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Posted by berkeleyjunk 12 hours ago

Sawe becomes first athlete to run a sub-two-hour marathon in a competitive race(www.bbc.com)
https://www.letsrun.com/news/2026/04/15930-sabastian-sawe-sh...

https://news.adidas.com/running/two-adidas-athletes-sabastia...

352 points | 240 commentspage 3
elchief 10 hours ago|
Kipchoge broke 2h a few years ago, but it was on a closed, low altitude track, with a fleet of rotating runners in front of him, providing wind blocking/drafting as well as pacing

Amazing these guys did it in a real race with no one in front of them (at the end at least)

wavemode 11 hours ago||
That's literally running a 4:30 mile, 26 times in a row. Jesus.
almost_usual 8 hours ago||
While consuming about 800 calories.
ccheever 11 hours ago||
4:33
readthenotes1 9 hours ago||
A purist might want the athletes to wear the same gear as Pheidippides
mayneack 9 hours ago||
Why stop there. Why not deny them modern medicine or nutrition?
SecretDreams 8 hours ago||
Let's save that for the second act. Need to draw these feats of strength out to sufficiently monetize the experience.
pclmulqdq 8 hours ago|||
Such a purist should also note that Pheidippides was likely the runner who ran to Sparta and back, hundreds of miles, the preceding week to ask for their aid at Marathon.
jonplackett 9 hours ago||
A purist just wants it to be about the runner not the shoe.
_carbyau_ 9 hours ago||
Purism is extremism about a thing. Pick a thing, be purely about that thing.

I used to love F1 for the tech that would filter down to my car in ten years time, but that is not a thing anymore.

I for one love the advances in technology in something as supposedly simple as a shoe. And maybe I'll get to use it on a hike in a few years.

teruakohatu 9 hours ago||
> I for one love the advances in technology in something as supposedly simple as a shoe. And maybe I'll get to use it on a hike in a few years.

These shoes are practically disposable. They trade longevity for noticeable gains in performance. Even the tier below don’t last very long. This is not tech that is going to filter down to your hiking boots.

_carbyau_ 8 hours ago||
Fair enough, I obviously haven't looked into it.

But the initial tech on an F1 car was not made for 200k miles either.

Even if the full tech stack to make it all work - material science, physical layout and construction - doesn't transfer, maybe some bit of it will.

My point being though, unlike some purists, I like the technology race. It is much better than having a brand war simply on the basis of brand loyalty.

Metacelsus 10 hours ago||
It's always interesting to see East Africans doing so well. Even with technology like advances in shoes and diet/training, genetics is still a huge factor.

Also it must be an crazy feeling to be Kejelcha, the guy who came in 2nd place. It would have been a world record, except for Sawe!

tdiff 9 hours ago||
Is it actually allowed to suggest that some races are better than others in some areas?
elchief 10 hours ago|||
Not necessarily genetic. They run a lot, at altitude, from childhood
kyawzazaw 5 hours ago||
i feel like over a time, it becomes encoded
geargrinder 10 hours ago||
It was his first marathon, so he is probably thinking next time he will be the one to break the record.
UebVar 11 hours ago||
This is historic. To put this into perspective for people how to not follow running: This is about about as big as "derGrobe" beating the one-minute-mark in 4b2c.
alex1138 11 hours ago||
WHAT???? NO. WAY.

That's not me being sarcastic. I never, ever thought this would happen

mkl 10 hours ago|
Why not? People were not far from it and have been getting closer and closer to it for years. To me it seemed almost certain that it would happen this decade or next.
Daz912 8 hours ago||
Capitalism does it again
Noaidi 11 hours ago||
[flagged]
clutter55561 11 hours ago||
Two marathons will never be run in the same conditions, that is the nature of outdoor sports.

Besides weather, there are loads of factors in the performance: shoes, clothes, food, etc. So basically every record gets an asterisk?

nradov 11 hours ago|||
No asterisk needed. The criteria for record-eligible courses have been clearly defined. The weather was good, but not quite ideal. In slightly colder conditions I think Sawe could have gone a few seconds faster.
nl 9 hours ago|||
Unless there was a 2ms+ tailwind on a one-way course there is no asterisk needed. All outdoor running is done in variable conditions.
soupfordummies 11 hours ago|||
So if the weather was bad the accomplishment would mean more then? I don’t think this is how it works. Sports don’t happen in a vacuum.
jjmarr 11 hours ago|||
Sprinting/jump performances are invalidated for world record purposes if there's over 2.0 m/s of wind assistance.

