Eliud Kipchoge is a physiological marvel. The Nike Vaporfly is a technological marvel. Both improve marathon performance. Except these statements can’t both be true, and the implications for the integrity of running and how we evaluate performances, can’t be ignored. This is an article on why that is.
Marathons
We need to talk about East African runners and general trust vs skepticism in performances
The London Marathon on Sunday will almost certainly be won by an East African. This group may be one of the most fascinating in all of sports science, such has their distance dominance been. But in a time when doping stories tarnish their success, what are we to make of their performances, and how should they be trusted or doubted? This article explores skepticism and trust in performances
The aging of elite performance: “Geriatric champions” and have the rules for getting older changed?
Yesterday, I was sent this link. It says that Dwain Chambers, he of THG and a doping ban in 2004 (!), is making a comeback, hoping to qualify for Team GB at the European Indoor Championships. At the age of 40. Well, almost 41. My first thought was “Of course he is”, and then upon […]
The physiology of the cold: Why might women out-‘survive’ men?
Boston 2018 was one for the archives. A brutally cold, wet and windy day made for incredible, unpredictable elite races, and a whole lot of DNFs! There’s a theory that women did better in this regard than men, and this post explores cold physiology, and what factors MIGHT explain why women MIGHT be able to handle the extreme cold better than men
2018 Boston Marathon: Live splits and coverage
Welcome to my live coverage of the 2018 Boston Marathon, where I’ll post splits, projections and thoughts as both races develop.