When Jacob Kiplimo storms previous the end line, he’s not simply operating on expertise — he’s operating on knowledge. The Ugandan long-distance star and TeamGalaxy athlete trains with Galaxy Watch8, which turns complicated biometric knowledge into worthwhile insights that form his profitable technique.
This highly effective mixture of know-how and expertise has already reaped rewards. After securing a dominant win on the 2025 Chicago Marathon and shattering the half-marathon world file this March in Lisbon, the 25-year-old is now concentrating on success on the 2026 London Marathon.
To mark World Well being Day (WHD) 2026 on April 7, Samsung Newsroom requested him to element his data-driven coaching regime, which embodies this 12 months’s WHD slogan, “Collectively for well being. Stand with science.”
With unique entry to his Samsung Well being metrics, we take an inside look into his grueling coaching program, which has seen him cowl over 100 km in only one week. Uncover how insights led him to regulate his coaching for optimum restoration and the way even a “relaxation day” can embody a 3 km run.
Q. Congratulations in your current world file on the 2026 Lisbon Half Marathon. What’s the key to your success?
There’s no secret. It’s nearly self-discipline. You must work laborious, be extraordinarily targeted, and handle your vitality — realizing when to relaxation and when to push tougher. However actually, a very powerful half is that it’s important to actually need what you’re working towards. I wouldn’t have damaged the world file if I didn’t observe that system.
Q. You completed second on the 2025 London Marathon and are actually making ready to go one step additional at this 12 months’s occasion. What function has your Galaxy Watch8 performed in your coaching?
My coach doesn’t dwell in Uganda, so my Galaxy Watch8 has principally turn into his private assistant right here. Although he’s not with me, he can get real-time evaluation and stories on my operating type by way of the Operating Evaluation characteristic in Samsung Well being. We observe my coronary heart price and pay shut consideration to my tempo for every kilometer. Through the tougher periods, I additionally monitor the asymmetry readings to see if I’m overcompensating on one aspect so I can keep away from pressure. Contact time is one other key facet I keep watch over, making small changes to my type to make sure each stride is as environment friendly as doable. I all the time attempt to enhance my operating financial system, so these insights are extremely useful.
Q. your current Samsung Well being knowledge, we are able to see some clear patterns in your coaching routine. Inform us about your regime.
Consistency is essential, however athletes should not be obsessive about coaching. What many individuals don’t understand is that relaxation is equally as necessary as bodily coaching. To compete at your greatest, you want to have the ability to maximize your vitality, and the one manner to do this is thru constant relaxation. However “relaxation” doesn’t all the time imply no coaching. A relaxation day can imply operating 3 km as an alternative of 40 km. You must be constant in what you’re doing, however you additionally must take heed to your physique and know when to decelerate. Know-how may help rather a lot with this.
Q. Are you able to give us an instance of how a particular perception from the Samsung Well being app led you to adapt your coaching program?
The choice to run 3 km as an alternative of 40 km that I simply talked about was a real story. After experiencing some lingering soreness throughout a current 24 km run, I made a decision to show what was meant to be a 40 km run into a light-weight 3 km jog to make sure I may recuperate and have the stamina to get by way of 40 km one other day. The Samsung Well being app was very useful for me right here. It saved me knowledgeable so I may enable my physique to totally recuperate and stop a possible damage or burnout.
Q. We’ve seen how an expert runner like your self makes use of knowledge to succeed in their objectives. What recommendation would you give to somebody who’s simply beginning their operating journey, and the way can the Operating Coach characteristic get them heading in the right direction?
For inexperienced persons, it is vitally necessary to ease into issues and be affected person. You’ll construct up stamina over time; it’s about realizing when to push your self and when to cease. Not everybody has a private coach with them to tailor a coaching plan. However the Operating Coach characteristic offers custom-made packages to assist even inexperienced persons prepare for a marathon. It tells you precisely what try to be doing throughout a run, motivates you and helps you enhance. New runners are lucky to have this implausible know-how which may information them each step of the way in which. It’s additionally nice for extra skilled runners trying to tackle a full marathon because it offers structured coaching packages.
Q. On World Well being Day, the message is “Collectively for well being, stand with science.” How does this relate to your personal philosophy?
Science helps me all through my coaching. I don’t know the place I might be with out the flexibility to trace knowledge on my Galaxy Watch8. I exploit that science to form my day by day routine. Science and know-how assist me carry out at my greatest, and I consider they will do the identical for anybody.
From a younger runner in Uganda to a world-record holder, Kiplimo proves what occurs when relentless dedication meets sensible know-how. Whether or not you might be an elite athlete striving for the rostrum or somebody taking your first steps in direction of a more healthy way of life, Galaxy Watch8 offers actionable insights that can assist you construct more healthy habits and attain your objectives.