Eliud Kipchoge has run a marathon in 2:00:25, coming within sight of breaking the 2-hour barrier. How did he do it, and what might we expect in future? This post analyzes the splits, the tactics and the prospects for the 1:59:59 in the future.
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On the recalibration of world records: Brief thoughts
A proposal to recalibrate the track and field world records by removing all records set prior to 2005 has caused considerable controversy. I offer some views on the proposal, and explain why the step is probably necessary, but should not be ‘abused’ as a sign of a new generation.
The sub-2 hour marathon attempt: The pacing strategy
The Nike-Breaking 2 attempt will happen in Monza this weekend. I don’t think a sub-2 is possible, but what will be fascinating is to see a) how they go about pacing the attempt, and what happens if it starts to fall away; and b) what the collective advantage is of all the tactics employed. I predict 2:01:55 at best, a DNF is also a real possibility. More thoughts here.
The way, then the lack of will: A story of anti-doping and those who might save it
The history of antidoping can be divided into two overlapping phases. There was once a huge lack of a “way” – inadequate tools to catch doping, leaving antidoping two steps behind the cheats. Advances in science have narrowed this, creating a better “way”. This has exposed a bigger problem – a lack of “will”. This article describes this, and offers a conceptual solution.
Sports science, marginal gains and common sense
Bradley Wiggins called marginal gains “a load of rubbish” recently, and while his thoughts were poorly crafted and tainted by the context, it triggered an impassioned defence of the philosophy by Matthew Syed. I’ve always thought the concept trivialized sports science, and was arrogantly dismissive of the realities that there’s really nothing unique about it. As a source of competitive advantage in elite sport, it cannot stand. More on that in this piece.