If you have any interest in the sport of running, you already know the mythical 2-hour barrier for the marathon has fallen. As this blog is not for news reporting, and this happened barely 36 hours before this writing, I want to share a reflection and perspective on what these results at the London Marathon mean for our sport.
Sure, super shoes help, but they are not what make Sebastian Sawe an elite runner (From RW Instagram feed)
When I ran my first marathon in 1983, the world record was 2:08:34 (Derek Clayton, 1969). Then, it started falling little by little. First by a few seconds, then surprisingly faster. As it approached the 2-hour mark, Nike put on the Eliud Kipchoge show in 2019, where he ran 1:59:40. Sure, it wasn’t official, and it wasnât supposed to be. But it proved that a sub-2 was physiologically possible. And now it has happened in competition.
Was it the Super shoes?
Some would like to think that with shoes acting like springs, these new records mean nothing. As a purist, I would love to think that too, but we live in a world where progress, innovation, and new technologies are an intrinsic part of our lives, and we must accept it. If we didnât, Formula One races would be on horseback, the Tour de France would be on bikes with no gears and iron frames, and running shoes would still be made of leather. The regulatory entities have taken measures to ensure certain basic conditions are met, so it is not a free-for-all. It is a step in the right direction, so we may avoid grey areas bordering cheating.
We must understand that super shoes will not make you, or me, a world-record contender. These runners are the best the world has ever seen. These shoes only provide the edge they need to get that little extra that puts them within the realm of possibility. They were already great runners before they tied those $500 Adidas at the start of the 2026 London Marathon.
Whatâs next?
Back in May 1954, Roger Bannister ran the first sub-4-minute mile. It was a matter of time before he, Wes Santee, or John Landy got there. Bannister did it first. And once it was proven physiologically possible, the sub-4s started piling up. Landy shaved 1.4 seconds off Bannister’s record just 6 weeks later. And two months later, he lowered it again. 72 years later, over 1700 runners have gone sub-4. Still an elite group, but not that exclusive.
Why am I bringing this up? Because it has now been proven possible, expect the record set by Sebastian Sawe to fall again shortly and often. Just as Bannister, Sawe will always be remembered as the first. He is the Neil Armstrong of the Sub-2. Yomif Kejelcha made his marathon debut going sub-2, but 11 seconds behind, so he will always be the Buzz Aldrin of the sub-2. Impressive achievement, but not the first. This will not be an unbeatable record. Quite the contrary, it just established a new benchmark from where to keep improving.
I venture to predict that by the end of the year, after marathons like Valencia or Chicago, the record will fall again. And by the end of 2027, there will be 5 to 10 runners under 2.
Boston: Nike Sign Controversy
Since I am reflecting on recent events at Marathon Majors, I want to chime in on the Nike fiasco at the recent Boston Marathon. For those who donât know, Nike set up a huge sign stating âRunners Welcome. Walkers Toleratedâ, which sparked severe backlash and was quickly removed.
This is the controversial sign placed by Nike in Boston during Marathon week.
Was it insensitive? Was it stupid? Did Nike assume responsibility? Can you do something about it if you were offended? Yes, yes, yes, and yes.
First: No race states that you canât walk. Until then, walk all you want. Orlando Pizzolato won the NYC Marathon in 1984 and walked. Nobody cried foul. Gelindo Bordin slowed down, walked, and was not stripped of his Olympic marathon gold medal in 1988. Want to walk? Walk! And donât give a s*#% about what Nike has to say about it.
What really bothered me about this fiasco was the âoffended professionalsâ taking it to social media. Those who enjoy feeling upset on your behalf so they can feel morally superior as they fight for âwhatâs rightâ. Most of those calling for the pitchforks had no stake in running, Boston, or Nike.
Just like you and me, Nike is protected by the First Amendment to make as many stupid statements as they please. Offended? Act. Donât purchase a Nike product ever again. Show up at their headquarters in Beaverton and picket. A friend of mine didnât like it and sold her Nike stock. She didnât pout on Instagram; she took a stand.
Conclusion: Feel offended? Act or shut up! Pouting on social media is not taking action.
Please share your thoughts in the comment box below.
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I was recently reading a book by an author Iâve known for years, yet somehow never truly delved beyond his famous running quotes and the occasional column: Dr. George Sheehan.
Personal Best by Dr. George Sheehan
Dr. Sheehan was a physician, but his legacy lives on in running. A passionate marathoner and prolific writer, he captured the soul of the sport through his columns and books. He did not just write about miles, but about purpose, identity, and the human spirit. His words helped generations of runners live training not as exercise, but as a path to self-discovery.
