Maybe if he tried earlier.2 years ago,he should have attempted the 50km record atleast.Nowadays age has caught up with him.Plus he doesn't have the motivation to do it anymore.He is slowly winding things down.
I mean, lots of people thought Zersenay Tadese would obliterate the marathon WR after running 58:23 back in 2010 (which was 2:03:59 at the time), but the guy never ran faster than 2:08:46.
Why? Probably because he couldn't fuel himself well enough for the distance. As others have said, being able to stomach and metabolise the ridiculously high amount of carbohydrates you need to put into your system is a talent in itself.
And it becomes exponentially more important in a 100k, where you don't lose 10 minutes from a bonk, you lose hours (or you don't finish at all).
Yeah, Kipchoge running it would just a test as to whether he would bonk. I do believe it’s a soft record and there are some super elite marathoners that could take a big chunk off of it.
Yeah, Kipchoge running it would just a test as to whether he would bonk. I do believe it’s a soft record and there are some super elite marathoners that could take a big chunk off of it.
Did you ever ran a 100k road race? I am always amazed that people can made these comments without ever done a race like that.
The Comrades record is 5:24 in the uphill direction, about +600 meters and lots of undulations. I'm guessing that running on a flat course for 100k at that pace is not harder, which translates to 6 hours flat.
The Comrades Marathon is an ultramarathon of approximately 88 kilometres (55 mi) which is run annually in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa between the cities of Durban and Pietermaritzburg. It is the world's largest...
That feels very slow. If you look at comrades which is 90km and it's been done around 5 20 which is another 45 mins for the next 10k so seems the 100k record is softish so I think many people could do it for the right pay day..
That said many pros have attempted the move up with faster pbs and struggled but often towards the end of the career.
I don't think Kipchoge could do it anymore but10 years ago with the right training changes would be pretty easy
The Comrades 'down' run is 90km, the 'up' run is 87km and you can't just assume that one can maintain the same pace they achieved in a race 10-13km shorter. The extra distance is significant. Also running on a continuously flat course for that long is a lot more challenging than the uninitiated would expect.
As someone who has run the Comrades Up/Down and done flat races over the distance, I would much prefer a flat race than the Comrades down.
And sure your pacing may be slightly different for the extra 10km. But it's not from 10 to 20 (as in 100% extra) but from 90 to 100 so only 10%
And i kept the Down run as the principle as if you have run the "Down" you would know it has around 2000 feet of climbing so it's not exactly easy .. A different Flat race over 80km i've done was a lot faster than my Down over 90km for average speed, even adjusting for the pain of an extra 10km..
As someone who has run the Comrades Up/Down and done flat races over the distance, I would much prefer a flat race than the Comrades down.
And sure your pacing may be slightly different for the extra 10km. But it's not from 10 to 20 (as in 100% extra) but from 90 to 100 so only 10%
And i kept the Down run as the principle as if you have run the "Down" you would know it has around 2000 feet of climbing so it's not exactly easy .. A different Flat race over 80km i've done was a lot faster than my Down over 90km for average speed, even adjusting for the pain of an extra 10km..
Piet Wiersma has the 2nd fastest Comrades time on record - 5:14.01 in the down run - just 3 seconds off the fastest ever. His 100km pb is only 6:18.47 which he ran 10 months before Comrades.
As someone who has run the Comrades Up/Down and done flat races over the distance, I would much prefer a flat race than the Comrades down.
And sure your pacing may be slightly different for the extra 10km. But it's not from 10 to 20 (as in 100% extra) but from 90 to 100 so only 10%
And i kept the Down run as the principle as if you have run the "Down" you would know it has around 2000 feet of climbing so it's not exactly easy .. A different Flat race over 80km i've done was a lot faster than my Down over 90km for average speed, even adjusting for the pain of an extra 10km..
Piet Wiersma has the 2nd fastest Comrades time on record - 5:14.01 in the down run - just 3 seconds off the fastest ever. His 100km pb is only 6:18.47 which he ran 10 months before Comrades.
For the record, Piet's marathon best is 2:18:59, Sevilla, 2023.
