Active Community: Message List - sub 2-hour marathon?

Re: sub 2-hour marathon?

Active Toby — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 21:58:25 GMT

Check this out: http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/3/3_1/gebrselassie-to-run-in-du.shtml

Gebrselassie is already looking to top his performance as soon as mid-January in the Dubai Marathon. If he wins, as he did last year, he will win $250,000 but if he breaks the world marathon record, he'll win a 1 million dollar bonus! With that kind of incentive, I wouldn't be surprised if he goes a few seconds faster...

What do you think--is that enough time for an elite marathoner to recover and throw down again?

Re: sub 2-hour marathon?

Active Toby — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:18:00 GMT

Ah yes, great point Jay: he wouldn't have had this performance if he raced in Beijing.

Re: sub 2-hour marathon?

Jay Silvio — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:11:54 GMT

Seems like skipping the Olympic Marathon wasn't such a bad idea...

Re: sub 2-hour marathon?

Active Toby — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 14:44:55 GMT

Yeah that record lasted a year before he chopped ~30 seconds off. Very impressive and def evidence supporting a sub 2-hour 26.2 in our lifetime. Get out there and give it a shot!

Re: sub 2-hour marathon?

marc v — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 14:40:20 GMT

Wow...he broke the previous record (his own) by almost a half minute. I think we may get to sub 2-hours sooner rather than later.

Re: sub 2-hour marathon?

Active Toby — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 14:34:09 GMT

Hey Marc, news alert: Ethiopia's Haile Gebrselassie broke his own world record on Sunday at the Berlin Marathon with a time of 2hrs 03min 59sec.

Read the whole story here: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5h52DNhbEsT43ezMWDmvEnv2JZNOw

Re: sub 2-hour marathon?

Active Toby — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:23:08 GMT

So it's dropped 9 minutes in the last 50 years? I'd say there's a great chance it could drop below 2 hours in the next 38 years. I'm interested in what others think though. I mean, that's a pretty rugged pace. 4:34.8 I've never run 1 mile that fast...

Re: sub 2-hour marathon?

marc v — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:03:37 GMT

gotta love wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon_world_best_progression

here's a cool chart:

http://www.marathonguide.com/history/records/

Re: sub 2-hour marathon?

Active Toby — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:57:20 GMT

I'd like to see the progression of the world record across the past 50 years until now. Maybe that trend would help us forecast. Does anyone know where to look for that info?

sub 2-hour marathon?

marc v — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 18:14:45 GMT

Two of my friends made a bet back in college - one friend said in the next 50 years, someone will run a sub 2-hour marathon and the other friend disagreed. This was 12 years ago so the questions is, in the next 38 years, will someone break 2-hours? I think the current world record is 2:04 and change. The world record in 1958 was 2:15 so the last 50 years has seen the WR reduced by 11 minutes.

What do you think? Who is going to win the bet?