Here’s Sean Ingle’s report on Eliud Kipchoge’s run in Monza:
That’s it for the blog today though. Will we ever see a marathon time under two hours? It still looks a way off, especially in traditional race scenario. Eliud Kipchoge gave it his best effort today, he was superb. The Kenyan is probably the only athlete in the world capable going that close. Thanks for your company.
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The athletes are reportedly being taken off for drug testing now before a ceremony of some sort.
Zersenay Tadese and Lelisa Desisa have also now finished the full marathon course. No word on their official times yet but both were well over two hours.
Kipchoge speaks. He thanks the pacing team before saying he is happy with his time, despite missing the target time of under two hours by just 26 seconds. He found it difficult to maintain the pace over the last 5km, he adds.
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Kipchoge’s time is 2:32 faster than the official world record of 2:02:57 set by Dennis Kimetto in 2014. Today’s effort won’t count as new record due to the pacing strategy though.
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Eliud Kipchoge finishes sub two-hour marathon attempt in two hours and 25 seconds.
Kipchoge dug deep, really deep. He gave it everything down the final straight but it wasn’t quite enough. He finishes in 2:00:25.
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Has Kipchoge got anything left? One minute to go and he’s 20 seconds outside the two hour target pace.
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Here’s where we are with 2km left. He’ll do 2:00:20 to 2:00:30 probably. Amazing run by Kipchoge pic.twitter.com/KgwHeRXP9F
— Ross Tucker (@Scienceofsport) May 6, 2017
Kipchoge takes some fluid on for the final time. Three minutes until we hit two hours.
40km: Kipchoge’s split for 40k is clocked at 1:54:04.
Kipchoge is projected to finish in two hours and 19 seconds, according the commentary team on the live stream.
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There’s seven minutes left until we hit two hours. Kipchoge is digging deep.
From Steve Magness:
Amazing run by Kipchoge. He's held on for longer than I thought he would. He's proved he is the best marathoner.
— Steve Magness (@stevemagness) May 6, 2017
No human has ever run this fast for this long before. It’s a huge effort from Kipchoge.
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And for the first time on the live stream the commentary team refer to running the fastest marathon ever, as oppose to the world’s first sub two-hour marathon. It feels as though this two hour mark is slipping away but we will wait and see.
Kipchoge is puffing his cheeks and pulling his face. He’s focused. But, for the first time, it looks as though he is feeling it. No surprises there. This was never going to be easy.
35km: Kipchoge is just starting to show some signs of strain. He’s through 35k in 1:39:37 which gives him a projected finish time of 2:00:06, six seconds over the target. This is where it’s going to get tough. 7km remain.
Here’s the story of the run so far in 5k splits:
Eliud Kipchoge splits
— Chris Chavez (@ChrisChavez) May 6, 2017
5K: 14:14
10K: 28:21
15K: 42.34
20K: 56:49
Half: 59:57
25K: 1:11:03
30K: 1:25:20#Breaking2 pic.twitter.com/HHHjxWHlHU
I’ve veered from cynical to excited and back many times over the last few days when thinking about this attempt. Now we’re into the last 30 minutes it does seem a shame that this effort isn’t taking place at one of the many major city marathons on the athletics calendar. That said, Kipchoge’s effort is admirable here.
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Incredibly Eliud Kipchoge is still holding the pace - just. He is on 2:00.01 pace at 30km ...
— Sean Ingle (@seaningle) May 6, 2017
30km: Kipchoge clocks 1:25:20 through 30k. That puts his projected finish time dead on 2:00:00 for the full distance. It has to be said, he is looking very smooth. Today probably confirms his status as the best marathon runner is the world today. Just over 10k remaining..
Official splits from the 25km mark have come through. Kipchoge clocked 1:11:03 overall. His 20km-25km split was 14:12.
Ok, we’re into the business end of the run now. We’re less than 45 minutes away from hitting the two-hour mark. For my money, I think the likely outcome here is that Kipchoge will miss the two hour target, but that he may slip under the current world record of 2:02:57. Remember, that will not be a new official record due to the pacing strategy and use of motorised bikes to serve fluids to the runners.
25km: Kipchoge still looking strong. He’s on pace.
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Another word on the pacers. Two groups of three pacers are helping the runners at any one time. Each group runs two laps before rotating with another waiting group in an exchange zone. This helps keep the pacers fresh and maintains the overall pace of the run.
Tadese drops off!
To confirm, Zersenay Tadese, the half marathon world record holder, is all but out of this. He’s dropped way off and only Kipchoge is left.
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20km: It’s now a one-man effort at 20k. Only Eliud Kipchoge, the one runner who really had a shot at sub-two coming into today, remains. The 20k split is clocked at 56:49.
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Tadese looks to be struggling too here. We’re nearly halfway.
