I came across this documentary the National Geographic (Nat Geo) did on breaking the 2 hour marathon mark. The world record for the Marathon is 2:02:57. That record in itself is difficult to do, but Nat Geo, wanted to see could they push the limits of what we know into the unknown.
In 1954, Roger Bannister broke the 4 minute mile mark. A feet once deemed impossible, now done around the world by athletes. Kids do it sometimes in gym class. We never know what we can do until we do it. Nike had sponsored this task for Nat Geo, and I must say I had never really thought about how difficult it is to run a marathon.
If you do not know, a marathon is 26.2 miles. It is said that a greek messenger ran 25-26 miles from the Marathon to Athens, Greece to deliver a message of Persian invasion in 490 B.C. Nat Geo had runners preparing for this race; all of whom have raced and won marathons before. Lelisa Desisa, the youngest of the group with a bright future. Winning multiple marathons in his 20’s. Lelisa won the 2013 Boston Marathon. Zersenay Tadese, at the time of the filming, held the second fastest half-marathon record. Lastly, Eliud Kipchoge, he has participated in 8 marathons and won 7 of them. He is an olympian.
What I was most impressed about the documentary was not the race it self, although very difficult to do, but the humbleness of the athletes who participated. Most live a very humble life even thought they are great athletes. Humbleness is the key to being a champion. Being able to see what you have and be grateful for the things you have, but at the same time be humble enough to see that it is a blessing. These athletes took on this challenge to break the sub 2 hour record. 2 of the runners had to drop almost 5 seconds off their best times.
Eluid Kipchoge would be the closest to the 2 hour mark. He finished at 2:00:25, just 25 seconds off the 2 hour mark. After the race, Eluid made a statement that stuck with me after I watched the documentary, “No human is limited.” Meaning you can break any limit that you have and any barrier that stands in front of you as long as you push your self.
If you want to watch the great National Geographic documentary ” Breaking 2″, check it out on Youtube.
(Feature Photo Credit: Canadian Running Magazine)