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

This is hilarious. Nike's sub-2 attempt will be done on a Formula One track in Milan Italy that features 17 hills.The wind tunnel or springy shoes had better be something special.

RW wrote:

The loop itself is nearly, though not perfectly, flat. It has one gradual uphill (and, correspondingly, one gradual downhill) per loop, rising a total of 5.35 meters (18 feet) from bottom to top. Of course, the runners will have to climb that “hill” 17 times during the marathon.

Note: i changed the title of the thread to "So this is the place Runnersworld says Nike will do their "break 2" project... hmm...

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

It's 4:41pm in Milan. No report of the half marathon test run yet?

It's actually easy to may the course on Map My Run.

They'll start at an elevation of 607.7 feet and about halfway around the circuit be down to 588.75 feet at almost exactly the 3/4 mile mark; they climb back to 607.7 in the second half of the loop. Repeat 17 times.

[quote]hugh jonson (the third brojo) wrote:

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

Reading comprehension was never my strong suit.

Has Nike announced when the actual running of the marathon will take place? Perhaps they are waiting to see how today's test run goes??

They've recruited the most talented runners out there, minus Kipsang, to run it, but after what I saw in Tokyo, it just seems too difficult to fathom

Actually I erred in writing that, too, sorry. What I wrote is based on a start at the upper northwest corner of the track, which is where I arbitrarily started to measure the loop. If they start in the middle of the home straight they'd be at about 600ft and would descend then ascend. It's a narrow oval oriented N-S, with the north end the highest elevation and the south end the lowest. Since they're running counter-clockwise they'll be going slightly uphill every back stretch and going slightly downhill every home stretch. I have no idea how harsh an 18ft climb over 3/4 of a mile is, though. Doesn't seem that bad. And although it isn't included in the article about the course, my guess is that there's some science behind an argument that you can run faster on a very gently rolling course than you can on a pancake flat one. Anybody care to take on that claim? I have no evidence for it--gut feeling only.

hugh jonson (the third brojo) wrote:

Reading comprehension was never my strong suit.

This is all about kipchoge. Any details about this attempt that aren't focused on him are pointless. It's not the shoes, it's not the course, and it's not about the other guys.

18ft over 3/4 of a mile would be a .5% incline. Think about when you run on a treadmill and increase the incline .5%. I think it's pretty significant especially when you're running ~4:35 pace.

I remember when Ian Stewart (third in the Olympic 5000m, where Prefontaine was fourth) ran 10 miles in 46 and change on an undulating course, the suggestion was that gently undulating was better than flat, presumably because of the slight changes in muscle stress.

$250?! for a racing flat? This is too funny.

just prove it is possible first on a treadmill in a perfectly controlled environment

unless of course they have quietly done that "in-house" already to test everything first

Why in the world would Kipchoge even take part in a dumb, gimmicky event like this? (Yes, I know, $) But to waste a marathon effort at this point in his career on something like this is foolish. He should be in London, not on formula one track in Italy. Whatever happens here won't be certified anyway.

Montego wrote:

Why in the world would Kipchoge even take part in a dumb, gimmicky event like this? (Yes, I know, $) But to waste a marathon effort at this point in his career on something like this is foolish. He should be in London, not on formula one track in Italy. Whatever happens here won't be certified anyway.

Sounds like the course is record eligible. So if the pacing is up to snuff (no mechanical, no mid race jump-ins, perhaps they are secretly happy with a WR instead of Sub 2?

Montego wrote:

Why in the world would Kipchoge even take part in a dumb, gimmicky event like this? (Yes, I know, $) But to waste a marathon effort at this point in his career on something like this is foolish. He should be in London, not on formula one track in Italy. Whatever happens here won't be certified anyway.

I have been saying this all along.

I just wish they would tell us what the hell they are going to do . If the only gimmick is a car pacing them or rabbits hopping in or out, then I'm fine with a "how fast can we run attempt".It won't be anywhere close to 2:00:00 but he's certainly capable of breaking the fastest time ever run if he basically ran a marathon on the track.

But they stated very early on "This won't be record eligible" and here we are 3 + months later and we still don't know what is going to make this ineligible for a WR attempt. Please tell us . Now. At least two of my fears - downhill or a motor/spring in the shoe appear to no be it.

Er... wrote:

It's 4:41pm in Milan. No report of the half marathon test run yet?

~ 1h02'57

HoHo wrote:

Er... wrote:

It's 4:41pm in Milan. No report of the half marathon test run yet?

~ 1h02'57

Oops :

59'18" @EliudKipchoge, 59'41" Zersenay Tadesse

lolz at nike wrote:

[

Why do they keep leaking out small amounts of information like this?

To keep you talking about it.

But did they look relaxed?