Last year, around this time, I wrote an article titled “The Human Race Has Got Even Faster”: https://www.serhansuzer.com/tr/insan-irki-daha-da-hizlandi . In this article, I evaluated Eliud Kipchoge’s marathon record, set last year (25 September 2022) at the Berlin Marathon, which he set with a time of 2:01.09.
With this world record in Berlin, legendary runner Eliud Kipchoge improved his own 2018 record by 30 seconds. This means he has broken the world record, which had stood since 1967, twice, by 78 seconds. Last year, he ran four of the five fastest marathon times in history.
We were discussing the emergence of young runners who would be inspired by Kipchoge and further improve on his record. One of those young people inspired by Kipchoge, Kelvin Kiptum, also from his home country of Kenya, broke Eliud Kipchoge’s record by 2:01, running in 2:00.35. Frankly, no one expected anyone else to break this record in such a short time. Now, as Kipchoge himself stated, talented young people are emerging.
About Kiptum, the new record holder
Let’s get to know Kiptum, the new record holder (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelvin_Kiptum )
Kelvin Kiptum Cheruiyot is a Kenyan long-distance runner and marathon world record holder. He is the only person in history to run a marathon in under two hours and one minute in a record-setting race.
Kelvin Kiptum grew up in the village of Chepsamo in Chepkorio, a high-altitude (~2600 m) region of Elgeyo-Marakwet district in Kenya’s Rift Valley. Along with nearby districts, the region is known as the birthplace of many famous Kenyan runners and the Kaaba of foreign runners. As a young child, Kiptum herded his family’s cattle, following other runners barefoot along forest trails, and began training in 2013 at the age of 13. He is married to Asenath Rotich and they have two children.
The 45th Chicago Marathon, held on Sunday, 8 October 2023, was one of the “platinum”-classified races and the fifth of the six World Marathon Majors (WMM) events held this year. The race also hosted this year’s age-group world championships. Kenyan runner Kelvin Kiptum set a new marathon world record by winning the race in 2:00.35, beating the previous world record of 2:01.09 set by compatriot Eliud Kipchoge at the 2022 Berlin Marathon by 34 seconds. Kiptum had previously set course records in various marathons.
The record was “impending”
Kiptum won three marathons he competed in between December 2022 and October 2023, including two major World Marathons. His times include three of the six fastest times in history, and he ran them all under 2:02, making him the only person to break the barrier three times.
He ran his fastest marathon ever at the 2022 Valencia Marathon, becoming the third person in history to run under two hours and two minutes, and the fourth fastest time to date. Kiptum improved this four months later with a time of 2:01.25 at the 2023 London Marathon (WMM), the second-fastest marathon in history, coming within 16 seconds of the world record. Six months later, in his next race, the Chicago Marathon (WMM), in October 2023, the 23-year-old athlete broke the world record by 34 seconds with a time of 2:35. Approaching the two-hour barrier, Kiptum was just two seconds shy of becoming the first person to run that distance at an average speed of more than 21 km/h.
Kiptum hinted that he could break the world record when he won the London Marathon in 2:01.25. After clocking his second-best marathon time in London and coming within 18 seconds of the marathon record, he asked himself, “Can you break that marathon record?” She was asked, and she answered this question modestly, saying, “I’ll go back to my country and then I’ll see what happens.” Here’s the video:
And ultimately, she did what was necessary. She ran a time of 2:00.35 in Chicago, pushing the marathon record even closer to the 2-hour barrier.
Here’s what happened when she crossed the finish line while breaking the marathon record:
Sifan Hassan’s incredible start in the women’s race
By the way, let’s open up a little bit to the women runners. The women’s course record was also broken in the same race. Sifan Hassan, a Dutch runner of Ethiopian descent who has become a rising star like Kiptum, set a new course record by finishing the Chicago Marathon in 2:13:44, achieving the second-fastest time ever run by a woman in her second marathon. Hassan made her marathon debut at the 2023 London Marathon, which she won in 2:18:33. We also expect Sifan Hassan to break the women’s marathon record.
I’d like to share my anticipation for the marathon record to be broken.
Kipchoge’s unofficial 1:59 time
I previously blogged about Kipchoge’s unofficial time of 1:59. I wrote about how he ran the marathon in sub-2 hours in an unofficial event: Unofficially, on 2 October 2019, Kipchoge ran the ‘Ineos 1:59 Challenge’ special marathon in Vienna in 1:59.40.2, marking the first time a human being could run the marathon in under two hours. The record wasn’t officially recognized because the course in Vienna’s Prater Park, specifically designed for the record attempt, wasn’t prepared by the International Association of Athletics Federations (it was also said that the standard competition rules for pace and fluids weren’t followed, and it wasn’t an open event). But this event, in which he ran the marathon in under two hours, was filmed from beginning to end. We all witnessed how the human race can push its limits, thus shattering the common belief that a marathon cannot be run in under two hours (see: https://www.bbc.com/turkce/spor-50026561 ).
Kipchoge or Kiptum?
I think this record will be attempted in one of the major World Marathons sometime soon (or even before the Olympics begin in Paris on 26 July 2024). I don’t know if the Olympic or world record will be broken in Paris, but I think that before or perhaps after the Paris Olympics next year, the 42-km, 195-m marathon will be run in under two hours for humanity. We’ll see if it’ll be Kipchoge, Kiptum, or a new young talent who emerges to break the record. My guess right now is that Kiptum is the most likely candidate to break the record. Both his youth (he’s only 23) and his unique qualities make him a strong contender: Kiptum’s tactic is to run the first 30 K alongside the best runners, then accelerate in the final 15km, gaining a lead over the other runners. No other runner can accelerate his pace late in the race like this, leaving everyone behind. Here’s a comparison of the 5 K splits Kipchoge and Kiptum did last year and this year, when they broke the marathon record (you can also see how Kiptum accelerated later in the race in the splits below):
Kiptum Kipchoge
5 K 14:26 14:14
10 K 14:16 14:09
15 K 14:27 14:10
20 K 14:30 14:12
25 K 14:25 14:23
30 K 14:27 14:32
35 K 13:51 14:30
40 K 14:01 14:43
42.195 K 2:00:35 2:01:09
Now let’s look at the cumulative splits:
Whatever the outcome, we want to see humanity continually push its limits. We hope to see the marathon distance in official times fall under 2 hours soon…
Bonus: You can find a professional review of the Chicago Marathon on the “Runners World” channel:
Tags: health
