First marathon ever run under 2 hours

[Azrael]

The biggest sports story in years. Like breaking the 4-minute mile.

Eliud Kipchoge makes history by running sub two-hour marathon

 

[Michael_ Gee]

With all the aids like the pacemakers, will the IAAF recognize this record? They should. It's just ****in' unbelievable.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

Won’t count due to violations for pacing and fluids. The first I understand, but not the second.

Still a cool feat.

 

[maumann]

Quick calculations figure he ran approximately a 4:30 pace per mile for the entire distance, or more than 13 mph. Edwin Flack won the 1500 meters at the 1896 Olympic Games in 4:33.

 

[GilGarrido]

With all the aids like the pacemakers, will the IAAF recognize this record? They should. It's just ****in' unbelievable.

Kipchoge is amazing, but this won't count as a record for several reasons. This wasn't a race, but a very thoroughly-planned time trial. Pacemakers (who give both a psychological benefit and a physical benefit by reducing wind resistance) are allowed in record-eligible races, but they have to run from the start, and they usually drop out about 2/3 of the way through, so the runners are on their own for the last and hardest part. Here Kipchoge had pacemakers rotating in and out all the way until the final sprint. The pace car was also close enough to them that it reduced wind resistance, and that's not the case in record-eligible races. I believe the fluid issue was that bicyclists handed fluids to Kipchoge as he ran rather than making him pick them up from a table every 5K. Kipchoge was also using customized Nikes that aren't available to other competitors yet, which technically isn't allowed (though it seems to happen anyway).

To be fair, Bannister's 4-minute mile had pacers too, but soon afterwards, Bannister and John Landy broke 4 minutes in regular races. Kipchoge, who is the most dominant marathoner in history, is still almost 4 seconds/mile away from breaking 2 hours in a regular race, whieh is a lot.

 

[Azrael]

Thanks, Gil. That answers a couple of my questions.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

 

[Chef2]

I couldn't do 26.2 miles in 2 weeks, let alone 2 hours

 

[Batman]

I couldn't do 26.2 miles in 2 weeks, let alone 2 hours

Like Adam Carolla once said: I've done a marathon, too. I've covered 26.2 miles from my couch to my refrigerator. It just took me a few months.

 

[tapintoamerica]

Other issue is that the route was entirely flat.

 

[GilGarrido]

Other issue is that the route was entirely flat.

Almost. There was a drop of about 40 feet in the first 500 meters and then roughly ten-foot drops and rises on each of the four loops - not much, but not perfectly flat. Some runners actually prefer slight changes to vary the stresses on their leg muscles. Another way the course was conducive to fast times was that the route was long and straight and the turnarounds at each end were wide and relatively gentle - in most races there are lots of 90-degree turns or even 180-degree turnarounds, so it takes more energy to maintain a fast pace. This has details about the course:

A Close Look at the Course for This Weekend's Sub-2 Marathon Attempt

In theory, you could build an even faster record-eligible course, as a net decline from start to finish of up to 0.1%, or about 135 feet for a marathon, is permitted. The finish must be within half the race distance (in a straight line) from the start, though, so there would have to be a turn or two in there somewhere. A couple of weeks ago, some people tried to pre-empt Kipchoge's effort by having a couple of B-list Kenyans break 2 in a steep downhill marathon. One was on pace through halfway, but downhill running trashes your quads after a while unless you've trained specifically for it, and he slowed before the finish. There are companies that hold downhill marathons so runners can get better times, especially people who want to qualify for Boston and can't do so on a flat course.