ListNook

Tuesday_Night_Club Apr 26, 2026 +84

Yomif Kejelcha also ran it under 2! Came in 11 seconds after Sawe. Pretty phenomenal day.

84

noscreamsnoshouts Apr 27, 2026 +18

Did the specific day help? I know nothing about marathon running, to be clear. But it seems pretty fenomenal that not one but two people broke this record in one day. So I'm wondering what made (or helped make) this happen? Did weather conditions play a role? Have there been recent developments in gear or nutrition?

18

INTERESTandAMBITIONS Apr 27, 2026 +79

A third male also broke the world record, just not under 2 hours. A woman broke the world record also. Weather for the day was good, but London isn’t known for being the fastest course out there. All 3 of the men and the top woman finisher were all wearing Adidas’ new Evo Pro 3 so make of that what you will. Crazy day though.

79

Commercial-Co Apr 27, 2026 +21

That new shoe has some wild technology behind it. Plus super light

21

INTERESTandAMBITIONS Apr 27, 2026 +4

Yeah seems like it could be the biggest jump in tech we’ve seen since the original vapor fly almost 7 years ago

4

muunshine9 Apr 27, 2026 +16

I read comments in another thread saying that the weather was beautiful, plus the London Marathon ends slightly downhill of where it starts (although still within an allowable margin for setting the record).

16

House_of_Gucci Apr 27, 2026 +27

You’ll see it broken a lot more often now that it’s been done. Sports psychology

27

noscreamsnoshouts Apr 27, 2026 +9

Wait how does this work? Does the body, in a way, "need permission"? Needs to know that it's possible?

9

tabidots Apr 27, 2026 +22

Sort of. “Endure” by Alex Hutchinson explores this topic (along with other mental elements of endurance). Bannister’s 4-minute mile is the most famous early example of this phenomenon. No one thought it was possible, he did it, then a bunch of people started doing it. Zooming out a bit, the brain will generally nope out at some point as a “safety valve” of sorts because it thinks you might be about to hurt yourself, even when you could actually push it a bit further without getting hurt.

22

FlutterbyTG Apr 27, 2026 +2

The eighteen foot pole vault mark also.

2

DreadWolf3 Apr 28, 2026 +1

It is also simply technology advancing - new shoes allow for much more efficient running.

1

MadRoboticist Apr 27, 2026 +10

I've read in a couple places that weather was perfect and there was a pretty good tailwind for at least the last quarter of the race. But really this has been inevitable since Kipchoge did the sub-2 in Berlin.

10

UnfortunatelySimple Apr 27, 2026 +1

I read it's net downhill as well.

1

tabrizzi Apr 26, 2026 +267

1st place - Sabastian Sawe of Kenya 1:59:30 2nd place - Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia 1:59:41 3rd place - Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda 2:00:28 All 3 times broke the previous London marathon record. Something in the shoes.

267

SonofJersey Apr 27, 2026 +116

All 3 broke the previous world record.

116

idonteven93 Apr 28, 2026 +2

Well… actually only one broke the previous world record.

2

CanWeTalkEth Apr 27, 2026 +107

Literally. New carbon material in soles returning an extra 1% of strike energy back to the runner means more efficient strides.

107

tepkel Apr 27, 2026 +43

I'm thinking of getting metal legs. It's a risky operation, but I think it'll be worth it.

43

donedamndoing Apr 27, 2026 +12

I want to get you a black cobra just to go around the neck...

12

AssRobots Apr 27, 2026 +2

It was a gift from my roommates.

2

CanWeTalkEth Apr 27, 2026 +2

Rickety Cricket way ahead of you

2

Compactsun Apr 27, 2026 +1

Bladerunner reading this: am i a joke to you. *this comment is not an endorsement of his character*

1

tabrizzi Apr 27, 2026 +1

Spring-loaded metal legs.

1

ThatGuy8754 Apr 27, 2026 +21

Imagine breaking the record and coming *third*

21

krunchytacos Apr 27, 2026 +10

Old soles

10

Flying-Fox Apr 27, 2026 +4

You’re on the right track!

4

funtimes-forall Apr 26, 2026 +170

Wow, two runners beat the 2hr mark! I can run 10 mph for 3 minutes and it feels like my bones are coming apart.

170

PurpleSailor Apr 27, 2026 +41

They did just over 13 miles per hour over the entire run, crazy! I could never beat the sub four minute mile myself.

41

MultiMillionMiler Apr 27, 2026 +48

That's a sub 5 min mile for 26 continuous miles, can't even imagine. My top sprint speed is 15 mph and the longest I can hold that is like 5 seconds lol

48

Drunkgummybear1 Apr 27, 2026 +4

Run 100m in 17 seconds. Then do that 420 more times. Insane.

