Future of Marathon Running and Technology

Sub two hours in an official marathon. We did not expect that to happen in London, but it did. And in fact, two world records were set at the London Marathon. So we thought with this breaking news it was about time that we did a podcast and talked about it. Yep, so this is a very special edition of the Rental Podcast. It's a short episode to cover that breaking news. Um and to talk about all of the exciting things that happened as part of those amazing world records being set. And don't worry, the regular podcast is still coming on Saturday, where you'll hear all about Rick and his experience running his first marathon since Knee surgery. Did you know? Rick's had knee surgery. I've not mentioned it. And if you're wondering why you keep hearing traffic in the background, it's because we're in the back of a London black cab. Yeah, we're driving the route and we want to relive the iconic moments from the London marathon. So let's get into it. So yeah, two world records. We're gonna spend most of the time talking about the men's race in Sebastian Sarwe because of the it's a it's a genuine moment in History. that that has transcended everything. For the first time, I think it's the first moment in running since Kipchogi doing his uh iconic breaking two that the wider n sort of news network and world of people outside running that have picked up on stuff. But we shouldn't neglect the you know it's We don't want to take anything away from Tigasa Sephar's incredible women's only world record in the women's race and defending her title as well. So maybe we do that one first, then come on to Sebastian Suaway. Yeah, it's interesting. I saw I've seen a lot of people asking about the women's only world record, and that's because it's a record set by women where there have been no male Pacers or runners around her. Yeah, exactly. And the um so that the the uh and there's a big contention around the outright world record anyway, because it was run by Ruth Jeffman Getic prior to her then testing positive and s and she's now suspended for three years for serving a doping she's serving a doping ban effectively. But results prior to a certain date still stand, which include her two oh nine world record. But that was set in a mixed field with male pacemakers and so on. Yeah. So yeah, that's that's the distinction. But the exciting thing here was it wasn't a time trial. But that's the thing that was exciting for me in both elite races. It wasn't just like one person out with the pacemakers and then once the pacemakers dropped out they're out on their own. Mm. There was like a three way, really close battle between three of the greatest math athletes in the world, one of whom's Helen Abe, who I actually thought might have it in the end. So she ends up running two minutes faster than she's ever run before. Because all of her marathons, Helen and Berry, have been I think in Boston and New York and Hilly courses. But she's she's a marathon winner. Yeah. She so she but but they've been fast for those courses, but she's never run As fast as she had to run in London. So I think that's what ultimately meant that Tixis Epha had the advantage. And as well, I think it's really nice to show that London Marathon actually is a fast course and records can be broken there. is what was the most surprising thing at London Marathon is the fact that these records got broken because I don't think it had been talked about that much in the lead up to it. I don't think many people were expecting to happen to me that's significant. Especially having looked at the weather as well. I just think i it's becoming more and more of a thing that if you check your Instagram feed the day of or the day after London Marathon, you will see a lot of people talking about the fact that they have missed out on their goal. So for that to happen, but also simultaneously the fastest Marathon ever. to be run except by both the men and the women. Yeah. It feels strange. It feels so juxtaposed. Yeah. So I felt like you did. I think there's two different worlds here. I think that the world that we're all operating in where we're talking about, you know, I've been trying to run a two fifty marathon, Rick was going for five past four, Sarah running a three and a half hour marathon, and then that world of people, anyone who's who's not elite. all the way down to the incredible runners that are out there for in London, eight or nine hours. That's a different experience to the Elite experience. And I think that the more kind of specialist running media there was this like buzzer or anticipation that that it could happen. Yeah. Or that it could be fast. Apparently the commentary 'Cause I think you can hear on the B C you can hear Steve Cram talking about it. And then he does the math and he's like Oh and it's a minute he's in the last straight and he's got a minute to do it. Yeah and then you can hear Paul Radcliffe and register that Oh my God, this is and he's not just gonna like it's not even gonna squeak it, they will They they were on it. They were on for it. You know, if you look at halfway halfway now. Yeah, he did have to run a pretty hefty negative split half to be able to do that. But it was building it built the whole way through the second onto the men's set. Yeah, it' it it w it wasn't just the last minutes or last couple of minutes. Like it was building. I think that shows though just how unfathomable it is for that to happen because if you think to be able to run a marathon in under two hours Obviously in an ideal world, we would always recommend people to negative split a race because it it feels nice and it's quite nice to ramp things up. I genuinely if you'd asked me beforehand, I would have said, hands down, I will bet every bit of money I have on the fact that it would have been a positive split. Go out so fast and cling on for absolute dear life. Yeah but he has run. Saway has run. Yeah we haven't even mentioned his name yet perfect race Sebastian Swahine's gotta produce his podcast. I w I went off poorly today. So it's Sebastian Sway. Um It's just so Should we give some context about who he is? Yes, so he's a thirty one year old Kenyon athlete. He has won every marathon that he's competed in. He's only done four. And they've all been quite close together. So he started with Valencia. Um we won Valencia, second fastest debut of all time, only just behind um Calvin Kiptum. Um, who sadly passed away in the last few years and is the was the current world record holder. Then he won London Marathon in twenty twenty five. Then he went for the world record and didn't get it, but won Berlin Marathon in twenty twenty five. And then now he's won London again in twenty