Eliud Kipchoge's marathon blazed the streets of Vienna

Photograph by Thomas Lovelock / The INEOS 1:59 Challenge / AP The whole world was agog with the Marathon, which world champ Eliud Kipchoge was to run in the streets of Vienna. I love watching the man run, light and lithe and effortlessly. Kipchoge ran a timing that was, until recently, considered impossible-- below 2 hours. It had never been done before. Believe you me, marathon’s are not run by the faint hearted. They are run by champions who rule the track. Though I always believed it was the sprinter who did! Happily after the run, we will never look at a marathon the same way again. Last week, on a flat and arrow-straight avenue in the Prater park in Vienna, Eliud Kipchoge completed the distance in one hour, fifty-nine minutes, and forty seconds. It’s a time that was, until a few years ago, unthinkable—and, even after Kipchoge has done it, continues to feel unreal. Kipchoge’s run in Vienna was a time trial, designed with only speed in mind. Watching it I felt it included an obvious transgression -- as there were, interchanging teams of pacesetters to protect Kipchoge from the head wind. I have watched my son’s run triathlons and I thought the pacesetters seemed quite unfair, like a teacher standing at a students elbow, helping during an exam.

Kipchoge running in London Infact when my boys ran or cycled no one could stick to the other competitors back, as it was considered ‘drafting’. Drafting or slipstreaming is an aerodynamic technique where two vehicles or other moving objects are caused to align in a close group, reducing the overall effect of drag due to exploiting the lead object's slipstream. It was banned during the boys triathlon events and we looked at it very seriously if any competitor tried it. But, official or not, the two-hour barrier has been broken for the marathon. It is a moment in athletics like Roger Bannister’s first sub-four-minute mile, in 1954. When I first saw the pacesetting structure of five pacers, many of them Olympians and high-caliber athletes themselves, who protected Kipchoge, running in an open-V shape in front of him, it looked definitely staged. They were kept in position by a laser line shot out by a pace car driving fifteen metres in front of them the whole way. Two more runners ran at Kipchoge’s tail. The aerodynamic experts who designed the formation expected it to create a bubble around Kipchoge, and to carve maybe a minute from his time and they were right -- well almost.

Another point of discussion was that Kipchoge was also wearing brand-new Nikes: a version of a shoe called the Vaporfly Next% that is stuffed with highly responsive foam and fitted with a carbon-fibre plate. The shoe has proved controversial, because of the significant gains it seems to lend runners. We will never know how much help the Nikes gave Kipchoge, except to say that the assistance was consequential. It’s also true to say that technology always develops. Every marathon runner wants to compete in the best shoes available. The two-hour barrier didn’t fall because of footwear; it fell because of the convergence of many factors, of which footwear was one. The most important factor was Kipchoge himself. When my sons swam for Karnataka state, we bought them the most expensive Speedo equipment. Flippers, trunks, caps and goggles all the way from the US. If even a second could be shaved off their swim timings by wearing a costume that could cleave the water, rather than hinder, was sought by us parents. Cycles which would help them leave the competition behind was what we invested in. We never thought twice searching Bangalore for imported racing bikes. The boys were finally Asian level champions. But finally, no matter what the equipment is, the sportsman is the winner and the achiever. But the equipment definitely helps.

My Dad bought me my first pair of spikes and starting blocks only after I proved myself. The blocks and spikes did improve my timing, but only because all the other kids already had them. So equipment and the right equipment does matter but does not make the winner. Kipchoge is the most beautiful runner to watch. Like a gazelle from the spectacular continent of Africa that he hails from, Kipchoge, nestled in his aerodynamically protected position, behind the axis of the V shape of the pacesetters, he seemed relaxed and confident. The changeover of the pacesetters every five kilometres—a complicated piece of choreography, at thirteen miles per hour—did not seem to trouble him or break his rhythm. Kipchoge draws massive crowds when he runs and as the miles clicked past, he stayed rigidly on the correct pace to break the two hour barrier. The spectators, packed several people deep against the barriers along the route, grew more voluble. Many of the spectators were from Vienna, but some had travelled from as far as Park City, Utah, and the Gold Coast of Australia, simply to watch Kipchoge run; he has that effect. A large Kenyan contingent sang songs from home. Some pounded the barriers on the sides of the course. As it looked increasingly likely that he would succeed, people found whatever vantage point they could to witness a moment of sporting history. They climbed up trees and on top of public toilets say news stories from Vienna.

With a thousand metres to go, the pacesetters let Kipchoge run alone. He summoned one more burst of energy, and—it seemed hardly possible—ran quicker than he had all day, while motioning to the crowds to cheer him on. The closing sprint was magical. Kipchoge’s knees pumped, his face broke into a broad smile, he gestured to the crowd, and wild celebrations erupted on either side of him. Looking at the history of the marathon. It was founded on the myth of the Greek messenger Pheidippides, who ran from Marathon to Athens to convey the story that the Spartans had been beaten in battle. (“Rejoice, we conquer!” Pheidippides said, before expiring.) As Kipchoge ran down the final straightaway, he looked like a man with good news to deliver and he did.

Kipchoge beat his chest, then wheeled toward his wife, Grace, after he crossed the line. It was the first time that Grace had ever watched her husband compete overseas. There was pandemonium thereafter. Pacesetters, politicians, world champions from other sports, coaches, managers, and at least one billionaire—Jim Ratcliffe, the owner of the event’s sponsor, Ineos—had gathered to welcome Kipchoge. Together, they raised Kipchoge on their shoulders in his moment of triumph. Kipchoge's coach, Patrick Sang, said the Kenyan had "inspired all of us that we can stretch our limits in our lives". And that is why I needed to write about this tiny, slim, wiry man who rules the world Marathon record and who has broken forever Hitler’s fallacy that it’s the white man who is superior. Three cheers for Kipchoge.