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Lelisa Desisa drops off after 51 minutes!
The Ethiopian has dropped off the pace and it will be a long way back for him from here. Unless he can summon a super-human effort, that’s his run done.
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Carl Lewis is in Monza speaking to comedian and well-known runner Kevin Hart. Lewis, obviously used to running far shorter distances than this, says the challenge for the runners is to stay focused on the pace for such a long time. That’s where this differs from a big city marathon. It’s all about the pace, not the race itself.
15km: Still on pace through 15k.
Interesting mix of people on my timeline watching the #Breaking2 attempt. Some deeply sceptical. Others loving it. https://t.co/2VCDrRToFU
— Sean Ingle (@seaningle) May 6, 2017
The latest pacer changeover takes place. We’re 39 minutes into the attempt and, if anything, the group are slightly ahead of pace.
Thoughts? Questions? I’d love to hear from you. Tweet me @jamescaroll or email james.caroll@theguardian.com
14:14 and then 14:07....Pacing is hard, even if you have lasers and a car to follow....
— Steve Magness (@stevemagness) May 6, 2017
10km: The group are through 10k at 28:21 which puts the runners under the required time needed for a sub-two hour marathon. The projected finish time is 1:59:35. There’s a long, long way to go yet though of course.
Probably the most interesting thing so far is the drafting technique being used. The pacers are forming an arrow in front of the three runners to try and limit wind resistance, much like in cycling. Not sure how much that will really affect things.
5km: The 5k split comes through at 14:14. That’s slightly slower than they need so the pace is picked up.
We’re through three miles and everyone is looking comfortable.
Nike is advertising during the run on the feed. Is this just one big advert for new running shoes..? Hmmm.
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The feed isn’t providing splits so it’s tough to tell if the runners are on pace but remember they need to average 4:34 per mile to go under two hours. We’re just over nine minutes into the attempt now so we should be through two miles.
The first changeover of the pacers appears to gone smoothly. There is also a car leading the group around the track projecting a line onto the circuit to keep everyone on pace.
The sub two-hour marathon attempt begins!
We’re underway in Monza.
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Some interesting thoughts from letsrun.com below. Opinion on the attempt is certainly mixed.
Our official statement as to why we hope #breaking2 fails. https://t.co/a3kz00TAyS pic.twitter.com/cpIILQauno
— LetsRun.com (@letsrundotcom) May 6, 2017
We have a live feed from Monza. If you refresh the page you’ll be able to watch it at the top of this page. We’re about 10 minutes away from the start now.
If one of the runners has any hope of going under two hours today, it’s Eliud Kipchoge. The Kenyan is one of the finest marathon runners ever, the reigning Olympic champion and winner of the London Marathon last year.
To run 26.2 miles in under two hours the athletes will need to maintain an average pace of four minutes and 34 seconds per mile. That pace equates to running a parkrun in about 14 minutes and 13 seconds or completing a 10k in 28:26. It’s prosperously fast.
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The scene at the Monza Formula One track. The Boston Marathon this ain’t.
Just break it #justodoit #breaking2 @nikerunning @Nike #monza #marathon #Nike pic.twitter.com/cr6jvQuUMe
— GiuseppeFrancaviglia (@GFrancaviglia) May 6, 2017
An important note: if one of the athletes does indeed go quicker than the current world record time of 2:02:57 today, it will not be ratified as a new official marathon record by the IAAF. This is for a number of reasons but mainly because pacemakers are set to rotate throughout the run and fluids will be provided to the athletes from a motorcycle.
Today’s event is not without its controversy. It’s not a traditional marathon race but has instead been organised by an American sportswear company called Nike - you may have heard of them - with the specific goal of running the world’s first sub-two hour marathon.
You will not be surprised to learn then that the runners will be wearing Nike’s latest running shoes during today’s run - the Vaporfly Elite. A lot has been made of this but no-one really knows too much about the specifications of the shoe. Nike claim that running in a pair can boost performance by a massive 4%. This seems very unlikely and you can see why some people think the whole project amounts to little more than elaborate marketing campaign to flog some expensive trainers.
Preamble
Hello, good morning and welcome to our live coverage of today’s sub-two hour marathon attempt. Breaking two hours in a marathon remains one of the great barriers in athletics and today three elite runners – Eliud Kipchoge, Lelisa Desisa and Zersenay Tadese – will attempt to go under this elusive mark for the first time. The event is taking place on a 2.4km loop of the Monza Formula One track in northern Italy where it will take over 17 laps of the circuit to complete the marathon distance of 26.2 miles. The action is due to get underway at about 4.45am UK time so put some coffee on, grab a carb-heavy breakfast and join me then.
Also, do have a read of Sean Ingle’s preview piece on the attempt below...
...as well as Roger Pielke Jr’s view on the bigger picture:
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