Marathon Record Lowered By 21 Seconds

It's happened again - a new world record in the Marathon - this time on a certified course so it will go into the record books.  (Unlike Geoffrey's time at Boston that was not recognized as a world record because the course isn't certified.)

Article from NPR:

by Mark Memmott

Odd Andersen /AFP/Getty ImagesPatrick Makau of Kenya celebrates in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate after setting a new world record for the marathon.

Kenya's Patrick Makau ran the Berlin Marathon on Sunday in a new world record time — 2 hours, 3 minutes and 38 seconds. He shaved 21 seconds off the previous record, set by Ethiopia's Haile Gebrselassie on the same course in 2008.

Gebrselassie was among Makau's competitors in Sunday's race. The Ethiopian great did not finish the marathon, though. An asthma sufferer, his lungs tightened up. Afterward, on Twitter, Gebrselassie congratulated the new record holder, saying:

"It is great to see a new generation and I would love to race them for some time."

Makau's per-mile average time, by the way, was about 4 minutes, 43 seconds. Makau, appropriately enough, is 26-years-old.

Earlier this year, the BBC asked experts whether a marathon will ever be run (on an approved course) in less than 2 hours. Gebrselassie was among those who said yes, but that it might take another "20 to 25 years" before that happens. Others, though, say the limit may be around 2 hours, 2 minutes.

One hundred years ago, the record was just under 2 hours 40 minutes.


http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/09/26/140801252/marathon-record-lowered-by-21-seconds?sc=fb&cc=fp