twenty six. So four marathon, four wins. And then just as an aside, this this is one of the this made me really chuckle uh on social media. Gelcha finished second. Uh, and 'cause that's his marathon debut he also ran under two hours. So he's the only person in history to have never run over two hours for a marathon. Unbelievable. Yeah, that's right, just be like a leg drop. And we should give him a mention because he's gonna get s like It's the fastest marathon debut, obviously, in history. It's under two hours. He smashed the previous record at as did the third place. None of those guys are gonna get 'cause you'll have to focus on Suaway setting this incredible time of one fifty nine thirty, but that they're not gonna get mentioned, right? They're just they were just part of the fastest race. Yeah, and I I interviewed Jacob Kiplemo, who came third in two hours and twenty eight seconds. That would've been a world record if he had a finished in that time. So that that was ten seconds under the world record? So and he you know he and he kind of he said, Well, you know, I did everything I could. I I run a w I run a world record. It's just two guys Unbelievably turned up in a day and did something that was so wild no one expected it. But it shows as well how if you have a fast pack you can the what's the phrase where it's like the rising tide lifts all ships. Literally three world records in one run. Yeah, I think it was the perfect thing. The conditions were good for the elite, it wasn't too hot. It was perfectly still as well. And then they they go crazy in the first half. I mean they went crazy compared to like mortals. They didn't go off too crazy. And actually Sarway then managed to run a and this is why I think the commentates were caught a bit off guard, 'cause it's hard to run a negative split and it's the To my knowledge, the fastest second half of a marathon ever. He ran fifty nine, thirty one, is that right, Sarah? Yeah. For the second half. And fifty nine oh one for the second half. Oh sorry, fifty nine oh one, yes, that's right. Um fifty nine oh one for the the second half. And Where he would have gained a massive chunk of time is he ran four minutes twelve seconds for his twenty fourth mile. And I think his average pace was like four thirty. So he's just just got he's just grabbed twenty seconds out of nowhere on the twenty four and one mile. Yeah. So his average pace, just to give some other stats, average pace was four thirty three per mile, two fifty per kilometer. So that's disgusting. Average speed of twenty one point two kilometers an hour or thirteen point. One six miles per hour. And Just just some other stats about him, which are super interesting. So weekly trailing volume of approximately a hundred and fifty miles or two hundred and forty kilometres. That's quite close to what you were doing, isn't it? It's not far off, actually. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I think I saw him at Hellsfire a couple of times. Yeah. And he his life is super interesting as well, 'cause he is s he takes it so seriously. And it's doping. testing regime. 'Cause he asked for additional docent tests. He, his agent and his coach at head of the Berlin Marathon last year, were so kind of confident that he could break the world record. And they're swept up in the or you know, they're very aware of the controversy around Ruth Cheping Getish who's also Kenyan, and the controversy around her failed doping test that he wanted to try and obviously there's going to be scepticism still that someone's running this fast. Yeah. But it's quite hard to prove a negative. So they sit out and said, Well to the AIU, which is the athletics integrity unit Come up come at me. Just test me as much as you want between now and when running Berlin Math. Three times a week, was it? You think you test him twenty five times. And then I think I believe are continuing to pay for those extra tests um for because it it costs money. I like it. I think it's really refreshing. He also ran it in the the new Adidas shoes. Yeah they can you remember the full name? 'Cause they've got like the world's longest title, Adidas. Addie zero, Adios, Pro Evo three. Yeah. Everyone just calls them the Pro Evo three. That's the ones? Ninety seven grams. Super light. And also the carbon plate's quite interesting. It's a carbon plate kind of rim. It's not even a plate, yeah, it's just like it goes all the way around the outside of the out of the midsole, effectively. So there's no plate itself in section if you see a picture of it. Um I mean fabulous advertising for that shoe. It was the debut. And both the first and second places in the in the men's and then Tix to Steph and the women's were wearing it. Yeah. Well I really enjoyed I did see someone's comment that was like Brand new shoes, runs a world record, breaks two for the first time, less faff than around the last time two hours. No lasers, no blazing lasers. They didn't retarm out the road. Which cost millions of visits when it did that in Vienna. However, I do think we have formations. We can't talk about breaking two hours without referencing Elliot Kipchoge, who proved it was possible. And now Saway is talking about the possibility of a future target of a one fifty eight marathon. Which is super exciting, 'cause I think with Kip Choggy there was a bit of a lull where everyone was like, okay he's looking towards retirement now. Who's gonna be the new person? It was Kiptum, then he very sadly passed away. Now we've got two people in the running. Who's gonna break the next record? How quick Can the human race get. Well Kiblemo also said to me that he reckons that one fifty is possible in the not so distant future. And you know he he he he kinda referenced the point that when it comes to marathon times from two thousand three to two thousand eighteen, in those five years the world record time for men dropped three minutes. But in the last seven years It's dropped two and a half minutes. That's 'cause of technology, obviously. But it just shows the speed of change. And the technology changes the training as well. So that that we've talked about this before, but obviously putting the new shoes super shoes on versus non super shoes just overnight makes you faster. But then also it allows you to run those hundred and fifty miles in a way which makes you more economical and efficient. So combination of everything. And when you can win seven hundred and forty thousand pounds, including bonuses. Which is a reported thing. That's a reporter, Ernie, but that is very appealing. So let us know what you think. Did you enjoy watching it? What are you excited to happen next? What do you think will be the next big thing to happen in running? Yeah.