The Winddrinker Newsletter must let you all know about last month\u2019s amazing development in the marathon. I keep thinking marathon world records are going to be harder and harder to break. Not any more! Here\u2019s the simple story of 2 very talented runners who made their mark on history.<\/p>\n
Jubilant Assefa! via capitalethiopia.com<\/em><\/p>\n First there\u2019s Tigist Assefa, an Ethiopian who won last year\u2019s Berlin Marathon (2:15:37) and came back with a 2:11:53 this year. The narrative of how it happened was breathtaking. She went out on WR pace, and pulled a dozen runners with her. Her splits were all on-pace, and realizing there were no more runners around her, she blitzed across the finish line, knowing the last few kilometers she would easily break the record. She basically never slowed down, and had negative splits. The 2nd place runner (Kenya\u2019s Sheila Chepkirui) was 6 minutes back! Oh what a way to break a world record. One article focused on her shoes (which has become slightly controversial). They are Adidas, and were not publicly for sale yet (yes, an advertising gimmick). They are called the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 and are purported to be 40% lighter than any other racing flat. And of course they have a \u201cfirst of its kind\u201d forefoot rocker which is lab-tested to promote forward momentum and increase running efficiency. Don\u2019t they all claim that? Wasn\u2019t that Nike\u2019s Vaporfly model? Anyway, Tigist said after the race that they were incredibly comfortable. I guess we all need to go get a pair now…. I must apologize that I couldn\u2019t find a compelling story for Tigist. I still think the men get better coverage\/interviews. Now let\u2019s move on to the new men\u2019s WR in Chicago. And surprise, it wasn\u2019t Eliud Kipchoge. He did run a 2:01:39 in Berlin (in front of Tigist), and 9 men runners all got under 2:05 – yikes. That was a \u201cfast\u201d race. But Eliud\u2019s world record of 2:01:09 was not broken, even though he has won 5 Berlin Marathons in a row now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The big news happened at the Chicago Marathon – where Kelvin Kiptum ran a 2:00:35 – getting oh so close to that magic sub-2 hour mark. Both Kelvin and Tigist ran their world record marathons on their 3rd ever marathon. Kelvin in one calendar year ran a 2:01:53 in Valencia, Spain and then a 2:01:25 in London. His 1st marathon (2:01:53) is the fastest \u201cdebut\u201d marathon for any runner.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/winddrinkers.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Screenshot-2023-10-26-at-11.56.11-AM.png\")
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