Marathon record: It’s gotta be the shoes!!
Something happened recently that scientists once said was impossible: a human being ran 26.2 miles in under two hours. Kenyan runner Sabastian Sawe crossed the finish line at the London Marathon in 1 hour, 59 minutes, and 30 seconds — making history in front of thousands of cheering fans.
Even more amazing? Second place finisher Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia also broke the two-hour barrier, finishing in 1:59:41. That's right — two runners did the "impossible" on the same day!
How fast was Sawe running?
Sawe averaged a pace of about 4 minutes 35 seconds per mile for the entire race. That's roughly 13 miles per hour — faster than most people can sprint even for a few seconds! To put it in perspective, the average person jogs at about 5–6 mph. Sawe was running more than twice that speed, for almost two straight hours.
What about the sneakers?
Here's where the story gets really interesting for your feet! The shoes Sawe wore — the Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 — are a far cry from what runners wore just 10 years ago. The biggest change? A stiff carbon fiber plate baked inside the sole, which acts like a spring with every step, returning energy back to the runner. Studies show these "super shoes" improve running economy by 2–4%, which might not sound like much — but over 26 miles, it adds up to several minutes.
Ironically, this technology was pioneered by Nike in 2016 with their Breaking2 project, which tried (unsuccessfully at the time) to break the two-hour barrier. Sawe made history wearing Adidas — but Nike's innovation helped make it possible!
