Are We To Believe?
Are marathon times becoming too unbelievable to be true?
The Chicago Marathon was just this weekend and if you didn’t hear, the women’s marathon world record was just set smashed.
The record of 2:09:56 set by Ruth Chepngetich is fast. It’s so fast that it has absolutely come into question of how legitimate is this world record? Is it so fast that we now have to question where it is done naturally or because of how fast it is, are we to question it?
Are we doubtful because of her home country? Because of super shoes? Because it’s just that fast?
Here’s some context taken from various sources (I’ll try to link to anything that is my opinion. Everything else is fact):
Ruth chopped 1:57 off the previous WR.
Paula Radcliffe’s WR, set in Chicago 2002 was 2:17. This was before the super shoe era and this record stood for 16 years.
2:09:56 is 4:58 pace
Why I Believe In The Record
Male pacemakers help ladies run fast. She was able to tuck in, have the pacers do the work, and ride along to a really fast time.
This isn’t her first good performance. She’s run 1:04:02 for a half and based on her World Athletics profile, she’s done a lot of winning, including the World Championships in the marathon. 1
30 years old is right in the wheelhouse of peak performance.
There’s a reason people want to go to Chicago. It’s a fast course and there were good conditions!
Seeing other ladies run fast helps spur changes in your own beliefs. “If they can run fast, maybe so can I.”
Women are finally getting their moment. Women have only had the marathon as an Olympic event since 1984, so of course they’ve had to play catch up to their male counterparts. This is now just their time.
Why I’m Skeptical Of The Record
This record is SO fast. Sub-5 minute miles for 26 miles is other-worldly.
Knocking 2 minutes off a world record is 🤯. Sure, the last record was broken by 2:10, this one just seems so much more out there.
Are super shoes really that much of a game-changer? Or is there something else that is helping?
Kenya isn’t known for having the cleanest of athletes.2 Right now, Kenya has 300 athletes suspended for doping violations. 3
She finished 9th overall in this year’s Chicago Marathon, meaning that only 8 guys ran faster than her.
She ran faster than all but 4 American men this year
2:08:12 Conner MANTZ
2:08:17 CJ ALBERTSON
2:08:44 Clayton YOUNG
2:09:16 Zach PANNING
I don’t know where I stand on this marathon world record. I’d like to believe that she’s clean. I’d like to think that this is just the beginning with super shoes and women’s sport.
Maybe we have just opened the flood gates in women’s sport and this is what we’re seeing.
The men have recently been on a tear too, breaking the marathon world record 10 times in the last 22 years.
Part of me is in awe and part of me is so removed from how real this is to think that it’s even true.
What do you think of the record? Is it too real to be true or do we believe she did it clean?
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On The Blog:
Marathon Training Lessons: What I’ve Learned That Can Help You
And From the Newsletter:
How to Break Marathon Monotony
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Here’s Ruth’s WA page.
Article on Kenyan Athletics.