Questions for Writing and Discussion
Read the article, then answer the following questions:
1. Explain in your own words why Eliud Kipchoge’s record-setting marathon time won’t be recognized as official.
2. What are three reasons Vienna was chosen for the event?
3. Kipchoge had already set an official world record for his 2:01:39 marathon finish in Berlin in 2018. Why did he want so badly to beat this record, even if the results wouldn’t be considered official?
4. What are some of the special supports that Kipchoge had during the race to help him achieve this record?
5. What is your reaction to Kipchoge’s successful run? How big a deal is it?
6. Bonus question: Brigid Kosgei of Kenya set a women’s world record one day after Kipchoge’s race. What are two ways that Kosgei found inspiration in Kipchoge’s victory?
Going Further
In the related Opinion essay “How Did Eliud Kipchoge Break the Marathon Record So Soon?” Lindsay Crouse considers the degree to which the run was a “branding stunt” while at the same time being an accomplishment for all of us to share. She writes:
When he finished, Mr. Kipchoge compared what he’d just accomplished to man walking on the moon. It’s an apt analogy. Rather than showing what humanity is naturally capable of, his performance indicates what we can achieve with a boost from technology. For instance, Mr. Kipchoge wore an unreleased version of Nike’s special, and controversial, speed shoes, which were designed to give a significant edge to anyone racing in them. (Like a lot of runners, I have logged my fastest races in older versions of these shoes.) The shoes have enormous, spongy, springy soles. (Remember “barefoot running”? That era is over). If this performance was like walking on the moon, he was racing in the terrestrial equivalent of moon shoes.
The event could be dismissed as a branding stunt. Ineos, which sponsored the event, is a chemical giant that’s facing considerable opposition to its plans to frack for shale gas in the United Kingdom. At the behest of its founder and chief shareholder, Jim Ratcliffe, a Brexit supporter who is among Britain’s richest people, Ineos now owns Swiss and French soccer clubs and a British cycling team, and is financing a 2021 America’s Cup sailing team.
Of course, participants were covered in Nike logos from head to toe.
But it was never guaranteed that Mr. Kipchoge was going to succeed. In a similar attempt two years ago, staged by Nike on a Formula One racetrack in Italy, he came up just short. Two years later, the shoes are faster, the conditions were ideal and the runner himself was stronger.
You could tell from the reaction of his pacers, who were cheering despite running their own pacing 5Ks at a searing speed, that Mr. Kipchoge is widely liked and admired. That is partly because when he talks about running, he talks less about himself than about how his achievements fit into the context of “the world” and “humanity.” The joy and inspiration of the moment are hard to take issue with.
What is your take on all of this? Do you think Kipchoge’s achievement is something to celebrate for humanity? Is it a “historic run”? How much does it matter that this record is not a “real” world record? How much does it matter that the conditions of this race (the pacers, the laser, the speed shoes) were especially designed to create this outcome?
