Eliud Kipchoge explores running, legacy and healthier cities
The Bupa-hosted event will explore Kipchoge’s Running World Tour legacy and how running can support healthier people and a healthier planet.
Bupa is also working with Landcare Australia and the Nike Melbourne Marathon Festival to deliver the new Melbourne Marathon Healthy Cities Nature Trail.
Eliud Kipchoge will bring the legacy ambitions of his Running World Tour to Melbourne during Nike Melbourne Marathon Festival week, joining Bupa for an intimate conversation about running, purpose and the role healthier environments play in healthier lives.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest marathon runners of all time, Kipchoge is a two-time Olympic marathon champion and, in 2019, became the first person to cover the marathon distance in under two hours in a specially staged event.
Bupa is hosting the event as part of the Melbourne leg of Kipchoge’s Running World Tour, through its Healthy Cities program, which connects everyday movement with investment in greener urban environments and reflects Bupa’s belief that the health of people and the health of the planet are deeply connected.
Bupa has also partnered with Kipchoge, Landcare Australia and the Nike Melbourne Marathon Festival on the Melbourne Marathon Healthy Cities Nature Trail, which will connect six priority restoration sites across Port Melbourne, Albert Park, Middle Park, St Kilda and Elwood.
The project will see 5,000 native plants planted in 2027 across coastal dunes, remnant grasslands, biodiversity corridors and urban reserves, helping restore habitat and improve connections between natural areas for native birds, reptiles, pollinators and other wildlife.
Interpretive signage and QR-enabled educational resources will also encourage people using the area to learn more about local biodiversity as they run, walk and cycle through the trail.
During INSIDE THE MARATHON MIND OF ELIUD KIPCHOGE, a small group of invited guests and media will hear how Kipchoge approaches the defining stages of a marathon - and how his ideas about discipline, reflection and purpose extend beyond the race itself.
Rather than revisiting records and race results, the conversation will examine the less visible aspect of elite endurance: patience, consistency, reflection and the thoughts a runner carries when the body wants to stop. It will also explore the legacy Kipchoge hopes to create through running and the responsibility athletes, organisations and communities share in supporting healthier places to live and move.
Australian marathon great Steve Moneghetti will facilitate the conversation, drawing on his experience across four Olympic Games and bringing his training diary from the 1990 Berlin Marathon to prompt a comparison between the preparation and reflection practices of two generations of marathon runners.
“Running has given me more than records or medals. It has taught me that every step can have a purpose beyond ourselves” said Kipchoge.
“My hope with this World Tour is to remind people everywhere that running is much more than a sport. It is a way to bring humanity together. I want every runner, whether they are chasing a marathon finish or simply taking their first steps, to believe in their dreams and discover that they are capable of more than they imagine.
My hope with this World Tour is to remind people everywhere that running is much more than a sport. It is a way to bring humanity together. I want every runner, whether they are chasing a marathon finish or simply taking their first steps, to believe in their dreams and discover that they are capable of more than they imagine.
“When we challenge ourselves with discipline and consistency, we grow not only as athletes but as people. I believe that when we run united across borders, cultures and communities, we create hope, friendship and a stronger world. Melbourne is another opportunity for us all to run together for something bigger than ourselves. A better, healthier and more peaceful world.”
Kipchoge, an avid and meticulous journaler, will also bring his journal to the event. Each guest will receive a journal inspired by his practice and will be invited to reflect on the lessons, intentions and legacy they want to carry with them when their own race becomes difficult. This limited-edition keepsake will become a physical reminder of the purpose they want to take to the start line and beyond it.
“The health of people and the health of the planet are deeply connected,” said Michael Burgess, Director Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, Bupa.
“That is why Bupa is working with Eliud on the Melbourne leg of his Running World Tour. His ambition to create a legacy beyond elite performance strongly aligns with Healthy Cities and our work to support greener urban environments that make movement, time outdoors and connection with nature more accessible.
“This is not simply about one event or one race. It is about using the reach of running to encourage healthier behaviour while investing in the places that help healthier communities thrive.”
Since the Healthy Cities program launched in Australia and New Zealand in 2023, Bupa has invested more than $5 million across more than 140 projects with organisations including Landcare Australia, contributing to the planting of more than 580,000 native plants and trees.
During Bupa's 2025 APAC Healthy Cities Challenge, 16,615 people participated, moving the equivalent of 4.4 billion steps.
The 2026 Bupa Pulse Check found that 69% of Australians currently make time to spend outdoors or in nature, while a further 20% would like to do more. Almost half use active transport such as walking, running or cycling as part of everyday life.
The partnership reflects Bupa's Everything for Health brand platform by recognising that improving health requires attention to both individual wellbeing and the environments that shape it.
