Official 2023 Berlin Marathon Live Discussion Thread - 3:15 am ET (9:15 am in Berlin)

Athletics Kenya.

Hahaha remember when she was the Revelation of Last year with a 2.15

then Ruth and Assefa ran 2.14.x

I'll wait until Valencia is wrapped up

even the last WR holder didn't win gold in Tokyo

If shoes are being priced at over $200, one has to ask what those companies are selling. It can’t be honorable personal records! Shoes can only be priced at $500 if they significantly boost your running in a dishonorable way. Save the money, and run honorable personal records in regular honorable shoes.

was anybody else wearing the shoes? similar improvements?

my first thought when i saw the 500 tag was this

if they are actually worth that much, on a large scale, they should be illegal.

Are there speed ratings for marathons? What does this 2:11 rate?

Apparently, 2nd place was wearing them, as was Charlotte Purdue who ran 2:22 for a 1 minute PB

Just give up on the 'thon and all become shot putters.

Adidas is only “selling” them so they can say they’re commercially available so the shoe will be legal. I don’t think many non elite runners will be buying them at that price.

God helped her is the American motto.

I'm starting a Go Fund Me for Assefa pacer... minimum $25,000 goal.

Impressive all around.

Thanks for the comments and data! It was all good, even wild speculation and goofy stuff, like being in a live audience…

if i saw it correct no.2 Sheila Chepkirui had the same shoes

Amanal Petros broke his own German with a huge improvement. What part of that were the shoes? Or better training?

Shoutout to Jacqueline Gaughan running in her third marathon this year and getting that Olympic standard. Was only 5th in the 10,000m ACC Champs last year. Seems like she really found her event.

Oh wait, I thought the standard was 2:27:10, but it's 2:26:50. She missed it by 18 seconds. Still a huge 4+ minute jump from her 2nd 'thon though.

Well, in advance of all of the fall marathons it’s a bit early to say, but Chebet certainly, definitely if he wins in NY. Until further notice he’s the best championship-hill marathoner on the planet and that’s Paris. If they name the team after the fall and everybody holds serve, then it will be Kipchoge, Kiptum and Chebet. If they wait for spring results, well, it will be interesting. Listen, I could not be a bigger EK fan and yes, he’s a living legend, but by the summer of 2024 he may not be a top three marathoner in the world or even from Kenya. He’s in decline, this is obvious. The question is whether or not he can tread water for another year, or he will go under. I’m rooting for him, but he won’t be the favorite and likely no longer the world record holder going into Paris.

No one talks about Kipchoge looking fresh after running 2:02.

I think you'll be surprised. I said the same about the Vaporfly, £200 seemed extortionate for a pair of shoes. As soon as people saw that they "worked", everyone on the start line had them. £400 is a lot of money, but compared to the cost of other hobbies, like cycling, it's not a price that's beyond the reach of a lot of people. It's less than a PS5, a lot less than an iPhone, and for people whose main hobby is running, they might see it as a price worth paying. Personally, I'm not convinced they're the magic bullet, at least looking at the performances of the other Adidas athletes. But let's see how Chicago, NY, and Valencia go.