On Sunday, September 16, 2018 the world’s greatest marathoner toed the line for the Berlin Marathon for an attempt at history. The world marathon record stood at 2:02.57. On this beautiful Sunday a 5’6” 33-year old Kenyan runner named Eliud Kipchoge prepared to shock the world. Alongside him was his long-time coach Patrick Sang. Sang was influential in the development of one of the world’s greatest runners in Kipchoge. But, perhaps the most influential person on this day for Kipchoge would be a 52-year old German, on a bicycle, named Claus Henning-Schulke.

Claus Henning Schulke works as a project manager for a Berlin based construction company. In the fall of 2018 his large project was the 60 million dollar renovation of the Berlin Palace. A former marathoner himself, he made the switch to the triathlon in his twenties but has remained a fan of the marathon distance for years. Since 1998 (20 consecutive years) Claus has volunteered at the Berlin Marathon. His experience over time provided him the opportunity to be the senior member of a 30 person volunteer crew who are in coordinate the assistance of the elite marathon runners in obtaining their in race fluids.

These fluids - full of a blend of water, carbohydrates, and often energy bars, are critical to the success of these elite athletes. Each bottle is uniquely blended for each athlete and their fueling needs to perform at the highest possible capacity. Because of the duration of the race, these bottles serve to refuel these athletes to run at a maddening pace.

For Kipchoge, these bottles are essential to his marathon world record attempt. Without them, there is no way even an elite runner like him could maintain the pace needed. A Nike sponsored athlete, Kipchoge was a part of the Breaking 2 project in May of 2017. There, he was given access to the sporting world’s best resources of sports scientists and doctors to optimize every tiny detail of being an elite marathoner. To run a world record marathon time of 2 hrs 2 minutes 57 seconds, a robust 4:41 mile pace for 26.2 miles, every tiny detail must be honed in because every second counts. Fueling the body is critical over the marathon distance.

On this September day in Berlin. Claus Henning Schulke was given the task of handing refueling drinks to Eliud Kipchoge throughout the race. Because of his experience, Claus was personally asked by the Berlin Marathon race director to be assigned to Kipchoge. Days before the race, Claus met with Kipchoge and his manager on the mechanics of how to hand the bottle to Kipchoge in such a way to allow him maximum efficiency to allow Kipchoge to keep his pace.

As the race started, the plan would be for Kipchoge to receive a refueling drink from Claus at 13 different locations on the course. The challenge is, Kipchoge will be traveling at a speed of 12.43 miles per hour over the duration of the race. Claus must pedal his bike to a station, wait for Kipchoge, hand him the bottle, then hop back on his bike and beat Kipchoge to the next station. Claus must weave around camera crews, and support vehicles on the course. At some stations, Claus would arrive, find Kipchoge’s bottle, and have around thirty seconds to spare before Kipchoge would arrive. It was a mad dash for both as they pursued the marathon world record.

Before continuing take a peak at their process in this video: HERE

It doesn’t take long in the video to realize that Claus Henning Schulke is a rare human being. His intensity and passion for serving Kipchoge is incredible. His joy in doing his job serves as an example for all leaders. Here are three things we can learn from Claus Henning Schulke:

1.) Enthusiasm is a force multiplier

Nobody would have faulted Claus for just going through the motions. His role was the epitome of “grunt work” if he allowed it to be. Get on the bike, hand the drink, get on the bike, repeat over and over. Instead, Claus shows the world the joy that can be found in doing the most mundane of activities. For Claus, serving Kipchoge on this day was no different than what he had been doing since 1998. When done with enthusiasm, the work we do, and the roles we play on the team, can give someone else the extra kick they need. Kipchoge needed it this day. He got it thanks to Claus.

2.) Serving always shows up in retrospect

The greatest marathoner to ever live, recalls the most memorable thing about his world record race in Berlin was Claus handing him bottles. Not the fame he received for running the fastest marathon in history, not the feeling of all his hard work paying off finally. What Kipchoge remembered the most, was Claus handing him fuel, and encouraging him with words to keep going. We always will remember people who sacrifice for our gain.

3.) Behind every champion is a bottle handler

If you are a coach, teacher, parent, or leader you should be encouraged by Claus. The enthusiasm, and joy in which he went about serving the athlete sets a high standard for all leaders. May his posture be a guide on how to lead and parent for us moving forward. Behind every accomplished writer, actor, athlete, or business woman are many people like Claus. Serving, cheering, and putting it all on the line for someone else to succeed. A leader should model Claus’ support of Kipchoge. Hand them what they need, then cheer them on and get out of the way.

Stay The Course,

JB