Don't forget: Breaking2 - the film - airs tonight on National Geographic at 8 p.m. ET - Official Discussion Thread

above_average_joe wrote:

here it is, for free on youtube.

Kipchoge is such a legend, unbelievable.

not too many new things in the documentary, but still nice to watch.

Thanks for posting the link.

The takeaway for me from this film: ...if it turns out Eliud is or was ever doping i'm going to quit following this sport and maybe all sports. That dude comes off as such a noble inspiration i don't think i could handle if proven otherwise. what a gem.

I'm sure Nike's researchers were a bit more savvy than they appeared to be in the documentary. Much of the time they seemed giddy when the 3 guys did treadmill tests, which is pretty reasonable considering they probably have never tested many actual elites outside of NOP.

It was a great documentary. I was cynical about the project when it was announced. No Kevin Hart in the documentary -- he was so unfunny in the Nike production.

The documentary was great, Kipchoge does indeed seem like a zen master. I wish they would have disclosed more numbers. They talked about really high vo2 but didn't quantify, and they still never gave the actual half split!

Still, it's good and along with that other documentary someone posted about lower level Kenyans trying to get a chance, really paints an interesting picture.

Runners taking warmups off before races:do they do warmup and then put warmups back on? How much time in between? What kind of warmup did they do? Nice film, but more nitty gritty more interesting for runners.

And the most amazing aspect of the doco is that no Let's Run posters are screaming the word "doping" in relation to the outstanding performance of Kipchoge, - this is the positive result when we get a glimpse into the personality, professionalism and dedication of the worlds best. We start to appreciate that these are the qualities that are to be relied on for consistent outstanding world class performances and not PED,s

Now they need to get the women involved and Focus on the "Breaking 2.15"

I nominate the participating three females athletes to be Mary Keitany, Tirunesh Dibaba and Almaz Ayana!

Isn't there a lot of established science that humans perform athletically better at night? If they wanted to control every last possible fraction of an advantage why have them run so early in the morning? I know it was a weather issue --so why not do it in winter?

The Desisa story intrigued me. Why was he so out of shape? Low iron? He ran terribly by his own standards. Tadese impressed me a lot too. No hydration in his past marathons? He wasn't running in the Jim Peters era.

Kipchoge. Amazing and I have to believe he's clean too. Who else can't weight until Sunday?

How come lately, when I click on YouTube video links at LR (like the Breaking2 -Electric Bugaloo) I get a 5 minute ad from some pest exterminating company?

reed wrote:

I'm sure Nike's researchers were a bit more savvy than they appeared to be in the documentary. Much of the time they seemed giddy when the 3 guys did treadmill tests, which is pretty reasonable considering they probably have never tested many actual elites outside of NOP.

Apparently Kipchoge had never run on a treadmill before. I think the sports scientists were fine. They gave them plenty of space time, and all three went back to train at home with their own groups, with some suggestions. They checked up on them and did additional testing.

I don't really perceive them as overzealous in this at all.

El Keniano wrote:

This is such a great documentary. Kipchoge is so zen it's no wonder he manages to stay so humble and grounded. Loved seeing him at home interacting with his family. Didn't notice anything unusual on their dinner table. And what about him and Kam cleaning the communal bathrooms? Can you imagine Messi or Ronaldo with a broom? Just wow!

Renaldo lives in a replica of Blenheim Palace, he just scores goals, no manual work.

"Pity they didn't take a moment to chat with Patrick Sang and get some of his insights, yet he was right there."

⤴Alberto vetoed this because it would show him up as a marathon coach.

The documentary is boring as fvck, wasted 55 min

Eliud = The Anti-Mo

Wins Worlds at 18, grinds out a solid career. No association with dodgy coaches and programs. Lives a simple life and does it right. Gives even the most cynical among us hope.

I think it was pretty boring also...it wasn't much new stuff than the previously shown material. I wanted to see more training footage and we didn't get a glimps of the shoes at all. Unbelievable that they left that out.

Also, it's a mystery how Desisa performed so badly in the Monza race taking in account the races and times he has won before. He sure has a pretty awful running technique and i can't believe he has done the times he has actually. Looks very sloggy.

Tadese looks to be wealthy and i can see how he has been getting comfortable in the life he lives so i think his times are behind him now.

Also, it's a mystery how Desisa performed so badly in the Monza race taking in account the races and times he has won before. He sure has a pretty awful running technique and i can't believe he has done the times he has actually. Looks very sloggy.

Yes, he's only 27!

IMO, Desisa's poor performance reflects badly, or he's hitting the buffets and partying like Jan Ullrich in the offseason.

..."Americans just want a shoe contract and be considered an elite with all the perks without that internal drive we witnessed in the documentary by the africans." Do all American elites have that same "internal drive"? Not likely. But to write them all off as just wanting a shoe contract is way way off. The few I know are incredibly driven, passionate, and single minded.