Eliud Kipchoge Runs a Marathon in Under Two Hours

On 12 October 2019, Kenyan distance runner Eliud Kipchoge set out on a specially tailored course in Vienna, Austria, seeking to complete the marathon distance in under two hours. Long-distance specialists had debated for years whether such a performance was possible, and the two-hour mark had long been regarded as one of the great barriers in athletics.

Kipchoge had previously taken part in Nike's Breaking2 project in May 2017 at the Monza Circuit in Italy. Competing alongside Zersenay Tadese and Lelisa Desisa behind an arrowhead formation of pacers, Kipchoge finished in 2:00:25, missing the target by less than half a minute. Following that effort, Kipchoge set an official world record of 2:01:39 at the 2018 Berlin Marathon. After he won a record fourth London Marathon in April 2019 in a course record of 2:02:37, the British chemicals company Ineos announced in May 2019 that he would make a fresh attempt that autumn.