Despite passing away in 1993, his legacy as one of the most influential running writers ever is undeniable. He wrote 12 books, starting in 1972.
A chapter from âPersonal Best,â published in 1989, caught my attention because it proposes segmenting our athletic experience. Even though it is nothing revolutionary, stating the obvious reveals its genius.
The original text reads:
âThe athletic experience can be divided into three parts. One is the preparation, the training of the body. Two is the event, the challenging of the self. And three, is the aftermath. And for the runner, the ultimate athletic experience is the marathon. It takes training and challenging and creating to the absolute limits.â
In 54 powerful words, we are invited to deconstruct our running lives and turn it into a rewarding yet challenging process for exploring our limits.
Letâs break it down so we can squeeze every morsel of our athletic journey.
1 – TRAINING OF THE BODY
While we may certainly enjoy better PRs in our favorite distances, we can choose from two approaches. Running ourselves to the ground and having a short career or taking the time to prepare so our body can be strong, resilient, and injury-resistant.
Living for the challenge of competition and craving the adrenaline rush of finish lines are part of the allure of the journey. Sheehan once said, âRacing is the lovemaking for the runner. It is hard to pass upâ. And I agree. But to keep doing it constantly, year after year, we must teach the body.
It takes time, planning, and execution. It is a long road with no shortcuts. So, we’d better be smart and make the process enjoyable, or we wonât last the distance.
2 – CHALLENGE OF THE SELF
Ok. Here it is: The challenge. For us runners, it is usually racing, but it could be whatever gets your endorphins going. This is your personal journey. It may be breaking 20 or 30 in the 5K; or how far you can go before collapsing. The point is that you are in charge. You canât run to fulfill someone elseâs dream.
For Dr. Sheehan, the epitome of this challenge is the marathon: âThe marathon fills our subconscious with this gospel. Taking a well-trained body through a grueling 26.2-mile race does immeasurably more for the self-concept and self-esteem than years with the best psychiatrist.â
The challenge of the self is an ever-changing target. Every success should create a new goal. Every failure (and they will happen) should trigger a reevaluation of the processes or even the goals. The challenge of the self is the most rewarding part of the journey.
Enjoying the process will be more rewarding than a wall full of medals, but if you play it smart, you can have both (ChatGPT Image)
3 – THE AFTERMATH
Every running cycle, every accomplished goal, every medal displayed on your wall, every PR, every time we fell short, or every time we just had fun with our friends is an opportunity to reap rewards from our efforts. And the more prepared you are for the journey, the longer and more enjoyable it will be.
In the same writing that gave birth to this blog post, Dr. Sheehan states: âThe long-distance race is a struggle that results in self-discovery. It is an adventure into the limits of the self, representing for runners what has been called the moral equivalent of warâa theater for heroism, where the runner can do deeds of daring and greatness.â
My takeaway is that running can be a worthwhile, ever-changing journey if you allow it to be. But you must be purposeful and flexible, especially as you achieve your goals and pursue new ones as you get older. Enjoying the process will be more rewarding than a wall full of medals, but if you play it smart, you can have both.
Please let me know your thoughts in the comment box below.
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As marathon training season arrives, you may be gearing up for the autumn Marathon Majors. Or perhaps youâve chosen a less hyped, but equally fulfilling, 26.2. So, I invite you to reflect: why do you subject yourself to this funâyet masochisticâactivity? For 99% of the worldâs population, itâs the equivalent of self-flagellation.
Running a marathon is way more than an Instagram post with a medal and a goofy smile (Image by Grok)
Some run a marathon to challenge their limits. Others just for bragging rights. Some want to fulfill a personal journey: 6-Star, 50 States, or something only you know. Regardless of your reason, it wonât define your legacy, affect your paycheck, or change the respect of your loved ones. Keep it in perspective. Enjoy the process. Suffer through with a smile. Embrace the suck.
Enjoying the process so you avoid burnout is the key to any successful marathon training cycle. Sure, it will be hard, and at some point, you will suffer. Absolutely, you will have to sacrifice certain events because you must train the next day. It is a given that something will eventually hurt. And somewhere during the process, you will question your sanity. But it wonât be a fulfilling process if you burn out. If you do, it will be miserable. Not worth pursuing and easily abandoned. So, let’s avoid that. Hereâs how?
Remember why you started âș This is a personal journey, whether it’s your first or your 100th marathon. Make the training a connection to the personal reasons that brought you here. No one is forcing you to do this. Embrace failure (it will happen), grow through the struggle, and own the process.
