Two marathon world records broken in two weeks by two East African runners

Last month, at the Berlin Marathon, Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa broke Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei’s 2019 run record by finishing in 2:11.53, and, last Sunday, Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum, in his third marathon in Chicago, zoomed past the most high-profile long-distance runner Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge’s record by 34 seconds by finishing in 2:00:35.

The women’s marathon world record of 2 hours, 15 minutes and 25 seconds set by Paula Radcliffe in 2003 stood unchallenged for a long time. It was finally bettered after 16 long years when Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei ran the distance in 2:14.04 in Chicago in 2019. Last month, that record was blown to bits by Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa at the Berlin Marathon, when she finished in 2:11.53 improving the record by more than two minutes.

At the 2013 Berlin Marathon, Kenyan distance-runner Wilson Kipsang ran past the finish line in 2:03.23 setting a new record. The following year another Kenyan, Dennis Kimetto, shaved about half minute off the world record in Berlin creating a new marathon best a shade under two hours and three minutes. Five years later, Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge, the most high-profile of long-distance runners today, first sailed past Kimetto’s world record in 2019 at the Berlin Marathon and then improved upon his own world record in 2022 in Berlin again. Last Sunday, another Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum, who was running only his third marathon in Chicago, zoomed past Kipchoge’s record by 34 seconds when he finished in 2:00.35.

Kimetto in 2014 and Radcliffe in 2003 were the last long-distance runners to better world records while running in regular racing flats. All the new records since Kimetto and Radcliffe have been set by athletes running in shoes featuring the now-common carbon technology. The history of distance running today can be easily split into two eras: the pre-carbon shoes period and the carbon shoes era, which we are currently running in. Before the carbon technology came in, the marathon was all about the athlete and their endurance. But since 2016 when Kipchoge first started using carbon shoes developed by Nike, the sport of marathon and distance running has become as much about shoes as it is about the athletes competing in the race. By the following year Nike’s Breaking 2 project — an endeavour which was as much about marketing as it was about creating sporting history and breaking new ground — was all the rage. Nike continued working on their carbon technology and Kipchoge came close to running a sub-2-hour marathon under controlled conditions on his first attempt in 2017. He finally did so in 2019 running the marathon distance in 1:59.40 with a group of pacers who ran in front of him in a formation that protected him from wind drag and other factors. Because of the controlled conditions this effort does not count as an official record but the feat demonstrated that it can be done and the world is now waiting to break that barrier in an official race.

Last Sunday, when Kiptum ended with 2:00.35, he proved that it is just a matter of time before the 2-hour barrier is breached in regular race conditions. The speed at which the road running records are tumbling is astonishing. It took 12 years for the marathon world record for men to move from 2 hour five minutes (2002) into the 2 hour 2 minutes (2014) time range. In contrast, just four years later, runners are now regularly hitting 2 hour 1 minute mark that Kipchoge first hit in 2018. Kiptum breached that last Sunday, and this has happened in under five years. While there is no doubt that human performance is improving thanks to the availability of better sports medicine, development of advanced rehab and recovery machines and modules and more effective exercise and nutrition science, the main differentiator here has been the evolution of shoe design.

Since Nike made available its first carbon shoes to the public, there has been a race to make the best and fastest shoes that actually make people go faster. Numerous independent researches have confirmed that carbon shoes can improve performance up to 20 per cent depending on a runner’s abilities. The biggest improvements come for recreational runners while the gains are marginal at the top of the pyramid among elite runners. However, these marginal gains thanks to the shoes can be the difference between a podium finish and being an also ran. That minor improvement can make a good runner a great one with a world record to her and his name. That’s exactly what has been happening as big sports brands intensify their carbon shoe race.

While Nike has the first mover advantage and has found plenty of success, Adidas is catching up. Earlier this year Adidas runners dominated the podium at the Boston Marathon. Nike runners hit back shortly afterwards at the London Marathon dominating everyone else. In Berlin, Adidas athlete Tigist Assefa set a new world record for women shaving a massive 2 minutes off along the way running in Adidas’ brand new Pro Evo 1. The shoes have a staggering $500 price tag and can only be used for one marathon and a mild pre-race warm-up. Basically a use and throw version of a very expensive pair of shoes. Kipchoge ran the same race wearing Nike’s AlphaFly Next% 3, which will be launched to the world in January. Kiptum, another Nike athlete, was wearing the same shoes as Kipchoge as he broke his compatriot record in Chicago.

Apart from the carbon plate (carbon rods in case of Adidas), a lot of work has gone into the rubber and foam that make up the sole of the shoes. The new foams are softer, bouncier and significantly lighter. All of these factors let the carbon plate aid in the toe-off while running and if have the muscles and heart strong enough to sustain the foot speed, the only thing stopping you from hitting a personal best here is you. The elites don’t have that problem. As the shoe race intensifies, running records will keep tumbling.

Bring on the Olympics already.