With a 2:19:00 marathon, I'm thinking that equates to 14:30/30:00 type speed. Maybe 29:20 if he trained specific.
Piet has lived in Kenya for years. I think his wife and kids are Kenyan.
Piet Wiersma has the 2nd fastest Comrades time on record - 5:14.01 in the down run - just 3 seconds off the fastest ever. His 100km pb is only 6:18.47 which he ran 10 months before Comrades.
For the record, Piet's marathon best is 2:18:59, Sevilla, 2023.
With a 2:19:00 marathon, I'm thinking that equates to 14:30/30:00 type speed. Maybe 29:20 if he trained specific.
Piet has lived in Kenya for years. I think his wife and kids are Kenyan.
He ran 32:35/10km in Durban, 4 and a half minutes behind the winner. Tbh, I was expecting he'd do around 30:30-31:00.
As someone who has run the Comrades Up/Down and done flat races over the distance, I would much prefer a flat race than the Comrades down.
And sure your pacing may be slightly different for the extra 10km. But it's not from 10 to 20 (as in 100% extra) but from 90 to 100 so only 10%
And i kept the Down run as the principle as if you have run the "Down" you would know it has around 2000 feet of climbing so it's not exactly easy .. A different Flat race over 80km i've done was a lot faster than my Down over 90km for average speed, even adjusting for the pain of an extra 10km..
Piet Wiersma has the 2nd fastest Comrades time on record - 5:14.01 in the down run - just 3 seconds off the fastest ever. His 100km pb is only 6:18.47 which he ran 10 months before Comrades.
If you read more into Piet then you will realize that 100km was before he properly focused on running. It's why his first Comrades was a relative shock
Prepping for a proper 100km attempt takes loads of focus and recovery, so until there is enough money on the line no one will go for it
Just look at the 50km record, everyone mostly ignored it until a sponsor got involved and put some money into it and then it got some attention and was broken easily (by relative "slow" people). And that's in touching distance of a 42km. 100km a different beast
If some big company put on a Break 6 hour 100km attempt with loads of money i'm sure it would happen if you get the right guys coming
As someone who has run the Comrades Up/Down and done flat races over the distance, I would much prefer a flat race than the Comrades down.
And sure your pacing may be slightly different for the extra 10km. But it's not from 10 to 20 (as in 100% extra) but from 90 to 100 so only 10%
And i kept the Down run as the principle as if you have run the "Down" you would know it has around 2000 feet of climbing so it's not exactly easy .. A different Flat race over 80km i've done was a lot faster than my Down over 90km for average speed, even adjusting for the pain of an extra 10km..
Piet Wiersma has the 2nd fastest Comrades time on record - 5:14.01 in the down run - just 3 seconds off the fastest ever. His 100km pb is only 6:18.47 which he ran 10 months before Comrades.
I was not aware of Piet Wiersma. A 6:18 is an amazing 100k PR in an amazing 100k World Championship race in Berlin 2022.
Piet Wiersma has the 2nd fastest Comrades time on record - 5:14.01 in the down run - just 3 seconds off the fastest ever. His 100km pb is only 6:18.47 which he ran 10 months before Comrades.
If you read more into Piet then you will realize that 100km was before he properly focused on running. It's why his first Comrades was a relative shock
Prepping for a proper 100km attempt takes loads of focus and recovery, so until there is enough money on the line no one will go for it
Just look at the 50km record, everyone mostly ignored it until a sponsor got involved and put some money into it and then it got some attention and was broken easily (by relative "slow" people). And that's in touching distance of a 42km. 100km a different beast
If some big company put on a Break 6 hour 100km attempt with loads of money i'm sure it would happen if you get the right guys coming
It was before he properly focused on running was it? Then how come his times have only gotten slower over the last two years when presumably he's been 'properly focused on running'? The dude went head to head with Sorokin when Sorokin set the record but he couldn't make it past the 70km mark. A month later and he runs Comrades faster than anyone ever has apart from one other who was 3 seconds faster. Sorokin and his records deserve more respect.