Kipchoge targets sub-two hour marathon

LONDON: Eliud Kipchoge will attempt to break the two-hour marathon barrier — the last great landmark in modern athletics — in Vienna in October, his London-based INEOS 1:59 Challenge team announced Thursday.

The Kenyan world record holder will attempt the unprecedented feat in the Prater park in the Austrian capital on October 12, with an eight-day window to October 20 in case of bad weather. “This is a golden chance for me to make history and show the world that no human is limited,” said Kipchoge. The effort will be run in 9.6-kilometre laps of the park’s dead-straight Hauptallee tree-lined avenue. Kipchoge will change direction on a roundabout at each end.

In his previous attempt at running the first-ever sub-two-hour marathon on the Monza Formula One racetrack in Italy in 2017, Kipchoge completed the 26.2-mile (42.2-kilometre) distance in 2:00:25. The in-form marathon great is preparing for his new record attempt at his Kaptagat training camp in Kenya, 2,400 metres (7,900 feet) above sea level. “Vienna has a fast and flat course, nicely protected by trees,” the 34-year-old said. Since Monza, Kipchoge set the official world record of 2:01:39 at the 2018 Berlin Marathon. His last outing was at the 2019 London Marathon in April, which he won in 2:02:37 — the second-fastest time ever recorded in an official race.

“This gives me further belief that I can break two hours,” he said, given that he went into Monza with a personal best of 2:03:05. The Olympic champion is skipping the biennial 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha from September 27-October 6 to concentrate on the record attempt. Vienna was chosen after meeting particular criteria, as Kipchoge looks to shave off a second per mile from his 2:00:25 Monza landmark. They included a fast, flat and straight track; fresh air due to the horse chestnut trees; wide, traffic-free and illuminated roads with space for spectators; optimum performance weather conditions in October, and a one-hour time difference from Kipchoge’s training camp.