Trust the Process, not just the pace âș While time goals are worthy and valid and marathon pace training is a key component to the puzzle, trusting the process is more important. Remember that training is about a multitude of stimuli; it is not about perfection. Hit the effort, learn from the session, donât obsess over splits. If you trust the process, you should hit the pace.
It is your race âș Focus on your progress and donât let other runners define you. Beating your friend or earning a BQ are legitimate goals. But if you focus only on those, youâll drain your joy, push too hard, or skip recovery. This is your experience, and nobody elseâs.
It is about consistency âș Consistency beats perfection every time. Miss a workout? Move forward. Focus on the next one. Flexibility is important, but donât mistake it for complacency. Obsessing over a missed long run is stressful and unproductive, especially if you did complete the other 14 of 16 in your program. Life happens.
Fueling for a marathon goes beyond race day (Image by Grok)
Fuel your body properly âș Running a marathon requires a ton of fuel, not just on race day, but throughout training. This is not the time to lose weight, try a new detox fad, or fear carbs. Make sure your body has enough energy to perform and repair, so you can keep moving forward.
Remain resilient through strength training âș Strength training supports running. It protects your muscles, improves durability, and reduces the risk of injury. What more do you need to be convinced? Donât think you can skip legs just because youâre already running. You donât want to find out why the hard way.
Respect and prioritize recovery as part of training âș Rest days and easier weeks bring adaptation. Fitness grows when training and recovery are combined. Massage and therapies are a waste if you donât prioritize sleep. Recovery gadgets are useless if you think they can replace the rest day you need. Be smart. You are not a machine. You are not indestructible.
Make sure to have fun âș As I said at the start, remember the reason you started. Donât let social pressures take over the fun and fulfillment of the journey. Donât be afraid to go easy on easy days. Run with friends and laugh. Give yourself permission for that post-run beer. Remember, your finish time is not what defines you as a human being.
Running a marathon is a formidable achievement. The 26.2 is a remarkable adversary. The challenge of training is what makes it special. So, be present, be purposeful, and above all, enjoy the process. Finishing a marathon is way more than an Instagram post showing a medal and a goofy smile.
Please share your thoughts on this subject in the comment box below.
This past February 2nd, a controversy was sparked by an article that ran on the Runnerâs World website. It was an opinion piece by a writer named Cole Townsend (whom I donât know). The piece was titled: âYes, Itâs OK to Wear a Finisherâs Shirt for a Race You Didnât Finishâ. Hence, the rebuttal in the title of this blog post.
If you did not finish the London Marathon in 2025, you should not be wearing this shirt.
Townsend states things as: âI think we need to have an honest conversation about whoâs âallowedâ to buy finisher tees,â and âYour hard work doesnât disappear because mile 1 or mile 19 didnât happenâ.
These statements, just as the articleâs title, rubbed me the wrong way. Sure, everybody is entitled to their opinion. Sure, wearing a shirt that states you finished the Boston Marathon when you didnât is trivial compared with whatâs happening in Ukraine. Sure, you are not going to ponder what I may think when choosing your wardrobe. Yet, in my book, it is still not right.
Would you wear an Olympic medal you did not win around your neck, just because you own it? You can proudly display it at home, especially if a relative earned it. I display my dadâs marathon medals at home. But they are hung separately from my earned medals. They are my property, but not my achievements.
My beef with the entire affair is two-fold:
1 â How can an entity of Runnerâs World’s reputation think that publishing this was OK? I am all pro-First Amendment, but you are not obligated to provide a tribune to someone for just about anything, especially if it is unsound, which it should be for runners. Would you run a story advocating the superiority or inferiority of a certain race, or defending a flat earth, just because it is someoneâs opinion?
2 â The article, as the headline clearly states, talks about finisher shirts. A finisherâs shirt is earned when you finish a race, hence the name. Not when you register, not when your boyfriend crosses the finish line, not when you purchase it in a fire sale. This is not a participation trophy. This is between you and your conscience, sure, but in my book, it is still a lie.
I can’t believe Runner’s World ran this article.
Is it OK to wear a military uniform and let people assume you served your country? Would you walk through a mall wearing a priestâs cassock, or scrubs with a stethoscope draped over your shoulders? Exactly. And no, Iâm not comparing military service or serving God to finishing a marathon. Iâm pointing out something simpler: what you wear creates assumptions about who you are and what youâve done. Letting those assumptions stand when they arenât true is plain wrong.
There is a difference between a finisherâs shirt and a race or a souvenir shirt. If you ran London and brought me a hat, I would be grateful and wear it, even though I havenât run it. When I returned to road racing after a 26-year hiatus, I gave my race shirt to my dad as a tribute, since he inspired me to start running when I was a kid. He wore it proudly. But it only said â2012 Miami Marathon and Half Marathonâ; it didnât state he finished the race, even though he ran the distance hundreds of times.
