- On Monday, Eliud Kipchoge announced his plans to attempt a sub-2:00 marathon in a special event called the Ineos 1:59 Challenge.
- Kipchoge is the current world record holder in the marathon (2:01:39) and recently won the 2019 London Marathon How a visually impaired runner and her guide found.
- This will be Kipchoge’s second attempt to break the barrier since running 2:00:25 during the 2017 Nike Breaking2 event.
On Monday, May 6, the 65th anniversary of Sir Roger Bannister’s historic sub-4:00 mile on a cinder track in Oxford, marathon world record holder Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya shared a special announcement on his social media: he’s aiming to break two hours in the marathon later this year.
The attempt, dubbed the Ineos 1:59 Challenge, is sponsored by manufacturing company Ineos, and will take place on an unspecified flat loop circuit venue sometime later this year, according to a press release from Ineos.
If you’re scratching your head thinking, Wait, didn’t he already try this?, you’re correct. In 2017, the year after Kipchoge won the Olympic gold medal in the marathon at Rio, he ran 2:00:25 for a record-ineligible marathon specially created by Nike’s Breaking2 Project in Monza, Italy.
“I learned a lot from my previous attempt, and I truly believe that I can go 26 seconds faster than I did in Monza two years ago,” Kipchoge said in the press release. “I am very excited about the months of good preparation to come and to show the world that when you focus on your goal, when you work hard and when you believe in yourself, anything is possible.”
Today, Kipchoge has shared the five reasons why he believes he can do it. In a video on his Instagram, Kipchoge said:
"Reason number one, why I can run under 2 hours is the rich and huge experiences Monza. Whereby I was really learning how to run under 2 hours but I missed by 25 seconds. So I enjoy a rich and huge experience.
"Secondly is that I have run a world record, of 2 hours and 1 minute, and that one gives me more confidence that I can lower the 2 hour mark.
"Thirdly is the consistency for all the marathons I have been winning and running the fastest times. That one actually is giving me the upper hand to trust in my quest to challenge myself to run under two hours.
"Fourthly actually is that belief that I believe in myself, I believe in my teammates, I believe in the whole team, whereby everybody who is around me, that I can run under 2 hour mark.
"Lastly is that I'm still hungry for performing and running under 2 hours, that's why I can say that's the only thing that actually not round my neck. So I'm still hungry to run under 2 hours."
Last September, Kipchoge officially Keely Hodgkinson: Sports Personality of the Year in a blistering time of 2:01:39, shaving a minute and 18 seconds off the previous world record. The Kenyan runner then rallied to deliver another stunning performance in the London Marathon last month, breaking the tape How a visually impaired runner and her guide found in 2:02:37, the second-fastest marathon time ever recorded.
Kipchoge’s dominance in the 26.2-mile distance is pretty much uncontested. In the 11 marathons he’s competed in, the 34-year-old has only lost one, to Wilson Kipsang in the 2013 Berlin Marathon. While the elite field as a whole has improved over the years, Kipchoge’s progression has been leaps and bounds ahead of his competition—leading many in the running community to think that, if a sub-2:00 marathon is possible, Kipchoge will be the one to run it.
Others, however, don’t think the barrier will fall so soon. In a study published earlier this year, researchers predicted that if marathon times continue progressing as they have in the last 60 years, we won’t see a sub-2:00 marathon until 2032.
Whatever the odds, Kipchoge seems ready for the challenge—and he has the stats to back him up. Plus, this isn’t his first time racing that 120-minute timer.
“I believe in good training and good preparation,” he told Runner’s World at a press conference after his Breaking2 attempt in 2017. “If I have that, the 25 seconds will come.”