On Sunday Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge smashed the marathon world record by clocking a time of two hours one minute 39 seconds in Berlin. The 33-year-old took nearly one minute 20 seconds off the previous best, which was set by compatriot Dennis Kimetto when he ran 2:02:57 in Berlin in 2014. In an astonishing display of distance running Kipchoge, who is 5 foot 6 and weighs 115 pounds, ran 26 straight, blazingly fast, 4-minute and 38-second miles.
“I had a great belief that I would run a world record” Kipchoge
Even if you couldn’t care less about distance running or world records, Kipchoge’s accomplishment is worth pondering for what it says about human endurance and what the body is capable of, in terms of cardiovascular strength and muscle efficiency. Next time you are at the gym try running on a treadmill for just 1 mile at 12.93 mph or 20.81 km/h. Now just imagine running like that for 26 miles 385 yards!
“No human is limited” Kipchoge
