When the first marathon world record was timed, it was 2 hours and 55 minutes and 18 seconds. Seven records later and it had dropped a whopping 17 minutes to 2 hours, 38 minutes, and 16 seconds. Fast forward 100 years and the marathon world record sat at 2 hours, 4 minutes, and 55 seconds. Move forward 7 records and it dropped just 3 minutes and 46 seconds – and that is where we now are at.
The Marathon World Record Just Set
The last eight records covering those seven world record changes were all set at the fast Berlin Marathon course. And, the last two holders of the world marathon record are the same man – Eliud Kipchoge. Not only is he the fastest marathoner ever but he is also the only person to ever run the 26.2 mile distance in less than 2 hours (but that was not a world record due to the course and pacing).
Yesterday at the 2022 Berlin Marathon, Eliud Kipchoge beat his own world marathon record that was set 4 years ago. He beat it by 30 seconds so that the current marathon world record sits at 2 hours, 1 minute, and 9 seconds.
To give you an idea of this kind of a race, Eliud ran an average pace of 4 minutes and 37 seconds per mile for 26.2 miles. If you do not know how fast that it is, in terms of miles per hour, it is just under 13 miles per hour. So, to get a feel for it, if you have a smartwatch on, go outside and try to run that speed – just for 500 feet – and see how amazing it is!
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Eliud went through the halfway point in 59 minutes and 51 seconds, just 2 minutes and 20 seconds slower than the world record for the half marathon distance! Another amazing number is that he beat the second place finisher by 5 minutes in what is a typically very fast and competitive field.
It is safe to say that Eliud is in a class of his own and by beating his already amazing record by 30 seconds shows that the 2 hour mark for an actual marathon race could fall before we know it. Not only did Eliud win the gold medal in the last two Olympics for the marathon but he has also won and set course records at the Berlin, London, and Tokyo marathons. He has won the Chicago Marathon as well which leaves just the New York City Marathon and the Boston Marathon for him to win all six of the World Marathon Majors.
By the way, typically, you will see these world class marathon runners wearing basic watches or even FitBit watches in the past. However, in a great move by a great company, COROS signed a deal with Eliud Kipchoge a while back and the watch that Eliud wears is the $199 COROS Pace 2, a watch I own and my vote for the absolute best value under $200 in the GPS watch space. COROS normally releases the data for their athletes’ big races so hopefully that will be forthcoming for this Berlin Marathon of Eliud’s!
By the way, if you have a COROS, they made a special watch face that celebrates this new marathon world record – look for it in the app!
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Rumor is he saw me participating and he got scared I may catch him so I have no doubt I contributed my part for this world record 🙂
13 MPH plus for two hours. That’s insane.