Progression of Marathon World Records
Hi guys! I've been a lurker for a while. Learned a few things. Great sub! :-)
A few minutes ago I commented on a YouTube Video that was discussing the recent breaking of the 2 hour barrier in London and thought I'd get a livelier discussion on this sub.
Ever since London I couldn't stop thinking about how the record times have progressed given the advances we've had in nutrition, recovery and shoe technology.
The best example for me is Abebe Bikila, who ran 2:15:16.2 in Rome in 1960, in extreme heat, without shoes. That's right — BAREFOOT! The other runners weren't barefoot, but they wore the old racing flats that had virtually no midsole. When you consider everything that has since been measured and optimized — nutrition, recovery, top athletes like Sawe getting their shoes custom-fitted by engineers in labs — the Pro Evo 3 has an energy return of nearly 80% and weighs under 100 grams in a size 9. Keeping all of that in mind, I find an improvement of just over 15 minutes in 66 years far less impressive than the time viewed separately might suggest.
What do you think? Did runners in the 60s just have better pharmacists? ;-) Did they have greater willpower? Do you find a ~ 15 minutes improvement over 66 years — given all the knowledge and developments since then — impressive? Is the ceiling close?
Cheers!