Breaking2

Nike chose three runners to make the attempt:{{cite magazine|url=http://www.runnersworld.com/2-hour-marathon/so-close-kipchoge-runs-a-20025-in-the-breaking2-attempt|title=So Close! Kipchoge Runs a 2:00:25 in the Breaking2 Attempt|last=Nolan|first=Ali|date=6 May 2017|access-date=12 May 2017|magazine=Runner's World}}

At the time, Kipchoge was the defending Olympic champion, having won the marathon at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and Zersenay was the half marathon WR holder (58:23, set in 2010).

Nike also brought in 30 of their top sponsored athletes to serve as pacers for the race, including Andrew Bumbalough, Sam Chelanga, Chris Derrick, Bernard Lagat, and Lopez Lomong.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.runnersworld.com/2-hour-marathon/what-it-was-like-to-pace-the-fastest-marathon-in-history|title=What It Was Like to Pace the Fastest Marathon in History|last=Strout|first=Erin|date=9 May 2017|access-date=12 May 2017|magazine=Runner's World}}

Nike developed a new running shoe called the "Vaporfly Elite" for the attempt.{{Cite web|url=https://www.runningshoesguru.com/2017/03/nike-zoom-vaporfly-elite-the-shoe-of-breaking2-you-cant-buy/|title=Nike Zoom VaporFly Elite: the shoe of Breaking2 you can't buy.|website=www.runningshoesguru.com|language=en|access-date=2017-11-29}} The Monza automobile racetrack was chosen for a combination of its low altitude, calm weather conditions, and short lap length. In addition to the pacemaker vehicle, runners acting as pacemakers were positioned to shield the key athletes in an attempt to reduce wind resistance.Matt Burgess, 10 May 2017 [https://www.wired.co.uk/article/nike-two-hour-marathon-result "If you missed Nike's two-hour marathon attempt you can relive it here"] wired.co.uk

The race began at 5:45 am on Saturday, May 6, 2017, with a temperature of 12°C or 54°F (a higher than ideal temperature for professional marathoners, generally{{cite news |author= |title=Can the marathon's two-hour barrier be broken? |url=https://www.economist.com/game-theory/2017/10/04/can-the-marathons-two-hour-barrier-be-broken |newspaper=Economist |date=2017-10-04 |access-date=2018-10-01 }}) and some light rain.

To break the two-hour barrier, a pace of 2:50 min/km (4:34.5 per mile) was required. In order to achieve this, the racers followed behind a team of six pacers in a triangle formation who were themselves following a pace vehicle displaying a large clock of the race time and projecting green lasers onto the ground to indicate where the lead pacer should be at all times. The pacers only ran two laps (4.8 km) at a time and had 30 minute breaks in between shifts. Groups of pacers would cycle on and off in threes. These innovations disqualified the performances from being recognised as official marathon records by the IAAF.

The runners started off on pace, but Desisa fell off the pace about 16km in, and Tadese followed around 20km. Kipchoge remained on pace through 25km (at 1:11:03) and was only one second off pace at 30km. Kipchoge finished the race in 2:00:25 and said he had given 100 percent effort.

At the time of the race, the world record of the marathon was 2:02:57 (set by Dennis Kimetto at the 2014 Berlin Marathon). Even though Kipchoge beat this time by more than two minutes, his result does not count as an official record by IAAF standards because of several factors, including the use of pacers who entered the race midway.{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-07/kipchoge-falls-26-seconds-short-of-first-sub-2-hour-marathon/8504084|title=Eliud Kipchoge falls 26 seconds short of first sub two-hour marathon|last=Buzacott-Speer|first=Eliza|date=6 May 2017|access-date=12 May 2017|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}

A 55-minute documentary about the event also called Breaking2 was produced in partnership with National Geographic and released in 2017.{{Cite web |date=2017-09-29 |title=Watch the Epic Quest to Run a Marathon in Less Than 2 Hours |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/nike-two-hour-marathon-barrier |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517215829/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/nike-two-hour-marathon-barrier |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 17, 2021 |access-date=2022-09-29 |website=Travel |language=en}}{{cite web | url = https://news.nike.com/news/breaking2-results | title = Nike Celebrates its Breaking2 Results | date= 6 May 2017 | access-date= 1 September 2017 | publisher = Nike | author = Nike News }}

In 2019, Kipchoge participated in the Ineos 1:59 Challenge, another attempt to break the two-hour mark. This attempt succeeded, with Kipchoge finishing in 1:59:40.2. This time did not qualify as a world record because, as with Breaking2, the conditions did not conform to the IAAF's requirements.

{{reflist}}

• [http://news.nike.com/news/2-hour-marathon Nike Introduces Breaking2] December 12, 2016

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Category:2017 marathons

Category:2017 in Italian sport

Category:Marathons in Italy

Category:Sport in Monza

Category:Marathon world records

Category:May 2017 sports events in Europe

Category:Nike, Inc.