# 2 hour marathon mark is now officially on life support **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** olympic-sports-track\ **Created:** [October 9, 2023, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-hour-marathon-mark-is-now-officially-on-life-support/991319 "2023-10-09T15:54:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2023, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-hour-marathon-mark-is-now-officially-on-life-support/991319/21 "2023-10-09T23:40:09Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Perhaps it’s just that in practice there aren’t enough runners who are in that ultra-elite class that you could have three in a line in front breaking the wind for the first half. I’d rather not have three people breaking wind in front of me while I’m trying to run a marathon, thank you very much. ---
**Author:** ![Arjuna34](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Arjuna34](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arjuna34)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2023, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-hour-marathon-mark-is-now-officially-on-life-support/991319/22 "2023-10-09T23:50:40Z")
Is the imminent sub-2 hour breakthrough due to the new Nike and Adidas running shoes? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2023, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-hour-marathon-mark-is-now-officially-on-life-support/991319/23 "2023-10-10T01:27:58Z")
That people can run 26 miles without resting boggles my mind, and has since I was watching the 1976 Olympics, at age 12, and was glued to the TV because I didn’t think it was real. When I decided to try and do that myself some years later, my body wasted no time in letting me know that That Wasn’t Gonna Happen. I later worked with a woman who said, “I could run it really fast, if it was 2 blocks long and there was a Dairy Queen at the end.” But this in TWO HOURS! Boggles my mind even further! ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2023, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-hour-marathon-mark-is-now-officially-on-life-support/991319/24 "2023-10-10T01:29:46Z")
Seriously, some people have attributed it to the Kenyan runners being raised on ugali, a cornmeal mush that is a dietary staple in the highlands. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2023, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-hour-marathon-mark-is-now-officially-on-life-support/991319/25 "2023-10-10T01:34:58Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Seriously, some people have attributed it to the Kenyan runners being raised on ugali, a cornmeal mush that is a dietary staple in the highlands. - Living at altitude is far more of a factor. Along with decades of training advancements(equipment, clothing, nutrition, understanding of training physiology and methods). ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2023, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-hour-marathon-mark-is-now-officially-on-life-support/991319/26 "2023-10-10T01:42:16Z")
There are no magic foods that confer superhuman athletic ability. If cornmeal mush was the X factor, every Southerner raised on grits would be threatening the marathon record. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2023, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-hour-marathon-mark-is-now-officially-on-life-support/991319/27 "2023-10-10T01:43:34Z")
Not even spinach? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2023, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-hour-marathon-mark-is-now-officially-on-life-support/991319/28 "2023-10-10T01:48:03Z")
Oh, I know that. I do remember when a local sports writer went to Kenya and introduced our area to the “magic” of ugali. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2023, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-hour-marathon-mark-is-now-officially-on-life-support/991319/29 "2023-10-10T02:05:46Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Not even spinach? Not if you skip leg day. ETA: looking at Popeye, his legs are in fact well developed, but in the same weird way as his arms - skinny quads and enormous calves. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2023, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-hour-marathon-mark-is-now-officially-on-life-support/991319/30 "2023-10-10T02:48:14Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Marathon paces have always been the athletic feat that breaks my brain the most. It’s damn impressive, and far beyond anything I could do, but maybe I’ve become accustomed to it after watching Olympic marathons for so many years. The athletic feat that breaks my brain is the cycling grand tours; 2,000+ miles in three weeks, and racing over mountain passes that I don’t even want to think about riding over. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2023, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-hour-marathon-mark-is-now-officially-on-life-support/991319/31 "2023-10-10T02:54:47Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > The athletic feat that breaks my brain is the cycling grand tours The peculiar thing about cycling is that it’s so gentle on your body biomechanically that it _enables_ the exploration of these ridiculous extremes of metabolism and cardiovascular output. In stark contrast to pro cyclists, I believe most elite marathon runners only race 5 or 6 times a year, because it does take so much out of them. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2023, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-hour-marathon-mark-is-now-officially-on-life-support/991319/32 "2023-10-10T12:04:15Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > In stark contrast to pro cyclists, I believe most elite marathon runners only race 5 or 6 times a year, because it does take so much out of them. That’s why I’m utterly awed by Courtney Dauwalter, the ultramarathoner who ran _three_ 100+ mile races in three months, this past summer. And won each one. I’ve run marathons twice, in 4:26 and 3:49. The last time, I barely remember crossing the finish line; I chugged down two pints of chocolate milk, and fifteen minutes later barfed them all over the hotel bathroom. I can’t imagine doing it at the near sprint that elites like Kipchoge and Kiptum manage. At an expo for a marathon I saw a couple of years ago, the Atlanta Track Club set up a treadmill moving at Kipchoge’s pace for his sub-two hour run. Even their elite 2:25 marathoners could barely keep it up for more than a few minutes. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2023, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-hour-marathon-mark-is-now-officially-on-life-support/991319/33 "2023-10-10T12:04:58Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > It’s so absolutely bonkers. That’s averaging over 13 mph speed running. It’s a 4.6 minute mile over and over and over and over again. Just incredible. I do a decent amount of recreational cycling, but I’d have to train a good bit to _ride_ 26.2 miles in under 2 hours, and even then it would have to be a pretty flat course. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2023, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-hour-marathon-mark-is-now-officially-on-life-support/991319/34 "2023-10-10T13:33:34Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > I do a decent amount of recreational cycling, but I’d have to train a good bit to _ride_ 26.2 miles in under 2 hours, and even then it would have to be a pretty flat course. I’ve ridden the Boston Marathon course on my bicycle, but I didn’t time myself. I had to deal with traffic and stoplights, and there’s one small section where I was going the wrong way on a one-way street. I suspect that under race conditions with all the traffic blocked that I could do it in under 2:00. It starts with a long downhill section, which helps. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2023, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-hour-marathon-mark-is-now-officially-on-life-support/991319/35 "2023-10-10T15:46:20Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > It starts with a long downhill section, which helps. One of the reasons it’s not eligible for a world record. I was watching a Total Running Productions video on Kiptum’s race, and the presenter pointed out that he had negative splits - he ran the second 13.1 miles of the race in 59 minutes. That’s just over 13 miles an hour. Amazing. NPR reported the record on “All Things Considered”, and noted that it was only Kiptum’s third marathon, and that, at only twenty-three, he’s young for a marathoner. But that seems to be the trend anymore - the female winner was Sifan Hassan, and this was only her second marathon. Going back a little bit, Molly Seidel’s bronze-winning race in the Tokyo Olympics was her third ever. It’s an interesting trend. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-hour-marathon-mark-is-now-officially-on-life-support/991319/36 "2023-10-11T01:10:59Z")
Back when marathons used to be broadcasted live on network TV, I saw two teenage boys jump out of the crowd and run alongside the leaders. They appeared to be (and were) high school track kids, and they kept looking at each other and obviously saying, “Wow!” and were only able to keep up for a few minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-hour-marathon-mark-is-now-officially-on-life-support/991319/37 "2023-10-11T01:20:57Z")
I think again and again how this race began after a soldier **died** for running 26 miles. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-hour-marathon-mark-is-now-officially-on-life-support/991319/38 "2023-10-11T02:24:24Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > One of the reasons it’s not eligible for a world record. Despite being downhill overall, that doesn’t lead to very fast times on the Boston Marathon course in most years. There are some significant uphill sections that slow the runners down. The 2011 winner set a time that would have been a world record, but there was also a strong tailwind that year. I tried looking to see if Boston is a fast course for wheelchair athletes, but I wasn’t able to find established records to compare to those from Boston. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-hour-marathon-mark-is-now-officially-on-life-support/991319/39 "2023-10-11T02:42:12Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I think again and again how this race began after a soldier **died** for running 26 miles. But wasn’t that after a battle? I think folks would be slower if they had to throw 20 javelins and wrestle first. Brian ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2023, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-hour-marathon-mark-is-now-officially-on-life-support/991319/40 "2023-10-11T02:51:00Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I tried looking to see if Boston is a fast course for wheelchair athletes, but I wasn’t able to find established records to compare to those from Boston. > - The official world record is 1:20:14, set by Swiss Heinz Frei in 1999. Marcel Hug went 1:18:04 at the 2017 Boston Marathon, which isn’t a record-eligible course. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-hour-marathon-mark-is-now-officially-on-life-support/991319.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-hour-marathon-mark-is-now-officially-on-life-support/991319.md?page=3)