The author concludes with this statement: âWe donât need to start a âstolen valorâ debate. What you wear should reflect what matters to youânot what the internet thinks you’re entitled to. If you care, flip the question: why are you wearing it? If the answer is âbecause it means something to me,â thatâs enough.â
This would be a logical conclusion if the article didnât state âFinisherâs Shirtâ. Thatâs where, in my opinion, both the writer and the Runnerâs World editors went terribly wrong.
Any thoughts? I really want to hear from runners who disagree with me. Please share in the comment box below.
A couple of weeks ago, a runner at the 19th mile of the Miami Marathon experienced cardiac arrest, and even though all safety protocols were followed and applied, he sadly passed. His name was Julien Autissier. He was just 33.
Unfortunately, these episodes continue to occur from time to time, and they cast a bad light on long-distance running. It really rubs me the wrong way because the media doesnât report that people donât just die from running. They usually die from a known or unknown condition that gets exacerbated while running. Or by disregarding basic safety protocols for hydration and/or heat safety during a run.
I wrote a blog post on cardiac health and running back in August 2021, triggered by a fatality in the Montreal Marathon. Today, after the unfortunate incident in Miami, I am rerunning an updated version.
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As athletes, especially runners, we are usually physically fit. It doesnât matter if you weigh 120 pounds and look like a Kenyan or if you are on the 250+ side of the scale with an overhanging gut. You can have an unhealthy body yet still be fit. And this doesnât mean you have a heart disease vaccine.
In the 1982 New York City Marathon, when my dad ran his first 26.2, a French runner collapsed and died. He saw it unfold as he passed by through the ruckus, which made it to the worldâs newspapers the next day. It must have been quite an impression on a 16-year-old kid; 44 years later, I am telling you the story.
Unfortunately, this latest case in Miami is one of the handful of cases each year in which someone goes out for a run and doesnât come back.
If the father of the first running boom in the United States is Frank Shorter, the Godfather is Jim Fixx, author of the mega 1977 bestseller âThe Complete Book of Runningâ. In a pre-Internet, pre-Google era, this book democratized access to knowledge about our sport, including its cardiovascular benefits. This guru went for a run on July 20, 1984, at age 52, and died of a fulminant heart attack. He was in great shape, but his autopsy revealed he had atherosclerosis, with one artery blocked 95%, a second 85%, and a third 70%. His father had died at age 43 of a second heart attack.
Born to run, by Christopher McDougall
If you read the blockbuster âBorn to Runâ, you should remember Micah True, also known as Caballo Blanco. Well, he collapsed and died in 2012 at age 58 while running alone on a trail in New Mexico. The cause was reported as an underlying cardiomyopathy and atherosclerosis, discovered post-mortem. His death exposed how even elite endurance athletes, regardless of how long theyâve been running, may carry unknown heart conditions.
One of the most active and fit guys you will ever meet is Dave McGillivray. You may know him as the Boston Marathon Race Director since 2001. His athletic accolades include running across the United States (3,452 miles) in 80 days, running the Boston Marathon every year since 1973, being a 9-time Hawaii Ironman finisher, and participating in 1000+ organized races. Yet, in October 2018, at age 63, he underwent triple bypass surgery. His family’s cardiac history was against him, regardless of how fit he was. He is one of the lucky ones who can tell his story.
These are just three relevant cases that show that being a fit runner doesnât necessarily mean you are cardiovascularly healthy. These two concepts are not necessarily inclusive.
And then, thereâs me. I wouldnât be honest with my readers if I did not include my personal cardiac experience in this writing. In 2019, during my yearly medical check-up, my doctor told me that even though a stress test wouldnât do much for me because I was a marathoner, I should do it anyway, âbecause you never knowâ. And guess what? You donât know. A congenital issue in my arteries was discovered. Unoxygenated blood was recirculating, bypassing the lungs, which created such stress for my heart that it could have provoked a heart attack. Then, on June 23, 2021, I underwent open-heart surgery to fix the issue. This âunneededâ stress test potentially saved my life. I have run 4000+ miles since, including 2 marathons and 13 halves.
I reran this updated blogpost today because Iâd rather have you in the Dave McGillvray and Coach Adolfo column than in the Jim Fixx or Micah True camp. I beg you to understand that, despite an active and healthy lifestyle, you are not immune to the genetics of your ancestors or the sequels from your unhealthy habits before your active life. Get checked up. Now! You never know. I am proof of it.
