On The Brink

Will a running shoe shave two minutes and 58 seconds off the marathon world record?

- Ross Tucker

In the 1950s, the race for the four-minute mile put human limits in the headlines. Then, in the 1960s, the sub-10-second 100m held the world’s attention – before it fell, with a little help from the thin air in Mexico City. And now, ostensibly, we stand on the brink of the 1:59 marathon. I remain unconvinced that it is as imminent as some people want to believe – at least as a legitimate performance. Dennis Kimetto’s current world record, from 2014, stands at 2:02.57, which is a long way from 1:59.59. Three minutes to a four-hour marathoner? No problem. Three minutes to a 2:03 marathoner? Big problem!

WHY THE FUSS NOW?

When Kimetto set the current record, it was predicted that sports science and medicine would take an East African to the ‘promised land’ within five years. Which put the sub-two hour barrier in the spotlight.