AM: 12 miles (~7:50/mile pace) ridiculously early on the Clearwater bridges- solo- after watching the sub 2hr marathon attempt (slash clearly Nike promo gimmick) online.
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The sub-2 attempt: New Marathon World Record! Kind of- pacers were used and it wasn't a "race." But let's be honest, the 4:00 barrier was attacked in a similar way. The result was a 2:00:25 by Eliud Kipchoge. I guessed he was going to run a 2:01 high with the pacers, wind barrier "clock" (please, we aren't blind), and moving fuel stations. What a pleasure it is to see these three men- Desisa, Kipchoge, and Tadese) communicate after the race and during the outros- such humility (waving to the crowd even during a new world record), humbleness (immediately turning the question to the pacers and aids), and thankfulness (for the pacers). That really got me. These men display personable qualities I aspire to have. I got more out of watching them as people then watching their form and idiosyncrasies.
I couldn't believe Eliud was strong enough to hold that solo for the last 50 minutes like that as Tadese dropped off. What mental fortitude! I wish it was about 10-15 degrees cooler for them however (at least for Desisa).
You could feel the incredible energy from all of the pacers afterwards too- as if they were their own little community and had done it together. I want that. I wish Florida had that. Running solo is fun, but the comradery and teamwork is always something I've loved about sports that made me not interested in sports like running- and likely why I didn't touch the sport until after college. It's clearly there, just much more difficult to find, and after this morning I see that now. Makes me feel like I missed out on a cool sport to grow up with.
On a final note, not only is someone going to break 2 hours in a regular marathon, but it will happen in our lifetime- that's pretty cool. I mean, they took 2.1% off the World Record- That's like taking 0.22 off of the 100m world record time. That's insane! We can whine all we want about the time "not being official," or they'll talk about the Nike shoes having a 85% return, but literally every other sport has some aid in it that's even more unfair- blocks in sprinting, hydrophobic suits in swimming (not to mention diving platforms to start), and bicycles that literally can make an average Joe into an good cyclist just because of the bike. The sport is bound to evolve eventually as it has in the past. Otherwise, we'd be rolling around on cinder tracks still.
Also, happy Roger Bannister day! May the 6th be with you. (:
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