Yesterday’s BMW Berlin marathon saw Wilson Kipsang shave a further 15 seconds of the men’s marathon world record.
The Kenyan’s winning time of two hours, three minutes and 23 seconds was an incredible achievement, and again raises the question of a possible sub-two hour marathon.
Kipsang went into the race with intentions to diminish the record, and the 31-year-old did not disappoint on Berlin’s renowned course.
The event is an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, and the German capital has now witnessed nine world records, eight of which were in the last 15 years.
Kipsang fell 20 seconds adrift off the required pace at one point, but the Kenyan finished like a steam train to whittle the time down.
“I was feeling strong so I decided to push,” he spoke, “I’m very happy that I’ve won and at breaking the world record.”
Too many cynics believe a sub-two hour marathon is impossible, but to nonsense the possibility is ludicrous.
Agreeably, the feat will not happen any time soon, but rest assured, it will happen.
There will always be something better out there. Faster shoes, greater training, quicker ways to recover or a more suitable diet. How else did we get where we are today?
In the space of 10 years we have seen Paul Tergat’s record of two hours, four minutes and 55 seconds reduced by over a minute and a half.
At the time, completing 26.2 miles in such a time was sensational, and it still is, but Tergat’s record was later demolished by the great Haile Gebrselassie, and again by Patrick Makau.
Records are there to be broken, no matter how ambitious they may seem.
Take Usain Bolt for example, he believes a sub-19 second 200 metre is doable, and David Rudisha a sub-one minute 40 second 800 metres.
Both are an incredibly tall order, but at some point in history, I bet the times, jumps and throws athletes produce today were inconceivable, too.
Technological and scientific advancements are continually revolutionsing the way athletes prepare.
If took 10 years to take off one minute and 32 seconds of Tergat’s once record, who’s to say it won’t take 20 years to repeat that process twice over?
If the men’s marathon continues to improve at the rate it has, it could be as soon as 2034 we see the first one hour and 59 minute something world record.
