Yesterday, the Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge completed a marathon in less than two hours, becoming the first person ever recorded to cover the full distance of 42.195 kilometers (approximately 26 miles) in under that long-pursued landmark time. He crossed the finish line in 1 hour 59 minutes 40.2 seconds, just twenty seconds inside the barrier.
Remarkable as the achievement is, it will not appear in the record books as an officially sanctioned world record. The reason is a technical one: the run was not an “open race” held under the rules of the IAAF, the international governing body for athletics, and only such races can produce official records.
The attempt took place in Vienna, Austria, at an event created for one purpose alone: to help Kipchoge break the two-hour barrier. Known as the Ineos 1:59 Challenge, it featured no fewer than 42 pacemakers, supporting runners whose job was to set and hold the pace. Far from being ordinary club runners, they included some of the sport’s top athletes and Olympic champions. Throughout the run, they kept alternating positions in a formation that surrounded Kipchoge, keeping him at its centre as he ran.
Kipchoge was quick to share the credit with them. “They are among the best athletes in the world — so thank you,” he said after the run. “I appreciate them for accepting this job. We did this one together.”
He also turned to social media to thank a much wider group of people. In a post on Twitter, he described the experience in memorable terms: “Today we went to the Moon and came back to earth! I am at a loss for words for all the support I have received from all over the world.”
For all its significance, the run in Vienna does not replace the record that Kipchoge already holds. Last year in Berlin, Germany, he set the current official world record for a sanctioned marathon race, finishing in 2 hours 1 minute 39 seconds. His time in Vienna was therefore about two minutes faster than his own official record. The two achievements now stand side by side: one recognized by the sport’s rules, the other standing outside them, yet historic in its own way.
