Ineos 1:59 Challenge
The Ineos 1:59 Challenge was a successful 2019 attempt by Kenyan athlete Eliud Kipchoge to break the two-hour mark for running the marathon distance. The event was specifically created for Kipchoge and held in Vienna, Austria, on 12 October 2019.
Due to rotating pacemakers, delivery of hydration by bicycle, and the lack of open competition, the achievement was not eligible to be ratified as a marathon world record, and is not recognized as such by World Athletics.
Summary
There were several changes from the 2017 previous attempt to break two hours. Instead of three participants, there was now only one participant, Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya, the world record holder in the men's marathon and the current defending Olympic marathon champion. Kipchoge set the marathon world record of 2:01:39 at the Berlin Marathon on 16 September 2018.In the previous attempt, on 6 May 2017 on Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Milan, he was the fastest participant and missed the two-hour target by 25 seconds. He won the event by over six minutes. On 6 May 2019, the 65th anniversary of the four-minute mile, multinational chemicals company Ineos announced that Kipchoge would attempt again to achieve a sub-two-hour marathon run, in an event sponsored by the company.
For the Ineos challenge, Kipchoge was joined by forty-one pacemakers, who rotated twice each lap and ran in a V-formation, rather than the diamond formation chosen for the previous attempt. Kipchoge was placed at the bottom of the formation with two pacemakers running behind him. Each lap of the course featured two out-and-back stretches of Hauptallee with the turning points coming at the Lusthaus and Praterstern roundabouts at either end of the avenue, in the Prater park. The entire route inclines only. Spectators were present for the attempt.
The organizers planned to run the event on Saturday, 12 October 2019, but they had a reserve window of eight days in case of poor weather conditions. The attempt was run on 12 October starting at 08:15 CET. Organizers allowed a start time between 05:00 and 09:00, but chose 08:15 to maximize viewership. The weather conditions were expected to be dry with a temperature of at the start, rising to at the finish.
Results
Kipchoge completed the challenge with an official time of 1:59:40.2.The achievement was recognised by Guinness World Records with the titles "Fastest marathon distance " and "First marathon distance under two hours".
Directly after finishing the run, Kipchoge stated: "I am feeling good. After Roger Bannister in 1954 it took another 63 years, I tried and I did not get it - 65 years, I am the first man - I want to inspire many people, that no human is limited."
Accessories and optimization strategies
The organizers of the attempt added many techniques during the run which cumulatively assisted Kipchoge and the pacemakers:- Pacing lasers guided the pacemakers and the main runner, thus allowing them to run at a precise pace and meaning energy was not lost in unwanted acceleration.
- The route was carefully chosen to ensure that no effort would be wasted on battling the wind or on directional or incline changes. This was achieved by the fact that most of the course was lined with tall trees reducing wind, and the course was very flat.
- The location of the race was chosen because its time zone was close to that of Kaptagat, Kenya, where Kipchoge trains. This meant Kipchoge would not be affected by jet lag or have his sleeping and eating patterns disrupted.
- The route was picked to be at low altitude, to increase oxygen in the air and thus help performance.
- Kipchoge wore an improved version of Nike's previously unreleased Vaporfly Next% running shoes, claimed to improve running economy by 4 percent. The shoes were not banned by the IAAF, and the top 10 men in the Chicago Marathon wore Vaporflys. It was reported that Kipchoge and Brigid Kosgei, who broke the women's world record in Chicago, wore bespoke versions of the shoe, with the model called AlphaFLY. The Nike Vaporfly that they wore has a carbon-fibre plate fitted in its chunky foam sole which supposedly helps propel the wearer forward. A group of athletes complained to the IAAF about the shoes, leading the governing body to create a working party to look at the issue. However, Kipchoge had set his world record wearing them a year earlier, as did Abraham Kiptum when he set the half-marathon record. In addition, the five fastest times over the distance were all set by runners wearing these shoes.
- A V-shaped formation of pacemakers shielded the runner from wind resistance. An earlier attempt used a differently shaped diamond formation. Kipchoge was placed at the bottom of the formation with two pacemakers running behind him.
- Hydration was provided by a team coordinator on bicycle, and not in the usual water station method, in order to save time.
Pacemakers
A team of forty-one runners served as Kipchoge's pacemakers in the challenge.| Name | Notes | |
| Joel Ayeko | Two-time World Mountain Running Championship silver medalist. | |
| Thomas Ayeko | Junior silver medalist at the 2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships | |
| Selemon Barega | 2018 Diamond League champion over 5000 m | |
| Emmanuel Bett | Fastest time over 10,000 metres in the 2012 season | |
| Hillary Bor | Gold medalist, 3000 metres steeplechase at the 2019 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships | |
| Matthew Centrowitz | 2016 Olympic and World Indoor Champion over 1500 m | |
| Paul Chelimo | Olympic and World medalist over 5000 m | |
| Augustine Choge | 2006 Commonwealth Games Champion over 5000 m. Part of Eliud Kipchoge’s training group | |
| Victor Chumo | Part of Eliud Kipchoge’s training group | |
| Filip Ingebrigtsen | Reigning European Cross-Country champion and 2016 European 1500m Champion | |
| Henrik Ingebrigtsen | 2012 European 1500m Champion | |
| Jakob Ingebrigtsen | European Indoor and outdoor champion. Youngest pacemaker. | |
| Philemon Kacheran | Part of Eliud Kipchoge’s training group | |
| Stanley Kebenei | ||
| Justus Kimutai | ||
| Shadrack Kipchirchir | Silver medalist at the 2014 NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 10,000 metres | |
| Noah Kipkemboi | ||
| Gideon Kipketer | Part of Eliud Kipchoge’s training group | |
| Jacob Kiplimo | Silver medalist, IAAF World Cross Country Championships | |
| Marius Kipserem | ||
| Eric Kiptanui | ||
| Moses Koech | ||
| Shadrack Koech | ||
| Micah Kogo | Former World Record holder for 10k road run. | |
| Alex Korio | ||
| Jonathan Korir | ||
| Ronald Kwemoi | Gold medalist, 2014 Kenyan National Championship in the 1500 metres | |
| Bernard Lagat | Oldest pacemaker. Was part of the Breaking2 challenge. Beat Kipchoge to the 5000 m World title in 2007. | |
| Lopez Lomong | Part of the Breaking2 attempt in 2017. | |
| Abdallah Mande | ||
| Stewart McSweyn | ||
| Kota Murayama | ||
| Ronald Musagala | ||
| Kaan Kigen Özbilen | ||
| Jack Rayner | ||
| Chala Regasa | ||
| Brett Robinson | ||
| Nicholas Rotich | Part of Eliud Kipchoge’s training group | |
| Patrick Tiernan | ||
| Timothy Toroitich | ||
| Julien Wanders | Former World Record holder for 5k road run. Current European record holder for the half marathon and the European record holder for the 10K run. |