
Eliud Kipchoge finishes marathon in 2 hours, 25 seconds - djrogers
http://www.espn.com/sports/endurance/story/_/id/19321196/eliud-kipchoge-finishes-just-shy-sub-2-hour-marathon
======
tyingq
So, a 4:30 mile, 26.2 times in a row. A 5 minute, single mile, is a decent
finish time for high school track kids. Incredible.

~~~
lordnacho
Makes you wonder where they got the pacers from. I don't think I could sustain
that speed for even 200m.

~~~
adenadel
They were all Nike-sponsored professional runners that have their own racing
schedule. Some of the Americans I saw helping out were Chris Derrick, Bernard
Lagat, Lopez Lomong, and Andrew Bumbalough, in case you're interested in
seeing what the pacers are capable of.

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sdiq
Incredible, what some people can achieve. As a Kenyan, I am really proud of
these athletes.

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sndean
Here's a related FiveThirtyEight discussion on the topic:
[https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/can-science-help-
runner...](https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/can-science-help-runners-
break-the-marathons-2-hour-barrier/)

One of the quotes:

"A few years ago, I predicted it would happen in 2075, which gives a sense of
where my thinking was at that point."

~~~
hcs
Here's a direct link to that prediction:
[http://rw.runnersworld.com/sub-2/](http://rw.runnersworld.com/sub-2/)

Lots of data, but I don't see how the 2075 date is calculated, is it just an
intuitive guess?

~~~
sndean
It seems more like an intuitive guess, since some others [0] have suggested
something around ~2020 to 2030. A while ago (when Tergat still had the record)
I tried to simply fit a line to the All-time Athletics list [1] and thought
2050 was reasonable, IIRC.

Have to wonder if Kipchoge's time will end up being Beamonesque and we'll be
at 2030 before those last ~25s are shaved off.

[0]
[http://jap.physiology.org/content/110/1/275](http://jap.physiology.org/content/110/1/275)

[1] [http://www.alltime-athletics.com/mmaraok.htm](http://www.alltime-
athletics.com/mmaraok.htm)

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Grue3
>despite the aid of a shoe that designers say will make runners 4 percent more
efficient.

Seems like this could be a big factor. A shoe itself acting as a spring and
helping the runner make bigger strides with the same effort. I won't be
surprised if the official race wouldn't allow these "enhanced" shoes.

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notatoad
Apparently one of the factors that made this attempt invalid for the official
world record time was the absence of a wada-sanctioned drug test.

It's an impressive feat if they're clean. If they shaved two minutes off the
world record by pumping themselves full of PEDs then it's not really
noteworthy.

~~~
adenadel
I was under the impression that the runners were drug tested (at least, the
commentators were talking about them needing to take fluids after the race in
order to produce a sample). The time is not record eligible because they were
cycling pacers in and out and because they were providing fluids whenever the
Kipchoge, Tadese, and Desisa wanted, rather than at designated stations.

EDIT: Nike officials stated that the athletes would be drug tested according
to Ken Goe [0]

0\.
[http://www.oregonlive.com/trackandfield/index.ssf/2017/04/go...](http://www.oregonlive.com/trackandfield/index.ssf/2017/04/goe_nike_deserves_props_not_cr.html)