There is no rule for marathons.

dmurray 11 hours ago||
There is a rule for marathons to counter wind assistance, but it's basically that the finish of the race needs to be pretty close to the start.
aaronbrethorst 11 hours ago||||
Too bad, you could run a lot faster in a vacuum...except for that whole breathing thing.
tokai 11 hours ago||
Can't wait for vacuum track racing on the moon.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00421-010-1410-1

tickerticker 9 hours ago||
The BEST!!
Noaidi 11 hours ago|||
Yes. If sports does not happen in a vacuum then comparisons are unfair. If I go to the moon and break the record for long jumping should I be applauded?

I thought there were scientists on here...

gbnwl 11 hours ago|||
Never thought I'd see the day ragebait made it to HN. Yes, let's pretend doing a long jump on the moon is comparable to running a marathon at its prescheduled time at its prescheduled location. Weather is always a factor in sports that take place outside. Might as well put asterisks on all accomplishments that took place on sunny days by your logic right?
Noaidi 11 hours ago||
It’s either scientific or it’s not.

Don’t forget that two people actually ran under the two hour mark.

ternaryoperator 10 hours ago||
Not sure I understand what you mean by "scientific." If you mean exactly reproducible, then almost nothing in athletics fits that definition. Every record in baseball, football, etc. would fail that definition.
toast0 9 hours ago|||
A moon long jump would happen in a vacuum, so it should be fine, yes?
snayan 11 hours ago|||
I am impressed by your ability to delineate the weather effect on his run with such confidence! Particularly given advances in other variables that contribute.
PaulDavisThe1st 11 hours ago|||
Better weather has, to the best of my knowledge, never been part of marathon record keeping. People do note in accounts of (e.g.) the Boston marathon that the weather was particularly atrocious in some years (hence a general slow down across the field), but weather "aided" fast times are not considered illegitimate or even worthy of note.

Obviously, barring wind, which is why some marathon courses are not eligible for world records.

nradov 11 hours ago|||
Correct. Boston is a net downhill point-to-point course and not record eligible under World Athletics rules.

https://worldathletics.org/records/certified-roadevents

PaulDavisThe1st 9 hours ago||
No point to point courses are eligible, because of the "risk" of a wind assist.
Noaidi 11 hours ago|||
> Better weather has, to the best of my knowledge, never been part of marathon record keeping.

It should be.

PaulDavisThe1st 10 hours ago||
Human response to temperature shows significant variation. 50F/10C may be absolutely ideal for one runner, but a little too cold for another. That's why you can't unambiguously declare a given race to be "a good weather day".

By contrast, hail/rain and wind will negatively impact almost everyone, which is why talking about "a bad weather day" makes more sense.

Forgeties79 11 hours ago||
That’s a wild reason to withhold a true record. People run marathons in all sorts of conditions since it became a thing. It is unlikely this is the best weather ever for a record set and even if it was, it’s never been a factor when deciding to qualify a record. That’s beyond unfair.
Noaidi 11 hours ago||
I am surprised at the push back on this. It is just science and it mentioned it in the article.

https://marathonhandbook.com/large-scale-marathon-study-iden...

I just said it needs an asterisk, not withholding anything. What if someone runs one second slower in higher humidity and temperature. Now that I would applaud.

ekr____ 11 hours ago|||
Why do you think the existing records weren't also set under good conditions?
lazyasciiart 11 hours ago||||
What was the temperature and humidity for the previous record? Or the rest of the top 10?
Forgeties79 9 hours ago|||
> I just said it needs an asterisk, not withholding anything

It’s essentially the same as not setting the record. It would be qualified every single time it’s mentioned and be functionally saying “…so it doesn’t count.”

soopypoos 11 hours ago||
I hope there was a runner dressed as the finish line
soopypoos 9 hours ago|
too soon
clutter55561 12 hours ago|
~~A car going as fast as him would have gotten a speeding ticket in the residential areas of Wales. Crazy.~~

Edit: I was thinking in km/h and mixed it up. Sorry.

edo_cat 11 hours ago|
Speed limit is 20mph right? He ran 26.1 miles in 2 hours so average speed is 13 mph
adzm 11 hours ago|||
Looking this up, fastest human is still Usain Bolt at 27.78mph (at one point in a 100 meter dash)
clutter55561 11 hours ago|||
Damn was thinking km/h. Thanks for the correction.
sowbug 10 hours ago||
You actually can get a ticket for driving 13 in a 25, at least in the US, so you're not entirely incorrect.
clutter55561 19 minutes ago||
Fair enough. My kids are learning to drive and “how fast should I go” is a constant topic in my family right now.

Just yesterday I saw a learner driving at what seemed 10 mph in a 40 mph road, creating a massive queue.