Nike's sub-2 attempt will be run on F1 course in Milan - Kipchoge tests it out and runs 59:17

Word on the street is that Ryun Hall will soon be coming out of retirement to attempt a solo under 4 hour marathon. This won't be easy as his new Sponsor Muscle Milk has turned him into a Yuge Democrat loving liberal. Seems he wants to move to Ethiopia and doesn't want to be any part of "Making America Great Again."

Since wife Sarah is the main bread winner and is currently the fastest marathoner in the family he has lost all confidence in himself. We need a few young Republican runners to get hold of him and have an intervention. First thing is to get off the Muscle Milk and to get back to Kenyan weight. Secondly,he has to throw away all those " I'm for Her" Hillary posters that are messin with his mojo. More importantly he needs to adopt a few Kenyan sons to train with. There's too much estrogen in the Hall household now, no wonder he had low T levels.

Dennis T Reynolds wrote:

ekw wrote:

The IAAF disallows self-driving cars.... Seriously, it needs to be a human driving the pace vehicle.

I guess my point was why does the IAAF matter in this instance? This record was not intended to be record eligible and any benefits that could come from skirting regulations would be taken. Having a computer maintain an absolutely consistent pace in the car would be as ideal as you could have it.

But the chosen course is not dead flat. Presumably ideal even pacing for effort would be a fraction slower on the uphill half and slightly quicker on the downhill half. I'd like to know why they couldn't find a dead flat (oval?) car racing track or else build their own 2,400m loop with an ideally formulated surface. They're paying all this money to try and go sub 2 yet they haven't got the ideal course.

This is good insight, seriously this matters.

hugh jonson (the third brojo) wrote:

I read that to mean the total elevation for the 1/2 mary will be 18 feet.

Some press about the shoes

http://www.runnersworld.com/running-shoes/is-this-the-shoe-that-will-break-2-hours-in-the-marathon

Nike is going to all this trouble to sell shoes, and those ugly monstrosities are what they hope to sell? Seriously those are some ugly shoes. But then again, I haven't liked nike's style since 1991. The 1990 air jordans where the last shoe that looked good to me.

I do like the idea of a slightly undulating course. I think this makes sense in terms of physiology.

My other suggestion, they should team up with a medical oxygen supply company to promote oxygen tanks and masks. A Prius could drive by the runners and carry oxygen. Kipchoge could take a hit off the oxygen mask every 30 seconds. Sub 2 hour marathon for sure. If its good enough for NFL players, why not for runners?

My cousin works for Nike marketing in Germany. He was there for this rehearsal. Said Kipchoge was completely easy the entire time. Actually, Kipchoge was quoted as saying he felt it to be a 60% effort. My cousin also said that it was extremely windy, making Kipchoge's run all the more impressive. I have an inclination that that Kipchoge will dip under the barrier. Supposed attempt is mid-May.

Not truly milano wrote:

My cousin works for Nike marketing in Germany. He was there for this rehearsal. Said Kipchoge was completely easy the entire time. Actually, Kipchoge was quoted as saying he felt it to be a 60% effort. My cousin also said that it was extremely windy, making Kipchoge's run all the more impressive. I have an inclination that that Kipchoge will dip under the barrier. Supposed attempt is mid-May.

Let me guess, Nike paid to have Kipchoge gene dope along with EPO, HGH, testosterone, Kenacort, tramadol and what ever next gen doping method we don't know about yet. Mr. 60% no longer refers to Riis' hematocrit level that makes his blood as thick as peanut butter.

Not truly milano wrote:

Kipchoge was completely easy the entire time. Actually, Kipchoge was quoted as saying he felt it to be a 60% effort. My cousin also said that it was extremely windy, making Kipchoge's run all the more impressive.

This just does not add up.

LMFAO!!!👍😂

Sad but true...that is if they really break 2

Let me guess, Nike paid to have Kipchoge gene dope along with EPO, HGH, testosterone, Kenacort, tramadol and what ever next gen doping method we don't know about yet. Mr. 60% no longer refers to Riis' hematocrit level that makes his blood as thick as peanut butter.

bla bla bla

These shoes look like the old coneheads characters.

does that translate into 60% speed?

They all have singlets on. Why not run shirtless?

I feel like it would help a little with cooling and the shirts weigh something and probably increase drag from the air.

This event will not be eligible for the WR, so why not have truck follow them with a huge fan to help propel them forward with a tailwind. The years Boston has had a tailwind the times are always a couple of minutes faster.

I'm not really sure why, but I just don't like this whole thing. To me, it's a "carnival" type event that somehow demeans road racing and worse, possible record setting. The marathon is the most hallowed of road running events and this mocks it. Just my own opinion, I understand if yours is different. This is like watching a sprinter race against a horse, or a man wrestling with a bear. And for Eliud Kipchoge to take part in this is disappointing. If he's doing it for the money, even worse.

Montego wrote:

I'm not really sure why, but I just don't like this whole thing. To me, it's a "carnival" type event that somehow demeans road racing and worse, possible record setting. The marathon is the most hallowed of road running events and this mocks it. Just my own opinion, I understand if yours is different. This is like watching a sprinter race against a horse, or a man wrestling with a bear. And for Eliud Kipchoge to take part in this is disappointing. If he's doing it for the money, even worse.

What else does he have to prove? He's destroyed everyone (including bekele and the WR holder), won the Olympic gold, and is 7 ticks off the WR. Let him do what he wants!

Unless someone can point me to the technical rules about pace makers (I couldn't find them) the only reference in the regulations which I can see being explicitly broken by the Nike project is mobile feed stations.

If that's the only breach, I'm happy to see sub 2 done this way, and then they can get back to racing each other on proper marathons.

There are a bunch of uptight cornholes all up in this thread. This sub-2 project is fun and enjoyable. I feel sorry for you dolts who find no more joy in running. Sad!

So they have all of the IAAF requirements for the world record then? The hiccup that I've heard has been that they can't have fresh pacers going in and out.

Since it's on a looped course, doesn't that mean that they could have some pacers lag behind and then hop in and pace the last 6-10 miles? Then they would technically have started with the leaders but ran an easy pace until they get lapped.

Would that be legal? Maybe that's why they picked a looped course.

As someone mentioned above, I am surprised to see the runners in singlets and shorts. At 13mph, I don't think there is a ton of aerodynamic drag (but you never know?), but surely there has to be some.. even if they're drafting. If you're going for every second, you'd think shirtless or spandex would be a good idea.