just do it
Having run a couple of marathons in my time I was delighted to see a new world record of just two hours twenty-five seconds was recently set by reigning Olympic champion, Eliud Kipchoge. And, by shaving almost three minutes off the current record, he did it by the proverbial country mile, literally and metaphorically! Just imagine how he felt when realising it ain’t going to make the record book, not now, not ever.
The sub-two-hour stunt, organised and paid for by Nike, aimed to show exactly what was humanly possible in a contrived and unrealistic racing scenario. Italy’s historic Monza race track was chosen as the venue due to its flat and gentle corners. The Mediterranean spring sunshine provided benign conditions. Brand new and unlicensed ‘running efficiency’ trainers were worn, together with all manner of ultrasound measuring devices which monitored glycogen levels and various core temperatures. Kipchoge (in the red vest) was paced the whole distance by a legion of pacesetting runners who, in adopting an arrowhead formation, reminiscent of cyclists within the peloton, also shielded him from any deflecting wind. Furthermore, he was fed & watered by moped-accompanying domestiques.
So what? Didn’t Roger Bannister have a pacer for the first two laps of his sub-four minute mile? Don’t two equally skilled athletes force each other on? Wasn’t South Africa’s infamous ‘blade-runner’ using advantageous technology? Didn’t those swimmers’ skin suits make them glide through the water more efficiently? Are not modern day materials & technologies making greater achievement inevitable? In setting a new ‘hour’ cycling record wasn’t Graeme Obree’s trusty home-built ‘Old Faithful’ bicycle ruled illegal? To my mind, this represents an astonishing feat of endurance and irrespective of any external assistance, Kipchoge ran the race of his life entirely under his own steam and the record should be allowed to stand, albeit perhaps under a separate banner. The race for the first sub-two hour marathon is now well and truly on.
