Eliud Kipchoge sets out to beat two-hour marathon barrier

Olympic and world marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge has departed for Vienna, in Austria, in his attempt to become the first man to run under two hours over 42km (26 miles).

He flew out last night from his training base in Kenya's Eldoret town, in the Rift Valley region, in a private jet provided by British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is bankrolling the attempt.

Kipchoge seeks to shatter his own record set last year at the Berlin marathon of two hours, one minute and 39 seconds.

His iconic target of running the distance under two hours, dubbed “INEOS 1:59 Challenge”, will take place in the streets of Vienna, though organisers are yet to announce the actual date and time as they consider the weather conditions.

The Kenyan athlete tweeted photos of his departure from the Eldoret airport:

One of the reasons Vienna was picked for the venue of the INEOS 1:59 Challenge was its favourable weather conditions in October.

This will be Kipchoge's second attempt to break the two-hours barrier after coming close in May 2017 in the Nike's Breaking2 project held at the Monza Formula 1 track in Italy.