Kenyan Marathoner Eliud Kipchoge Finishes Course In Under Two Hours

Certain feats of athletic accomplishment have long seemed impossible to achieve. Among them? Running a marathon in under two hours. Don’t tell that to Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge, though: this morning in Vienna, he ran a 26.2-mile course in an utterly staggering amount of time — namely, 1 hour, 59 minutes and 40 seconds. That’s 10 seconds faster than the time Kipchoge had hoped to set, incidentally.

HE. HAS. DONE. IT.@EliudKipchoge is the first human to run a marathon in less than two hours!

His official time of 1:59:40 is now immortal.#INEOS159 #NoHumanIsLimited pic.twitter.com/wD6clIzHM0

— Olympic Channel (@olympicchannel) October 12, 2019

As The New York TImes explains in their article on the race, Kipchoge’s landmark achievement stands as a fantastic feat, but won’t go in the record books. Why, exactly?

The eye-popping time, which was 10 seconds quicker than the 1:59:50 time Kipchoge and his team had set out to achieve, will not be officially recognized as a world record because it was not run under open marathon conditions and because it featured a dense rotation of professional pacesetters.

Kipchoge’s athletic career began with shorter races, which led to medals in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. In 2012, he began competing in longer distances, beginning with half marathons. Since then he’s chalked up wins in the Berlin Marathon and London Marathon, as well as a gold medal in the 2016 Olympics.

Today we went to the Moon and came back to earth! I am at a loss for words for all the support I have received from all over the world.

Thank you to all who gave me the opportunity. Asante. pic.twitter.com/0HTVBjB6YY

— Eliud Kipchoge (@EliudKipchoge) October 12, 2019

All in all, it’s an absolutely fantastic feat from one of the world’s greatest runners — and an impressive example of someone daring to do what had previously been unimaginable.

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