Where do we go next? Now that Eliud Kipchoge has taken us to the brink of a sub-2 hour marathon, have the boundaries of human endurance been recalibrated? Can we expect a 1:59 soon? Or did the Nike staged event simply move some of the boundaries aside? This piece looks at potential benefits, and asks whether we should expect to see a speeding up, or a slowing down, in the foreseeable future?
The Science of Sport - Scientific comment and analysis of sports and sporting performance
Eliud Kipchoge has run a marathon in 2:00:25, coming within sight of breaking the 2-hour barrier. How did he do it, and what might we expect in future? This post analyzes the splits, the tactics and the prospects for the 1:59:59 in the future.
The Science of Sport - Scientific comment and analysis of sports and sporting performance
The Nike-Breaking 2 attempt will happen in Monza this weekend. I don't think a sub-2 is possible, but what will be fascinating is to see a) how they go about pacing the attempt, and what happens if it starts to fall away; and b) what the collective advantage is of all the tactics employed. I predict 2:01:55 at best, a DNF is also a real possibility. More thoughts here.
The Science of Sport - Scientific comment and analysis of sports and sporting performance
Nike recently unveiled the Vaporfly Elite, the shoe it has been working on to help it break the 2-hour marathon barrier. The shoe incorporates a "spring plate", and is claimed to have significant performance implications. I think the shoe, and the incorporation of spring-like devices in all shoes, should be banned for future credibility of performance. Here's why
The Science of Sport - Scientific comment and analysis of sports and sporting performance
Much of what you read here on this site is my attempt to translate the research I'm interested in, and which can be applied to the real world, in a way that makes it more "palatable" to you. This post, however, summarizes some of the "source" research, the scientific articles that I've had published in the last 12 months, for those wanting to see the academic side of the discussions we have.
The Science of Sport - Scientific comment and analysis of sports and sporting performance