How fast do top marathoners run

In completing a marathon that starts with "one hour," Kipchoge broke one of distance running's final big hurdles. He compared the run as going to visiting the Moon and returning back to Earth. Before Kipchoge's in , there were serious questions around whether a human could run under two hours for a marathon distance.

Studies suggested it may take until to beat the record and a male ceiling on performance could be However, Kipchoge's performance in Vienna shows that predictions may need revising. Like in 's Nike-sponsored event, Kipchoge's doesn't count as an official world record. This is because it wasn't part of an officially sanctioned race and used pacemakers that rotated in and out of the run.

The attempt was organised by chemical company Ineos, which has links to fracking and is owned by the UK's richest man, Jim Ratcliffe. But environmental politics aside, there was some serious science behind Kipchoge's run. Here's how he did it. Before we get into what helped Kipchoge cross the line in , it's worth pausing and considering how ridiculously quick this is. Those figures might not mean much when they're viewed on their own but when compared to regular humans, they're ridiculous.

According to Runners World , the average 5km finish time in the UK an equivalent distance to a Parkrun is 33 minutes and 54 seconds. For men it is and women Completing a marathon in less than two hours required Kipchoge to run 5km in , eight times in a row.

Equally, the 10,m 10km male world record sits at shade over and Kipchoge had to repeatedly run A marathon is the equivalent of running m sprints in just over 17 seconds — times in a row. Carbohydrates are key to sustained performance in endurance sports — and marathon running is no different.

In preparing for the attempt, the organisers created a window October 12 to October 20 when the run could happen. This uncertainty meant Kipchoge's food preparations couldn't begin early. Before he started at 8. Muscles rely on carbs, stored in the body as glycogen, to produce force and, thus, power running.

If the body runs out of carbohydrates it will start burning fat to fuel an athlete — a process that's not as efficient and fat is often in short supply in the bodies of elite athletes. It's not just before the run that Kipchoge will have been taking on extra carbs. He'll also had them while he was on the move. The Kenyan runner was predicted to take on 60 to grams of carbohydrates per hour. The majority of the carbs Kipchoge consumed during the run was through drinks.

Jog for the same amount of time to recover. Repeat 4 to 6 times. The goal is to run at a tempo pace, or a comfortably hard pace. It should be slightly faster than your target goal time. Run at this pace for a few minutes, followed by several minutes of jogging. Work up to 10 to 15 minutes of tempo pace for a 5K and 20 to 30 minutes of running at your tempo pace for longer races. Or, if you have access to the course, train on the hills there.

Your running pace is usually determined by how fast you run 1 mile, on average. To determine your best running pace:. Use your mile time as a goal for training. Every few weeks, go back to the track and time your mile pace again as a way to track your progress. Try using an online calculator to determine your pace per mile in order to meet your goal. You can follow an online training plan to help improve your pace. Your pace is based on factors like your current level of fitness.

You can improve your running pace by participating in high-intensity interval training HIIT or speed workouts. Try performing them on a track near your home. Sign up for a local 5K race or two to stay motivated to improve your time. Never push yourself to the point of total exhaustion. Always check with your doctor before starting any new running workouts. We know running is good for you. Fast-twitch muscle fibers work anaerobically, meaning they use glucose instead of oxygen to make energy.

Fast-twitch fibers are able to generate bursts of speed, but they tire easily. Slow-twitch muscle fibers convert oxygen into fuel. They work much more slowly than fast-twitch muscles and are designed for continuous muscle contractions over long periods of time.

Some runners have more genetic luck than others. Those with long legs tend to be faster because they can reach a longer stride length and those with larger lungs can generate more efficient oxygen flow. A runner's bone-to-muscle weight ratio also influences speed and endurance.

For long-distance races, Baggish said, some people are simply better equipped genetically to handle more miles. They tend to have hardier musculoskeletal systems and cardiac systems, he added.

But even those with bodies built for running have a mileage limit. It's possible for runners to reach a point where they start inflicting damage to their heart , but most athletes will not have this type of reaction, Baggish said.

Heart damage can occur when runners go overboard with their training, such as when pushing through an illness or piling on the miles when they already have some kind of pre-existing heart condition. Despite all of these limitations, "humans keep getting faster and faster," Weyand said. Some athletes have turned to illicit substances to boost their speeds. Sprinters have been known to turn to steroids to increase the force their quick strides can apply to the ground.

Some marathoners engage in unlawful " blood doping " to boost their VO2 max. Blood doping involves boosting the number of red blood cells in an athlete's bloodstream, which can increase a person's VO2 max by around 10 percent, according to Weyand. This can be done by taking drugs or by transfusing an athlete's own blood, freezing it for a few months and then reinjecting the blood before a race to pump the bloodstream with extra red blood cells. Technology and equipment, such as better shoes and man-made running tracks, have helped sprinters improve their times, but in the last 20 years, there hasn't been any major technological development in this area, Morin said.

Researchers have yet to find a really effective tech intervention for endurance races. Records are dropping faster than ever, but most only fall by a few seconds or fractions of a second. Morin said he doesn't think the 2-hour marathon record will fall for another 20 to 30 years, if things continue the way they have been. But it's tough to predict when records will fall, because every once in a while, there is an outlier.