-holder Wilson Kipsang will be another strong contender at this year's Berlin Marathon. Now 36, the Kenyan set his world record time of 2:03:23 in Berlin in 2013 when Kipchoge finished second, the Kenyan's only loss in a marathon to date. Zersenay Tadese will also be in Berlin.
The Eritrean has won five world half-marathon titles and holds the world record for the distance at 58:23.
