Breaking 2 Hour Marathon Barrier (WORLD RECORD BY ELIUD KIPCHOGE)

ELIUD KIPCHOGE, KENYAN MARATHON RUNNER ACHIEVED A MILESTONE ONCE BELIEVED HUMANLY IMPOSSIBLE. UNFORTUNATELY THE TIME, 1:59:40, WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED A WORLD RECORD.

Kipchoge, a well known eight-time major marathon winner and three-time Olympic medalist, achieved a milestone once believed humanly impossible. Kipchoge ran a full marathon (26.2 miles/ 42.195 km) in an unhuman record-breaking time, 1 hour 59 minutes 40 seconds.

He became the first person to achieve this milestone of completing a full marathon under 2 hours barrier. There have been many attempts in the past to complete the marathon under 2 hours, but none were successful. Kipchoge, 34, pounded his chest twice as he crossed the finish line in Vienna. There was a huge crowd of the sport and his fans. He was lifted into the air by the members of his team, including the other 41 professional runners who acted as pacesetters during the run.

Kipchoge’s  said, “Together, when we run, we can make this world a beautiful world.”

HISTORY! pic.twitter.com/qjLfofhL5s

— Eliud Kipchoge (@EliudKipchoge) October 12, 2019

Unfortunately, the accomplishment is not an official world record. The race was not run under open marathon conditions, and it included another 41 professional runners as pacesetters. It may not be an official world record, but this is the first time in the history of humankind someone ran a full marathon under two hours.

The petrochemical company INEOS organized the marathon. The company marked the race as “the last barrier of modern athletics,” also they tried to get their hashtag, #nohumanislimited, trending on social media platforms. Kipchoge repeatedly compared the record-breaking milestone to humanity’s first journey to the moon. 

The president of Kenya, Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta called the athlete the night before the run. “the pressure was very big on my shoulders,” said kipchoge.

The environment chooses for the event was precisely an athlete would need to run. It was not too warm, not too cold and not hilly at all. The altitude, 540 feet above sea level, was just right. He was preparing in Kaptagat, Kenya, for the event. He was training there from the last four months under the guidance of his coach, Patrick Sang.he had a very strict training regime that focused on running fast. He also added a lot of core workouts to lessen the strain on his hamstrings. 

Earlier in 2017, in a similar event by Nike, Kipchoge attempted to break the 2-hour barrier. That time he completed the race in a record time 2:00:25, which was also not officially recognized as a world record as the run was not under normal race conditions.