“Go hard or suffer the rest of your life” – Paul Chelimo’s Wisdom Distilled
Recently our video content has been reaching many eyes and we have been getting lots of positive feedback (check out the Sweat Elite YouTube Channel here). No videos have received more engagement than those filmed at Paul Chelimo’s workouts leading up to Tokyo where he placed third in a hotly contested 5000m – edged out by Joshua Cheptegei and Mo Ahmed.
These videos give a glimpse into the structure and intensity of Paul’s training, however we decided that a long-form interview would be a better way to delve into his outlook on life and running. Paul graciously hosted Sweat Elite’s founder, Matt Fox, in his home and gave us an insight into the training and mentality that has allowed him to develop into the runner he is today.
Kenyan Roots
Paul came from humble beginnings in Iten, Kenya – the “town of champions” where many of Kenya’s top athletes have been born and trained. However, throughout childhood it was never clear that his path was to be one of greatness. His natural talents were on display from an early age, although things as rudimentary and essential to survival as food and water were at times limiting factors in his ability to train. Some days Paul would have to complete several repetitions of a two-mile trip to collect many gallons of water for his family, others he had to go to bed hungry – by no means conducive to fuelling a growing body and high training load.
Growing up he displayed early prowess when endlessly outrunning his brothers (who also later went to the US to run in the collegiate system) in games of tag, and winning races in school. However, one of his earliest memories racing was getting kicked off the track after being lapped in a 5000m race against other schools in the Iten region, including the famous St Patrick’s athletes. Whilst still a youth in school Chelimo was approached by Renato Canova and encouraged to train to race professionally and leave school. His mother gave him an ultimatum – leave school and he would have to leave the family home – on her advice Paul prioritised his education and ended up running in the US collegiate system.
After one year at Shorter College he transferred to University of North Carolina and the NCAA. Here he had success in the 5000m (placing second twice at the NCAA championships) and then transitioned into the US Army World Class Athlete Program, earning US citizenship. After completing basic training in 2014 he shifted focus to the 5000m at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where he placed second.
Quality over quantity
One approach to which Paul attributes much of his success is focusing on the quality and intensity of workouts and substituting this in place of high mileage, which he sees as often resulting in junk miles. He says that focussing on crushing two-three workouts per week at a high intensity and then running conservatively (to feel) on recovery days has allowed him to maintain freshness and speed when it comes time to race. With this goes no longer tracking mileage pedantically, but he estimates that in the build for Tokyo most weeks averaged out around 80 miles.
During the conversation on the podcast he cites multiple examples of where he found subtracting work and instead focusing on ample recovery and intensity has helped him – fewer reps in workouts (eg twelve 400s in place of sixteen, four miles in place of six), cutting down on gym workouts in the month prior to competitions and racing less, focusing on being ready for those races that really matter.
Listening to the body
As part of focusing on quality rather than quantity, a massive emphasis is placed on heeding feedback from how his body is feeling and responding to work. Paul says that he has cultivated a relationship with his coach – Scott Simmons – that allows them to negotiate and adjust training and scheduling based on how he is feeling leading up to, during, or following a race or workout. This includes cutting back on reps mid-workout if he’s not feeling up to it, and adding some extra work in when energy is up. Paul says that in the middle of a set of 400s he will call it off if his pace drifts north of 63-64s, as it indicates he’s needing rest.
As time passes and Paul is no longer the young buck of the field, he says has had to prioritise sleep and recovery. “When my body is tired, the only key that I have is just to sleep more and get more rest.” Following the flight home from Tokyo he slept over 25 hours in two nights. “If you take care of the main things – recovery and diet – the workouts and the pace will just fall into place.”
Train smart
Paul emphasises the importance of being very strategic with training, when to go hard and how to peak at the right time. This includes adjusting work according to how the body is feeling, focusing on what he sees as being the most beneficial at any given point (eg. dropping off on strength training close to competitions or focusing on intense workouts rather than high mileage). He says that as he is aging, and the younger athletes are coming up the ranks, this is essential to stay ahead of the game.
Training excerpts
3 x mile (~4:10)
6 x mile (4:25) (he now prefers the shorter session as he believes it develops better ability to surge during races)
4 mile tempo run (often on the track, sometimes trail)
12 x 400m (aiming to have all under 60s, ideally finishing around 52s), recovery up to 2 mins
Threshold session – 3 miles, 2 miles, 2 x 400
Speed session – 5 x 800, 4 x 200 (tune-up before 2021 US trials)
2 x 600, 2 x 400, 2 x 600, 2 x 200, 800, 2 x 600, 2 x 200, 2 x 400 (2-3 mins rec)
8mi steady run (“medium tempo”) the day after a workout – only if feeling fresh
Strength workouts twice per week – normally on the same day as his workouts. Paul says he keeps the strength workouts quite restrained and doesn’t go crazy here, just trying to stay strong and shifting towards more lightweight core work when approaching races
Giving back
Paul exudes gratitude for the life he has been afforded by his career in athletics, moving from a life of poverty in Kenya to one of plenty in the US. “However small, I appreciate every little thing that anyone does for me in my life… I don’t expect too much from anyone but I give back whatever they give me, it’s a two way thing.”
One of his main sponsors, ArtiKen, has teamed up with Paul and now direct ten percent of proceeds to clean water projects in Kenya (Paul himself trained as a Water Treatment Specialist with the US Army and completed a public health major). This is in the hope of preventing children from enduring the same fate Paul had to as a child, missing educational and recreational opportunities due to time being consumed by collecting water, and also suffering poor health due to unsanitary conditions.
Go hard or suffer the rest of your life
As part of being grateful for the life he has, Paul has an all or nothing approach in order to maximise his opportunities. His mantra, “go hard or suffer the rest of your life” embodies this approach and carries him through for the big championship races that he focuses on. He even dropped some hints about his upcoming transition towards the 10,000m and marathon in the future. Paul discussed all of this and much more in the conversation with Matt (you can listen here) – we are grateful for him taking the time to share all of this with us.
