It was called The Games, based on 1967 Hugh Atkinson book of the same name
It was called The Games, based on 1967 Hugh Atkinson book of the same name
The Games is a 1970 British sports drama film directed by Michael Winner. It is based on the Hugh Atkinson novel and adapted to the screen by Erich Segal. The plot concerned four marathon competitors at a fictitious Olympic Games in Rome, played by Michael Crawford, Ryan O'Neal, Charles Aznavour and Athol Compton. Elton John recorded one song ('From Denver To L.A.') for the soundtrack.
The Games
Games movie poster.jpg
Common sense folks wrote:
Piano_Man87 wrote:
I'm glad he did it. Kudos, this is a major feat.
Now people can get over this and see if the REAL world record is possible - sub 2 in an actual bonafide race that isn't a lab experiment.
That it was done unofficially does take away much of the excitement when it will be done in a race. This is like a hedge for Kipchogue... no matter who breaks it in real competition the masses of idiots who do not understand just how giant the differences in conditions are will argue Kipchogue owns the feat. Clearly Bekele is shape to have run this with him. I feel bad for the guy who does it in a real race, kinda ruined it.
And for anyone who dare argue this is legit and somehow equivalent to Bannister’s, not even close...
I don’t feel bad for whoever pulls it off in an officially sanctioned marathon. That guy will make history as well and it’ll be even harder than this was.
Common sense folks wrote:
Piano_Man87 wrote:
I'm glad he did it. Kudos, this is a major feat.
Now people can get over this and see if the REAL world record is possible - sub 2 in an actual bonafide race that isn't a lab experiment.
That it was done unofficially does take away much of the excitement when it will be done in a race. This is like a hedge for Kipchogue... no matter who breaks it in real competition the masses of idiots who do not understand just how giant the differences in conditions are will argue Kipchogue owns the feat. Clearly Bekele is shape to have run this with him. I feel bad for the guy who does it in a real race, kinda ruined it.
And for anyone who dare argue this is legit and somehow equivalent to Bannister’s, not even close...
I agree, Bekele would be nowhere close to Kipchoge if he attempted this. I say Bekele would of probably fallen off at about the 1 hour mark, a little later than Lelisa and Tadese, but certainly would of fallen off.
2miler wrote:
Common sense folks wrote:
That it was done unofficially does take away much of the excitement when it will be done in a race. This is like a hedge for Kipchogue... no matter who breaks it in real competition the masses of idiots who do not understand just how giant the differences in conditions are will argue Kipchogue owns the feat. Clearly Bekele is shape to have run this with him. I feel bad for the guy who does it in a real race, kinda ruined it.
And for anyone who dare argue this is legit and somehow equivalent to Bannister’s, not even close...
I don’t feel bad for whoever pulls it off in an officially sanctioned marathon. That guy will make history as well and it’ll be even harder than this was.
See the difference? “That guy will make history AS WELL..” a lot of people will go “meh”. This kinda killed it for the anticipation that would have built up as they shaved seconds off each year. People won’t care as much. Kipchogue and the sponsors took something away from the real future sub 2hr guy. I get it from Kipchogue’s perspective - he was never going to be able to do it in a real race so this is second best at stamping his name in history.
I wish I had stayed up. Granted, the excitement was higher before the original sub2 event. Still a remarkable feat. Beautiful scenes at the finish line.
Hoping for a Bekele vs. Kipchoge showdown in Tokyo now. In hindsight, I see why people say that Kipchoge should have run Berlin this year. But nobody anticipated Bekele or anyone else can run close to the world record.
Eliud MF Kipchoge! wrote:
I wish I had stayed up. Granted, the excitement was higher before the original sub2 event. Still a remarkable feat. Beautiful scenes at the finish line.
Hoping for a Bekele vs. Kipchoge showdown in Tokyo now. In hindsight, I see why people say that Kipchoge should have run Berlin this year. But nobody anticipated Bekele or anyone else can run close to the world record.
Bekele is currently GOAT distance runner, and Kipchogue the GOAT marathoner. For Bekele to get to par with Kipchogue, he will have to put a nice dent on his WR, and beat him in decisively in big race. After that he would need to lower his WR by a bit and win a string of big races... then Bekele would become undisputed GOAT marathoner as well.
Even though all of this was perfectly groomed to facilitate breaking 2 hours, psychologically speaking this probably makes breaking 2 in real races easier. Especially for Kipchoge. Now his legs know what it feels like to do it which should make it easier for him to chip away at his world record time.
And even for Bekele, even though he didn’t participate, he knows it’s possible on some level to go sub 2.
Both dudes will just have to dig deeper and we’ll we what happens.
whid wrote:
Are you dumb wrote:
dude, 3 minutes before you said you slept through it??????? Now you way you watched it?
For f&*ks sake, you are a turd.
He said earlier he slept through the INEOS event and he's commenting there on the Breaking 2 event...
anyway it is def incredible how much spunk KipGOATe had at the finish line. It was almost like every 100m/200m race where the winner just kinda keeps going as they hi-five fans, get their flag, etc. Either the shoes, conditions, pacer formation, etc. was truly that efficient, he's just the greatest of all time no question, or both. I feel like with that much energy left over he could have gone closer to 1:59 flat.
