Woah this is huge news that I missed.
Not so long ago, the idea of anyone running an official marathon in two hours was the stuff of science fiction. But on the streets of Chicago it became a dizzying reality as the Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum ran 2hr 0min 35sec to shatter the men’s world record.
As the 23-year-old ran the final few hundred metres along Columbus Drive, he even had time to blow kisses and wave to the crowd. His time not only took 34sec off Eliud Kipchoge’s old best but was another staggering reminder of how much super shoe technology has changed the sport.
It is surely a matter of time before the sub-two-hour barrier is broken in an official race. Kipchoge did do it in a time trial in 2019 – that, though, did not count as a record because he used a number of measures not permitted under World Athletics rules.
Kiptum, who was wearing Nike Dev 163 prototype shoes, said he had not initially targeted Kipchoge’s old record of 2:01:09. But that rapidly changed towards the end of the race, when he ran the 22nd mile in an astonishing 4min 18sec.
There's not much information available on the Dev 163 shoes but I'm guessing there's something amazing about them.