I’m sure you’ve all heard by now that Nike is currently undergoing a project to facilitate a sub-2-hour marathon in the near future. Recently, they did a half marathon test run on a Formula One race track. Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya was the fastest runner of the day at 59:17, but according to Alex Hutchinson of Runner’s World, Nike claimed beforehand that this was “not a race or even a time trial; it was, they said, a dress rehearsal for the complex logistics of the attempt.”
Hutchinson goes on to say:
The next step for the team is to analyze the piles of data they collected from the runners during the attempt, from ingested core-temperature pills, taped-on muscle oxygen and skin-temperature sensors, pre- and post-run weight measurements, and so on. That will give them an indication of how hard the athletes were working during the half marathon—and, crucially, whether they’ll be able to hold nearly the same pace for twice as long.
We’re certainly interested in learning more about the data they collect but there are some cold, hard facts we have to face when considering whether a sub-2-hour marathon is possible today. Just plug in 1:59:59 into the VDOT Calculator and look at the results!
1:59:59 
Training Paces
- Easy – 5:18-5:38/mi or 3:17-3:30/km
- Marathon – 4:34/mi or 2:50/km
- Threshold – 4:25/mi or 2:44/km
- Interval – 4:04/mi or 2:32/km
- Repetition – 3:40/mi or 2:17/km
Equivalent Performances
- Half Marathon – 57:10 (current WR is 58:01)
- 15k – 39:50
- 10k – 26:01
- 5k – 12:29
- 3k – 7:09
- 1 Mile – 3:37
- 1500m – 3:21
After viewing these stats do you still think is reasonable or just a fun marketing gimmick?
What are your thoughts on the results of Nike’s Breaking2 attempt?
We think it’s an incredible physical and mental achievement and also a great illustration to all runners who outside factors, like temperature, course, wind, can have huge impacts on performance in a marathon.
Doping îs doping! There are so much athletes with great performances achieved this way? Why do you think Eliud is worse then them
Sorry but you didn’t answer the question properly. Dispite your projections on that day the Nike sub 2h project got really really close to break all of your data. Also instead of just put this online again you could improve your data by showing the equivalent performances of kipchoge in that day. Just saying.
Marcelo, sorry for any confusion. We didn’t project anything. We were simply illustrating how incredible it is to achieve that time by providing some context with paces and equivalent performances.
Done and dusted.
Well, and 2 years later it’s accomplished. Absurd or not, they showed it’s not a marketing gimmick, but actually possible.