He's still a turd.
pattylover2001 wrote:
They were there to block Lelisa or Tadese if they decided to show up.
They like the smell of Kipchoge running farts.
If Nike made those shoes especially for Kipchoge then isn't it a waste of material? He runs on his toes and doesn't need all that heel cushion. If Nike didn't make them for him, then why did he pick those shoes. He could have picked something else.
It brought tears to my eyes. Beautiful.really beautiful.... loan some shoes and pacers to the trolls and lets let them clear it up for us. go on trolls. put up or shut the f ck up. fn give them all the epo they need . step up lets run trolls. get juiced and prove it
I feel like you could mostly replicate these conditions in Berlin. You could find 7 guys to pace an inverted V from the start through half way, then have Kamworor and Bekele pace through 30-35k, and then kick home. He wouldn’t have the full pacing benefit the whole time, but it’d be pretty close. Things like drink handing probably aren’t that big of a difference, and he had some room to spare today.
Granted he’d still be using cheaterfly shoes, but those are (unfortunately) still legal.
Lofty Goals wrote:
I feel like you could mostly replicate these conditions in Berlin. You could find 7 guys to pace an inverted V from the start through half way, then have Kamworor and Bekele pace through 30-35k, and then kick home. He wouldn’t have the full pacing benefit the whole time, but it’d be pretty close. Things like drink handing probably aren’t that big of a difference, and he had some room to spare today.
Granted he’d still be using cheaterfly shoes, but those are (unfortunately) still legal.
Or you could also design a course to give him a huge wind advantage. Run the first half somewhere sheltered so there’s no wind, then do the second half in a straight line with a huge tailwind. Would probably help more than cycling pacers, and is technically legal.
Lofty Goals wrote:
Things like drink handing probably aren’t that big of a difference
Drinks tables are the one place where they do lose valuable seconds, work it out, the numbers of tables and amount of seconds lost, not to mention loss of momentum/concentration/rhythm, etc. Assuming of course the runners have to pick their drinks off the tables themselves.
I agree with everyone that the thrill of this event was diminished by the expectation that sub 2 was probably going to happen.
However, let's think of this attempt as part of the same project as the first attempt in 2017.
Before the first attempt, everyone said that it was impossible for Eliud to break 2, and that no one would break 2 for 20+ years.
Two years later, he attempts the same thing and everyone has shifted from "no way" and "impossible" to "probably". Further, he actually accomplishes this insane task (4:34 pace for 2 hours??) and finishes the project himself.
My lesson from this: Pick a crazy goal and believe in your ability to achieve it, even if the "common sense" of others says you have no chance. Dedicate yourself to the goal, and you might just be able to make it happen and shift the window of what people believe is possible.
ex-runner wrote:
rojo wrote:
Slept through it on purpose. Did I miss anything interesting besides the final time? Give me the CliffNotes.
Maybe athletics wants to look at itself?
The event usually showcased is extremely boring to all of the general public bar a few super fans who post on sites like this (and a lot of them seem pretty toxic)
The event today must have had 30k people lining the streets and millions talking about it worldwide.
This event hasn't got it wrong, they have got it so so right. It's this sport which totally misjudges what the public are interested in.
This almost has ppv potential.
JohnnyS wrote:
Absolutely agree. The unfair wind breaking, pacing, everything. Together with that, they also hype it like a moon landing and people actually buy it. This race is 100% artificial, I’m rooting for Bekele to take him down next year. Not saying Bekele is less likely to be dirty though
I really can’t understand the reasoning of saying this is “unfair” and “cheating” - they set out to run fast with pacers and as close to ideal physical conditions as possible and that’s what they did. No one associated with this is claiming it is better than any other marathon. No one is claiming a medal, a win or a record. No one is cheating anyone else. When someone finally runs sub 2 in a marathon event, real fans will be ecstatic and the majority of the world won’t notice. Nothing has changed. For all those rubbishing this, I really feel sorry for you - that your cynicism and negativity can’t let you enjoy an event is quite sad.
Aerodynamically, you benefit from someone following you close behind.
Proven in cycling and car racing. The benefits in running are less due to lower speeds, but still there.
There also may have been a slight psychological effect. Having guys run behind you running just off your shoulder would make a competitive runner want to hold them off and prevent them from passing.
I think the 2 pacers behind should have been running closer behind him for better aerodynamics. They said pacers were cautioned not to trip Kipchoge. So I believe the two pacers behind where acutely aware of possibly tripping him.
You can imagine the criticism a pacer would receive if they tripped Kipchoge, he fell, and did not break 2.
In my mind this is a "legit sub-2." However it's a good illustration of why running times cannot be compared apples-to-apples. Bannister's 3:59 might be equivalent to 3:53 with modern tracks and spikes. Maybe even 3:50 on indoor banked track with perfect pacing. Let's not kid ourselves by thinking that runners today are "better" than in the past.