YOU’VE PROBABLY HEARD of the “aggregation of marginal gains,” a concept pioneered by Sir Dave Brailsford, director of sport for the petrochemical giant INEOS, who guided the British cycling team to an unprecedented haul of gold medals at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. Brailsford later led the INEOS 1:59 project, where Eliud Kipchoge ran 26.2 miles in 1:59:40, becoming the first person to break the two-hour barrier in the marathon. The idea is that you make numerous small, incremental improvements (around 1 percent) in every area of a process, which, when combined, lead to substantial overall progress.
George Ratcliffe, the president of INEOS Automotive Americas, worked with Brailsford and is now applying the principle to his work and sporting life. “Marginal gains is about working on all the little things and getting them right,” says Ratcliffe. “What I took from Dave into Automotive is his relentless detail in every aspect of what he is working on. He will always establish a clear plan and a target that the entire team have had input to. Then he knows that everyone will pull in the same direction.”
George Ratcliffe getting in some miles at Palisades Park under the George Washington Bridge, New York.
INEOS makes the Grenadier, a rugged off-road vehicle inspired by the legendary Land Rover Defender. Launched in 2022, after eight years and $1.5 billion of development, the first Grenadiers, with their BMW-sourced engines and trail-ready suspensions, arrived in America in November 2023. Ratcliffe calls the Grenadier an honest vehicle, a big boxy 4×4 with adventure in its DNA. “Most 4x4s have become more sport utility, more luxury, and less off-road capable,” he says. “We’ve tried to build a pure off-road car that you can take anywhere. Our collective goal with the Grenadier is growth, and everyone is playing their part.”
Tariffs have made the U.S. market something of a sticky wicket because the Grenadier is built in France, but INEOS is powering on and saw solid growth in 2025, and it recently added the Quartermaster, a pickup version of the Grenadier.
Ratcliffe with an INEOS Grenadier. The burly off-road truck starts at $71,000.
Ratcliffe, who is 37, has run 33 marathons and his goal is to catch up to his age, then do one marathon per year.
When Ratcliffe’s not running INEOS Auto, he’s physically running. Growing up, he loved soccer and thought the concept of a marathon was ludicrous, even though his father, Jim, who founded INEOS in 1998, completed them regularly. “I couldn’t comprehend the distance—it seemed mad,” he says. Then, for his 18th birthday, his dad gifted him an entry into the London Marathon, kicking off a fitness journey that would shape and guide his life. “I was like, ‘Okay, I guess I’m going to do it, I’m going to run the London Marathon,’ ” Ratcliffe says. He did all his training runs with his dad but didn’t run with him on the day, “because we were racing. I beat him and finished in 3:18:07.” He remembers the excruciating aftermath, walking down stairs with pain blasting his quads so intensely he had to turn around and go down backward.
But something about the experience, the physical and mental challenges of the journey, the conversations along the way and afterward, resonated deeply with Ratcliffe. “Running at its core is a simple but adventurous way to explore a place, find clarity in your own head, and also test your physical limits,” he says. He usually runs with no music, often solo when training, but sometimes with friends, colleagues, or family.
Ratcliffe has run 32 more marathons, 20 with his dad, and also trekked to the North and South Poles and completed various multiday team races, such as the 155-mile Marathon des Sables. Now, at a rakish and sprightly 37, Ratcliffe is not slowing down, and he generally plans two to four major physical efforts annually. This year he plans to do Ironman Texas and the London Marathon, both in April, then another marathon or two later in the year. His goal is to catch up to his age in marathons and then “do at least one a year for as long as possible,” he says with a laugh.
Between Intervals
Pre-Marathon Meal
“The two days before, I eat only refined carbs (white rice, rice noodles) and light protein (chicken, salmon). The night before, a small bowl of pasta, chicken, and a plash of tomato sauce.”
Race fuel
“5x Maurten gels (one every 4.5 miles), sips of water, caffeine tabs after 18 miles.”
Dream training partners?
“Robert Scott and Ernest Shackleton were our last true British great explorers, friends who fell out competing to both be the first to reach the South Pole. Training with them would put grit into perspective.”
Legacy?
“INEOS sponsors the Daily Mile, which encourages kids to do 15 minutes of exercise every day to boost their health, happiness, and focus; 5.6 million children take part daily, in 98 countries worldwide.”
Training Plan
Ratcliffe trains in three-month blocks for his annual marathons, using a three-times-a-week program he adopted after working out with marathon king Eliud Kipchoge.
A. Tempo
Run at your marathon pace for 6 miles, extending the distance to 20 as you near the end of your training cycle.
B. Speed
On a track or treadmill, do 5 to 10 rounds of 1,000 meters; between rounds, walk 200 meters. The goal is to run faster than your marathon pace and maintain your fastest pace for each interval.
C. Cruise
In between the tempo and speed sessions, Ratcliffe will do longer runs at slower than marathon pace to build up his volume. Often he does one per week, but sometimes two or three.
This story appears in the Spring 2026 issue of Men’s Health.
Ben Court is the Executive Editor of Men’s Health. He has a decade of experience writing and editing stories about peak performance, as it relates to health, nutrition, fitness, weight loss, and sex and relationships. He enjoys yoga, cycling, running, swimming, lifting, grilling, and napping.