4

murmurtoad Apr 26, 2026 +47

10 mph for 3 minutes is much better than the average person already. These marathon guys are just wild.

47

_goblinette_ Apr 27, 2026 +76

What a kick in the teeth that must be. Dude did something that no one else has ever done before but just so happened to do it on the same day that the other guy did it 11 seconds faster.

76

cinderubella Apr 27, 2026 +24

Maybe neither of them get it without the other one to compete with on the day.

24

crazyaznrobot Apr 27, 2026 +8

It's like Michael phelps and that other guy on his team

8

UnfortunatelySimple Apr 27, 2026 +6

And 3rd place would beat the WR, other than the fact two guys beat it in the minute before.

6

doegred Apr 27, 2026 +4

On the plus side though, it was his first marathon (really, though with many other races at other distances), so, y'know, not too shabby.

4

One-Professor-1886 Apr 27, 2026 +2

Being paced is a real thing.

2

nebrivor1 Apr 27, 2026 +3

I've done a 1:43 half marathon and a 6 minute mile and that was 10 years ago and 35lbs lighter. I'd snap in half if I tried that today.

3

Senna_65 Apr 26, 2026 +42

At what point will humans reach the absolute physical limits? It seems every other year some superhuman-unbeatable record is broken

42

XADEBRAVO Apr 26, 2026 +43

Till a year later and we find out they mainlining horse blood.

43

Molly-Millions Apr 26, 2026 +29

One of the things I found really interesting about this record is the amount of extra PED testing he's undergone. I think ADIDAS spent something in the neighborhood of $50k in the last year on extra/more stringent testing for him. Not sure they tested for horse blood tho 😂

29

Nadamir Apr 26, 2026 +27

I honestly think it’s just what my elite runner friend calls “freaky Kenyan genetics”. When your culture involves running long distances at high elevation, you evolve god-tier distance running ability. Add in that once a few of your people get famous for it, you’ll have lots of sports scouts looking at your people, so opportunities abound that other don’t have. And yes, my idiot elite runner friend did try and ask an elite runner if she would like to make a “half-Kenyan running machine baby” with him only to be told in the most withering tone imaginable that she was Ethiopian.

27

sawyouoverthere Apr 27, 2026 +10

your idiot friend has provided you with an amazing anecdote, but I suspect it's neither the first nor the last.

10

Nadamir Apr 27, 2026 +5

Why else do think he’s still my friend when he’s that stupid?

5

KDR_11k Apr 27, 2026 +4

The explanation I've seen was that running is the cheapest sport to get into and if you do get picked up it's a way to escape poverty so a lot of people in Africa do it. Of course more athletes in a discipline = higher chance of a great one emerging.

4

Fallouttgrrl Apr 26, 2026 +7

Honestly I'm stocking up on rhino blood for when they do start testing for horse blood Get in on it before the rest catch on!

7

XADEBRAVO Apr 26, 2026 +2

Fair play then. Just seems to happen a lot these days a while later.

2

Politicsboringagain Apr 26, 2026 +1

Or you know maybe people aren't actually cheating and years of training just makes these people good.

1

Northern-Canadian Apr 27, 2026 -3

It’s happened so many times it’s hard to care. The records are near useless.

-3

Politicsboringagain Apr 27, 2026 +1

Sounds like you're just not interested in the sport. And that's okay I find most sports that people loving boring and completely uninteresting.

1

Commercial-Co Apr 27, 2026

Idk but i think usain bolt’s records will be broken soon

0

WiFiForeheadWrinkles Apr 27, 2026 +18

Need a Summoning Salt video on the history of literal speedrunning

18

PurpleSailor Apr 27, 2026 +14

As a former runner myself this is just amazing. The guy that came in second also had a sub 2 hour run time. 2 hours of sustained running at 13.11 mph is a hell of an achievement!

14

leviathab13186 Apr 27, 2026 +6

He must drink power thrust

6

Icyknightmare Apr 27, 2026 +3

It's been a long time since I last thought that Powerthirst made you run as fast as a Kenyan.

3

kstargate-425 Apr 27, 2026 +13

This is absolutely insane times and this is an average of 4 minutes and 33 seconds per mile and is absolutely insane as he finished in 1hr, 59mins and 30secs. ETA: For the metric users out there it's 2 minutes and 50 seconds per kilometer

13

EdisonTheTurtle Apr 26, 2026 +7

They let an X-Men villain run a marathon and are surprised he broke records?

7

Metacomet99 Apr 27, 2026

A woman from Norway, a guy from Kenya and 20000 losers.

0

Kenya's Sabastian Sawe is first person to run sub-2-hour marathon to win in London

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