** Editors note: Enormously sad for the Kiptum family, friends and fans as we will never see this superstar run again because of his untimely death in a car accident in Feb 2024.
There is so much I could share about my Chicago Marathon weekend (fun with friends, behind the scenes peek at how these events are managed and produced, exploring the city) but what I can't stop thinking about are 3 thoughts from the actual marathon race that are so inspiring to me.
For the record, cool site on history of weather conditions in Chicago: https://findmymarathon.com/weather-detail.php?zname=Chicago%20Marathon&year=
Kelvin Kiptum
I was on the side of the street past mile 12 (just past 20k) when Kelvin Kiptum went by in route to his 2.00.35 world record. Looking at his splits this was one of his slowest miles yet it was SO FAST! I can't describe how blown away that someone running 26.2 went by that fast and looked that relaxed, smooth and comfortable as he was chatting with his pacer.
- There are literally only a handful of men on the entire planet right now capable of even being elite enough to pace another athlete under 60min. Kiptum is on the fringe of doing it twice in the same race!
- He had a 4.18 mile! That's just unimaginable as just one of his 26+ miles.
Humans are absolutely remarkable! Yes, science has helped with shoes, nutrition, training, mind readiness but holy impressive! I even wrote here about the possibility of sub 2 in 2014 however, I gave it a 35 yr runway! Sub 2 - 2014 Post
Kipchoge is forever the marathon GOAT until de-throwned for his dominance, world records and going under 2hrs in a controlled event. I would also say Kipchoge deserves so much credit not only for doing it 1st but for inspiring and motivating athletes that it is a possibility!
Fantastic job obviously Mr. Kiptum and looking forward to cheering for you more in the future.
Women
I was impressed with the # of women I saw running sub 3 so I did a little research as I wanted to statistically prove the increase in competitive women marathoning. Conditions in 2013 were very similar according to a website I found that tracked running conditions at Chicago every year. Granted, science has played a huge role in the advancement of equipment, training and mentality. Additionally credit to the Chicago marathon and Abbott World Majors as the global popularity of the race has grown and increased the competitiveness as well.
I thought the % increase of females hitting these times would far outweigh the men based on the eye test of the race this year and the popularity and growth of women running. But both categories have increased substantially. Sub 3.15 women I guess is statically the biggest outlier in improvement by just over 100% of men which is awesome but the rest just shows an almost 300% increase by both sexes. That is incredible even with science. Go Humans!
