UKH

Turning out to be quite an historic weekend...

https://twitter.com/chimarathon/status/1183398806030823424?s=21

I bet Paula Radcliffe is relieved. She held an astonishing world record for an equally astonishing 16 years before it was eclipsed. Which means, unless Kosgei is found to be a doper, that what she did was not beyond the bounds of the possible for a clean athlete. I so hope that is the case, for both of them.

Edit: How could I forget? - Huge congratulations to Kosgei.

I was thinking about Radcliffe’s record yesterday. At the time is seemed lightyears ahead of anything that had been done before. At the time is was only 9 minutes and 47 seconds (8%) slower than the men’s record. However, the men’s records has been improved by 3 minutes and 59 seconds over the past 16 years, so the gap is now 13 minutes and 46 seconds (11%) which is within a more usual range, as is Kosgei’s new record.

Is that a dreadfully convoluted way of suggesting that Paula wasn't clean? 

Martin

No, not at all. Quite the opposite. If you think so, it was badly phrased. But I thought it clearly meant what I wanted to say, which is that her record has brought on her much suspicion on the grounds that it couldn't possibly be, unless she was unclean. But now, another has surpassed her, which ups the ante for the doubters. If you doubt Radcliffe just because she was so fast, well, do you doubt Kosgei too?

It is a shame that athletic prowess is shrouded in discussions of doping, especially for naive believers like me, but there we are.

I, of course, don't know the truth, nor do most of us. Those who have been close to them know better.

Unfortunately Kosgei is tarnished, because her agent also represented all the top Kenyan dopers.

...and in the latest news both are having their shoes investigated as someone's complained they offer unfair advantage (I think, I wasn't listening properly to the headline on the wireless).

I think that’s a given.
 

If I’m honest, these marathon records have left me a bit cold. I suspect Kipchoge’s official world record was a finer athletic performance and kind of cheating the sub 2 hr will remove the mystique for when it’s done under normal conditions. 

I’m far more interested in the official record and as such perhaps the most remarkable thing of the last few weeks is Bekele running  2:01:41.

Kipchode is the greatest marathon runner ever, however Bekele is simply the greatest runner ever who has now shown that he can do in the Marathon what he as done in XC, 5,000m and 10,000m.

The next year or two is going to be very special for marathon fans.

But actually running it in under 2 hours has shown that it's possible, and that is a huge psychological boost.

Anybody want to guess how long until it's done in a race?

I'll go with 2021.

It's possible, but only with a huge number of caveats. I can't see 2 hours being broken in a race before 2030 unless there's a big breakthrough behind the scenes.

I know. It removes the purity of it being done “properly”. 

Isn’t this breakthrough the new generation of super bouncy shoes that Kipchoge was wearing?