Chicago, IL – In a spectacular display of endurance and leg turnover, Kelvin Kiptum made history this week at the Chicago Marathon, breaking Eliud Kipchoge's marathon world record in an incredible time of 2:00:35; that’s a mere THIRTY FIVE seconds short of the SUB-2 barrier! Kiptum's performance has sent ripples of awe and wonder through the global running community, signaling a new era in marathon racing. What is this new era?
We are officially on the Sub-2 watch.
What was once thought to be unattainable in the minds of marathon enthusiasts and fans, Kelvin Kiptum of Kenya, has officially made the sub-2 hour marathon performance, in an official race (not the Ineos 1:59 Challenge), a goal to reach out and grasp in our lifetime. As a 23-year old at the time of this writing, Kelvin Kiptum already cements himself as a mythical figure within the vast encyclopedia of long distance running history. (photo credit: Getty Images)
Crossing the finish line with an official time of 2:00:35, Kiptum bested Kipchoge's previous record by a significant margin of :34 seconds. That is a lot of time considering how methodically this world record has slid closer and closer to sub-2 hours over the decades. Keep in mind, this is only Kiptum’s third marathon ever: Valencia 2022, London 2023, and now Chicago 2023.
The burning question becomes, will Kipchoge be able to respond next spring? Does he have enough left in the tank as a 38 year old, to up his game one more time before next year’s Olympics in Paris?
Will London 2024 will be on the docket for Kipchoge to reclaim his marathon world record, rather than Boston? As we all know, Boston’s hills rarely foster a PR, and certainly not a world record kind of day for the elites. With Kipchoge knocking on the Paris door for a potential gold medal three-peat, it appears his window to become a “2 guy,” rather than a “2:01 guy,” is beginning to close.
Needless to say, Kiptum’s training volume (very high) and race strategy paid off in a big way in the streets of Chicago. Look at these splits between both world record races from the past 13 months:
Kipchoge was obviously feeling good that first half in the 2022 Berlin Marathon. Kiptum played it a little more conservative in Chicago from the starting line, pulling off the ever-elusive negative split race: 1:00:48 first half marathon and followed it up with 59:48 down the stretch. Negative splitting is very difficult to pull off in any race, especially in a marathon. Rarely do the glycogen levels and leg turnover survive well, past the 2-hour mark. Good thing Kiptum only went past it by :35 seconds!
The world of marathon racing has forever changed because of Kiptum’s performance in Chicago. Looking back through marathon history from the past two decades, marathon fans cheered on 2:04 finishers, who were something special to behold! Then came the 2:03 era of racers, think Haile Gebreselassie breaking 2:04 by one second at the 2008 Berlin Marathon with a 2:03:59; and then came 2:02, 2:01, and now the marathon world is already half way through the double 00s! How long will it take to shave off another 1.3 seconds per mile to dip below two hours in the marathon (comment below)? See top 10 marathon finishes of all time, graphic credit from Runners World below:
After complete domination by Eliud Kipchoge for close to a decade, it appears he has truly blazed the trail to the sub-2 hour marathon. His record of 2:01:09, set in Berlin in 2022, had been seen by many as the pinnacle of human endurance. This past weekend, Kelvin Kiptum has respectfully set a new pinnacle that we can only hope inspires the current GOAT in Kipchoge to respond with one....two.... maybe three more world record attempts?
The Chicago Marathon 2023 will go down as the moment the torch was passed to the next generation of marathon great(s). As athletes continue to push boundaries, the world watches with bated breath, waiting for that next marathon world record attempt. For now, the spotlight remains firmly on Kelvin Kiptum. His performance will be remembered for years to come, inspiring countless runners to dream bigger, push harder in training, and not be afraid to take on the GOATS, even if it is Kipchoge.
(photo credit: Getty Images)
