Women’s World Marathon Record Smashed in Berlin

 

When Ethiopian runner Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s world marathon record last week at the BMW Berlin Marathon, running a beyond-amazing 2:11:53, she helped bolster two longstanding distance-running beliefs. One, that moving up to the marathon when you’re relatively young (she’s 26) is probably the best strategy, and two: that middle-distance speed is an important determinant of your marathon time.

A star 800-meter runner (1:59:24; 2014), Assefa moved up to longer distances a few years later. Let’s look at Assefa’s 10K progression for example. Only 21 in 2018, she ran 34:35. The next year, she lowered that to 31:45. And in 2022, she lowered it still further to 30:52. That’s mighty fast, but still, her half marathon best is 1:07:28, run in 2022. Yet last year at the Berlin Marathon, she clocked 2:15:37, almost exactly the same pace that she ran her PR half at.

Assefa sped through the first half in Berlin last week in 1:06:20, then picked it up in  the second half, recording a 1:05:33. Overall, she averaged 5:03 per mile, turning in 5K splits of around 15:40 each. The result was a more than two-minute obliteration of the previous record—2:14:04, set by Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei at the Chicago Marathon in 2019. Phenomenal barely describes it. Since Berlin—one of the majors—has strict anti-doping policies, it’s probably safe to assume doping was not a factor. So aside from hard work, natural talent, a flat course, and ideal conditions, what propelled her to such a mind-boggling performance?

Could it be those super shoes? Assefa ran in a pair of new Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1s, the latest in super shoe technology, begun by Nike in 2016 with the Vaporfly.  Adidas boldly predicted that the shoes have unique technology that “challenges the boundaries of racing.” The shoes contain a “first-of-its-kind forefoot rocker, placed at 60% of the length of the shoe,” which is “lab-tested to trigger forward momentum and improve running economy.”

“Her sub-2:00 stands out to me,” said Bat City Track Club coach Jeff Cunningham. “And there’s no shame in racing brilliantly in legal equipment. It’s like in the Olympics when world records fell with new streamlined swimsuits. In running, the quality of the performances and the context is completely driven by what the stopwatch says when you get to the finish. Tennis rackets have seen similar evolutions to graphite rackets. Football has vastly improved the gear used by professional players, and you don’t see any complaints. We’re now a couple of decades past any sort of preventive measures in running shoes. What we’re looking at now in racing shoes is developments centered around speed. So the argument of whether the latest super shoes legitimately bring on record times is no longer debatable. So back to Assefa: Put her in a pair of super shoes, and magic can happen!”

Upcoming races: Saturday, October 7 at 9:00 a.m., the Dime Box Mini Marathon 5K/10K in Dime Box. Saturday, October 7 at 9:00 a.m., the Hope Alliance Survive.Thrive.Prevent 5K in San Gabriel Park , Georgetown. Saturday, October 21 at 9:00 a.m., Oktoberfest 5K at Lago Vistya High School in Lago Vista.