When I was younger, I wondered if I would ever see a sub two-hour marathon. It seemed like an unrealistic pipe dream.
The barrier has been a goal that has been talked about and chased for years, and the level of achievement has been compared to the first sub-four minute mile run by British athlete Roger Bannister on the Iffley Road track in Oxford in 1954.
Appropriately, Eliud Kipchoge, perhaps the best marathon runner of all-time, actually ran the first sub-two marathon.
Even Kipchoge, however, needed so much assistance (from rolling pace setters while running behind a pace vehicle) that the performance didn’t even count.
And now that the first official sub-two has been achieved, I don’t even know how I feel about it.
Assistance from super shoes
When Sabastian Sawe completed the London Marathon in 1:59:30 on Sunday, I wanted to join the celebrations. It was a historic effort that will be remembered for a long time.
But the game has changed, and in the same way that Kipchoge had assistance in his attempt, Sawe had some too.
I’ve never liked the decision by World Athletics to allow manufacturers to make carbon-plated “super shoes”, which offer so much assistance that world records have tumbled at ridiculous rates in recent years.
Yes, every generation sees improvements thanks largely to improved technology (among other things, including better understanding of the science behind training and diet).
However, the advantage offered by super shoes is so significant, and the leaps we’ve seen in performance have been so big, it makes it difficult to make comparisons between results now and times achieved just 10 years ago, let alone previous generations.
Taking some shine off a breakthrough result
Sawe wasn’t even the only athlete to go under two hours in London on Sunday. Ethiopian athlete Yomif Kejelcha, who finished second, ran 1:59:41. And Ugandan athlete Jacob Kiplimo, who was third in 2:00:28, also dipped under the previous world record.
I really do appreciate Sawe’s incredible effort. Perhaps I’m being too much of a purist and I should get with the times.
But I just feel the shoes have taken some shine off his breakthrough performance.
