If they did a women's Breaking2 - Faster than 2:15.25?

Will off scores be tested? This will make a huge determination in my answer.

I think that Keitany could. She did 2:17:01 from my memory. Was the pacing perfect on that? I know lots of times in London they’ve had awful pacing.

Considering at the time, Breaking2 lowered Kipchoge’s best by over two minutes, I think Keitany could get into 2:15-low territory.

Dirty P wrote:

Will off scores be tested? This will make a huge determination in my answer.

Off scores?

The target should be to brake 2:10.

What would be the point?

It would generate NONE of the excitement. The whole point of Breaking2 was to see if they could break a time barrier that many said could never be run for a marathon. Now if they said "Breaking2:10" or something, I'd be interested.

A more interesting question is...Would Kipchoge have broken the WR by as much as he did, if he didn't have the knowledge (ie fluid intake, proper mix levels, running form, etc) and technology innovation gained from the Breaking2 project?

MeHereYouWhere?! wrote:

What would be the point?

It would generate NONE of the excitement. The whole point of Breaking2 was to see if they could break a time barrier that many said could never be run for a marathon. Now if they said "Breaking2:10" or something, I'd be interested.

A more interesting question is...Would Kipchoge have broken the WR by as much as he did, if he didn't have the knowledge (ie fluid intake, proper mix levels, running form, etc) and technology innovation gained from the Breaking2 project?

To be fair, the OP didn’t saying Breaking2:15 was actually happening. It’s a speculative exercise. That being said, I think 2:15 is still a cool barrier to break (like breaking 3:50 in the 1,500 or 14 in the 5,000, etc.).

To your Kipchoge question, I don’t think he would’ve ran 2:01:39 without Breaking2. Not sure if he would’ve run 2:01-high, but my guess is he wouldn’t have broken 2:02 without the experience, training, and whatever else they did to help get him there.

GoldenMiles wrote:

To your Kipchoge question, I don’t think he would’ve ran 2:01:39 without Breaking2. Not sure if he would’ve run 2:01-high, but my guess is he wouldn’t have broken 2:02 without the experience, training, and whatever else they did to help get him there.

Agreed. I don't think he would have run 2:01 either. It's reasonable to assume he walked away from Breaking2 thinking that he could do it again, or get close, on the right day.

Given how long it has taken women to get within two minutes of Radcliffe's WR, it made me wonder, what would it actually take? If Keitany couldn't run 2:15 low in a Breaking2 format.. that would not be good. For Radcliffe.

Mary K is capable of setting the WR without a "breaking2" scenario. Her close at NYC showed that, along with her also terribly paced 2:17.

If London would provide pacers to half in 68 and Mary didn't push them faster, she can do it.

I feel like a bit of a stuck record but I don’t think any of the current crop can do sub 2:17 let alone sub 2:15:25

Mary is an incredible runner, I just don’t think she has the endurance for the full 26.2 at that pace. I think the 2:17:01 she did in 2017 was “her” 2:15:25 day. No doubt when the London elite fields are released next week the underlying story will be another WR attempt, but personally I don’t see it happening.

The silent killer is perhaps Brigid Kosgei. 2:20 in London, 2:18 in Chicago and a sub 30 10k on NYE. If she keeps improving at this rate, she’ll be the one to watch.

I don’t know why the women choose London largely as their WR site of choice. Why not try Berlin as well, like the men?

I get why Paula did it. For Keitany, London is about her only chance as she does NYC every year it seems.

I also think that if Kipchoge (or whoever) set a WR say, in Chicago, you might see more people attempting it there, since technically it's the "fastest course".

Radcliffe's WR was basically a Breaking2 type race since she had a wall of male pacers for the entire race.

What? She had two guys, one of which dropped out and she then ran alongside the other one, not behind him.

As a male I would watch this. Being married and wife being a runner, there is a big women's market out there. And women are interested in being faster, consider how many females are now hit OTQ