Good Morning! 🏃🏻♂️
Last week was very much dominated by the fact that a human ran faster than 2 hours for a marathon. I need twice as much time.
And yet, most people on earth are not capable of running 42 km at all.
It’s so weird.
What a phenomenal race!
And yes, I do feel even slower now, but I am in awe that Sabastian Sawe managed to run that fast a marathon.
Adidas also had a good week, I guess. Let’s see how this will play out for the next races - and how this will change the popularity of brands of the midpack racers.
Enjoy these Five Things Running! 🏃🏻♂️
Is It the Shoes?
The feat was the culmination of a shift—or, perhaps more aptly, a total disruption—in marathoning over the past few years, in which the eventual breaking of the mythical two-hour mark went from an impossibility to a guarantee. When sports are young, they progress by leaps and bounds. The first marathon over the now-standard distance of 26 miles, 385 yards, contested at the 1908 London Olympics, was won in 2:55:19. Progress in the succeeding decades was rapid, but by 1991 the sport was mature, professionalized, and lucrative. When Joyner made his prediction, the world record was 2:06:50 andhad advanced by less than two minutes since the 1960s. Logic dictated that future decades would see even slower progress, as runners approached insurmountable limits in factors such as how much training they could handle and how much fuel their muscles could store.
What a race. And so many factor played a role and everything had to be perfect.
The Super Shoe’s Step-by-Step Evolution
Shoes once relied on leather, wood or metal reinforcements that were heavy and stiff. The rise of the rubber sole added flexibility and waterproofing. Better durability and grip were bonuses.
People could also run or walk in rubber soles without being heard. That’s why they’re called sneakers.
What a week for this shoe company from Herzogenaurach. Isn’t shoe tech fascinating? Can I still run in my shoes from last season?
Runners Got Bored With the Road. So They Moved to the Trail.
This casualization of trail running spurred sneaker companies to expand a once-niche footwear category: gravel or road-to-trail shoes, which are being specifically marketed to beginner trail runners. Brands such as Brooks, Nike, Salomon and Adidas are rolling out more models designed to feel familiar underfoot while offering enough grip, protection and durability for all conditions.
Trail running is so much nicer than running through the streets. Now even the Wall Street Journal has found out.
The superathletes who want to speed-run Mount Everest
Karl Egloff and Tyler Andrews are a study in contrasts. Egloff, 45 and inclined to metaphysical meditation, is Ecuadorian-born resident of Switzerland. His father was a mountain guide; he began climbing Ecuador’s giant peaks in pre-school and later became a world-class mountain bike racer. Andrews, who’s 35, grew up in the suburbs of Boston. He was a high school band geek before becoming, in college, a talented distance runner. Now a 2:15 marathoner, he lives in Quito, Ecuador, training in the same cragged Andes that shaped Egloff. He only dedicated himself to big mountain running when the pandemic shut down road racing, but then he went big. In 2021, he emblazoned his chest with a huge tattoo of Rucu Pichincha, the Ecuadorian volcano on which he frequently trains.
Obviously, they won’t really be running up the mountain, but still, they want to move quicker than anyone else.
The Evolution of Courtney Dauwalter
Courtney and her basketball shorts broke onto the ultrarunning scene in 2016, back when trail runners worshipped at the altar of vibes. Mileage? Run as much or as little as you want. Carbs? Probably overrated, but you do you. Heat training? Maybe sit in your hot car until you feel like you’re going to pass out. Grittiness and problem-solving were the name of the game, and it was a game Courtney nailed.
Meanwhile, the sport has jetted toward professionalization and optimization. High carb, bicarb, heat training, cross-training—the list of data-driven training modalities being adopted at the pointy end of the field are endless. For a runner who is so clearly driven by a genuine love of running, how, if at all, has she come to terms with this new era?
The road marathon stint provides a clue.
She’s the GOAT.
If you missed last week’s edition, you can read it here:
Now, go running!
— Nico
🏃🏻♂️