Amos Kipruto ran a 4:21 25th mile today to win London. Is that the fastest mile in marathoning history?

According to this video (which Jonathan should really review), Salazar ran a 4:33 to get away from Jose Gomez.

Look for the 4:10 mark, though you should watch the whole insane thing.

Sorry, 12 minute mark. Start at 11:40, though, to hear "El Foldo."

First 3 were about 4:22, 4:30, 4:23 I think

The reality is that it's a moot point if the course is record eligible or not. It's if the mile that the athlete ran meets the criteria. One would have to do some research to see if any of these fast miles were actually downhill or not. And we are not even considering the fact that probably most of these miles were point to point with very few turns.

Salazar was an absolute boss.. one of the all-time greats.

I thought that Mutai really laid it down in the 2022 nyc marathon.

The official LetsRun 2018 London Marathon thread (https://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=8778639&page=20) may in fact be the best existing chronicle of that race's splits. Total carnage:

"
Men's splits
Mile 1: 4:22
Mile 2: 4:30 (8:52)
Mile 3: 4:23 (13:15)
5K: 13:48 Faster than Breaking2
Mile 4: 4:37 (17:52) Kipchoge has been sticking right on the pacers the whole way. Fearless.
Mile 5: 4:41 (22:33) Still nine guys up there.
Mile 6: 4:42 (27:15)
10K:
28:19 (14:31) Farah grabs the wrong bottle at the 10k drinks station,
then throws it away. Then grabs another bottle. Not sure if it’s his or
not. Farah doesn’t seem to know where his bottle is and he motions and
one of the lead motorcycles to try to let him know where his bottles
are.
Mile 7: 4:45 (32:01)
Mile 8: 4:46 (36:46) Still 9 guys up front
Mile 9: 4:45 (41:31)
15K: 43:05 (14:46) 2:01:25 pace.
Mile 10: 4:43 (46:14)
Mile 11: 4:43 (50:57)
Mile 12: 4:50 (55:47)
20K: 57:52 Kipchoge and Kitata right on the rabbits, Karoki , Bekele, Kirui, Wanjiru, and Farah strung out behind.
Mile 13: 4:44
HALF: 61:00 exactly for Kipchoge

The most important stat above is the words "rabbits."

Just like Salazar's 2:08.13 was a world record/best, his 4:33 split was the world record at the time for mile in the midst of a marathon. Rabbits, I believe, we not used in marathons until John Graham acted as one at Rotterdam 83.

I believe Baldini’s last mile split was right around 4:20 in Athens, but that’s based on memory. JG’s rewatch article has it a little slower.

letsrun.com

I Was Bored, So I Watched the Crazy 2004 Men's Olympic Marathon

Jonathan Gault

You know about Meb's silver and the attack on leader Vanderlei de Lima, but do you remember Baldini's incredible close or the Austrian guy in a fuel belt?

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12 seconds down with a mile to go, Andres Espinosa closed the final mile of Boston 1994 in 4:20. He came up short in his pursuit to catch Cosmos Ndeti. 2:07:15 to 2:07:19

Somehow superior coverage to 40 years later.

According to Sean Hartnett, Kipruto ran from 38K to the finish at 2:45.9/km pace.

trackandfieldnews.com

London Marathon Men — Kipruto Surges To A 2:04:39 - Track & Field News

Sieg Lindstrom

LONDON, ENGLAND, October 02 — Kenya’s Amos Kipruto burst away from a quartet of Ethiopian rivals in the 38th kilometer... Read More

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