Kipchoge himself came equipped with an updated, still-unreleased version of Nike’s controversial Vaporfly shoes, which, research appears to confirm, lower marathoners’ times. All Rights Reserved. But there was a glimmer in this invitation. Like the moon landing, Kipchoge’s run was a technical achievement that required unprecedented planning and support. His time, 1:59:40, is the fastest any runner has ever covered 26.2 miles. Home > Sports > List > Athletics > Records > Marathon. Read: Can food and drink improve your athletic performance? In the 2018 Berlin marathon, Eliud Kipchoge, the 2016 Olympic marathon champion from Kenya, set a new marathon world record with a time of two hours, one minute 39 seconds, taking more than a minute off the previous best. We use cookies on this website. By necessity, then, the marathon has resisted optimization. The organizers scouted out a six-mile circuit along the Danube River that was flat, straight, and close to sea level. He had unfettered access to his favorite carbohydrate-rich drink, courtesy of a cyclist who rode alongside the group. Early yesterday morning, in a misty park in Vienna, Eliud Kipchoge ran a marathon in less than two hours. Presciently, the journalist Ed Caesar wrote in Two Hours, a 2015 book about the future of marathoning, that the only way to pull someone under the two-hour mark would be to manufacture a marathon entirely for the purpose of speed. Kipchoge’s performance was not necessarily better than some of his other great feats, but it’s hard to argue that it was any worse. store, newsletter By using this site, you agree that we may store and access cookies on your device. Check out the 800 sports in the Encyclopedia of Every Sport. Kipchoge carved two minutes off his own world record and became the first marathoner to break the two-hour barrier. twitter, privacy Kenya's Peres Jepchirchir breaks her own half-marathon world record with a time of one hour five minutes 16 seconds at the World Half Marathon Championships in Gydnia, Poland. And the event’s start time was scheduled within an eight-day window to ensure the best possible weather. At the event, branded the INEOS 1:59 Challenge, the performance was heralded as a radical, historic leap, his “Neil Armstrong moment,” as one announcer said. 1m per km.". “It’s meaningless,” the sports scientist Yannis Pitsiladis said of the new record in an interview with The Times of London. Different cities have different courses that are known for their unique challenges. A team of intrepid runners have entered the world record books after running a marathon deep under the ground beneath an east Cleveland pit. Runners are getting closer. or marathon. “All those challenges carried in the public consciousness the possibility of death. He said he wants to inspire his competitors to move, too—to join him in what is now marathoning’s most exclusive club. copyright, contact In 2019, there was another staged marathon, the Ineos 1:59 Challenge, and this time he was successful in breaking the two hour barrier (1:59:40), though because of various assistances, it is not a IAAF ratified world record. We want to hear what you think about this article. See What is a sport? How to Cite, home Among a pack of mostly Kenyan runners who have recently pushed marathoning into a golden age, Kipchoge stands head and shoulders above the rest. The only professional marathon competition that has resembled it was 2017’s Breaking2, a much-hyped Nike campaign that put Kipchoge and two other athletes on an Italian motor-racing track under similar top conditions. Berlin has become the go-to race of late for official world records, but while that course is flat and fast, no one thinks it’s the ideal marathon path. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com. The INEOS 1:59 Challenge was not a race by any strict definition: It was simply Kipchoge, joined by a rotating phalanx of pacesetters, rocketing along the pavement against the clock. (Imagine the Mighty Ducks’ “flying V,” but reversed.). WHAT MAKES A GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS TITLE? He didn’t really have to break 2 to motivate them, though. These criteria allow for point to point courses as long as they satisfy these conditions, though there are some who are pushing to only recognize out and back courses. Corporate Social Responsibility activities & fundraising ideas, Community engagement & tourism marketing activities. The INEOS 1:59 Challenge was indeed a brazen defiance of the marathon’s spirit.