@EliudKipchoge aims to become the first human to run a marathon in under two hours in the much-anticipated run in Austria. This is going to be something close to the American Super Bowl. It is the sub 2-hour marathon challenge (ineos159challenge.com).

Twitter, as Kenyan pundits would say, is on fire with trending hashtags #INEOS159 #NoHumanIsLimited.

This may all sound very exciting. Indeed, it is exciting. What a season to be in and witness record shattering career goals.

Those of “us” who are motivational speakers have found a new line – You can DO it. You are your own competition. How convenient that Nike.com is Eliud’s footwear sponsor!

I went to bed excited over this piece of news. However, I wake up a disturbed Kenyan. My hunch tells me that there is something not right up for our surprise.

Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) was to interrupt routine protocol of avionics – when Kipchoge’s private chartered flight did a stopover at JKIA to refuel for an onward flight to Austria – to do an intercom and send a goodwill message to the Kenyan elite marathoner. In their words, KCAA said, “Mr. Eliud Kipchoge, on behalf of the staff of KCAA, we would like to wish you the very best in the INEOS159 challenge. Bring home that title”

My simple question, “is this a moment of Kenyan pride or we are just about to sell our birthright for a morsel of bread? Where are the Kenyan bureaucrats to ensure the sovereignty of this heritage? Where was brandkenya.go.ke to leverage this event and market our brand? Where was Raila Odinga (somebody will need to blame baba) while all this was happening?”

The pomp of what we are seeing in the media might be a decoy of the real objective of this #INEOS159Challenge. I mean, look at the sophistication with which this race is to be run. Careful selection of the shoes he will use, close monitoring of wind patterns, laser guided simulation of pace setters … wow. This sounds like the making of a SciFi sports film.

When I read that the organizers plan to monitor the minutest detail of the volume of water he takes and the frequency, I could only imagine this to be a Big DATA challenge than a human race. For the techies out there, the sophistication of Internet of Things (IoTs) in this race will literally give us a blood rush.

It behooves the state – that is the Government of Kenya – to have seen the grand scheme and imagine of the best ways to protect our heritage.

By the time we are in for Olympics 2024, I dare suggest that Kenya may struggle to have a podium finish! The sponsors of the #INEOS159 would have crunched the secret code and replicated in other humans the capability of running a marathon under 2hrs. After all, that is the prime objective of big data and predictive analytics.

Wake me up when the “super human” has finished the race.