Unless you’ve been living under a rock recently, you’ll know that on the 12th October 2019, Eliud Kipchoge finally completed what was once an unthinkable feat. He broke the 2-hour barrier for running the marathon distance, in a time of 1:59:40.
With the help of 42 pacers and lots of careful planning, the 34 year old Kenyan ran a breathtakingly consistent pace of 2:52 per km. To put that in to perspective, that’s an average 100 metre pace of 17.08 seconds!
Knocking over a minute off the previous “official” marathon record held by fellow Kenyan, Dennis Kimetto, it’s our guy Kipchoge again with a time of 2:01:39!
It’s worth noting that at the time of writing this, Kipchoge hasn’t entered an “official” marathon (with other competitors, no pacers etc) since his incredible sub 2-hour run in Vienna. This current record is already 10 minutes faster than it was half a century ago, surely it’s only a matter of time before he consolidates it?
It seems only fitting that on the day after Kipchoge’s record breaking 1:59 run, Brigid Kosgei came up with the goods and smashed the official women’s record with a time of 2:14:04 at the Chicago Marathon.
The previous record was held by British runner, Paula Radcliffe, and had remained unbroken for 16 years!
After shattering the record by 81 seconds, Kosgei said “I can go quicker.”
October 2019 was certainly a month for breaking records and here in Aus, we produced one of our own.
With four out of five events sold out, The Melbourne Marathon Festival was not only the most attended event in its 42-year history but also the largest ever marathon event in Australia!
37,185 participants challenged themselves to race for the finish line in the famous MCG and with a further 37,000 people cheering from the sidelines, our sport is looking brighter than ever!
At the age of seven, Larry Chloupek was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer. Chemotherapy wasn’t available to him in the 60s and his doctors gave him a 5% chance of survival. Larry was able to triumph against the odds but had to have his leg amputated in the process.
Suddenly struggling to fit in with the other kids at school, Larry was determined not to sit on the sidelines.
Thanks to inclusive friends and teachers, and then later an inspiring wife, Larry found his calling in running.
Just like most runners, Larry runs a few times each week but also has to undertake extensive arm weight-training in order to prepare for each race.
He has since also obtained the record for Fastest half marathon on crutches and hopes people can use him as an example. He says “I want to show other disabled individuals as well as able bodied individuals you can still dream and dream big and achieve your goal. The mind and body are very powerful tools.”
(Image courtesy of https://www.podiumrunner.com/)
