Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge, marathon world record (2h01: 39), was calm and confident this Thursday in Vienna that he will overcome the challenge of lowering the custom-made marathon that will run this Saturday in Vienna by two hours.
"I try to be calm, this brand means a lot to me and to my continent, Africa, to make it clear that there are no limits, that borders are set by the mind," said the long-distance runner at a press conference.
In case of overcoming the challenge and falling below two hours, the record will not count for the International Athletics Federation (IAAF) due to external aids, such as a windbreaker vehicle, a tailored provisioning and the rotation of the 41 'hares', you will have.
The 34-year-old Kenyan insisted that he runs to enter history and to show that the human being has no limits. He even put the famous two-hour wall down to his world record, achieved last year in Berlin.
“Running in Berlin and in Vienna are two different things. In Berlin I ran and broke a world record. In Vienna I run to make history ”, summarized Kipchoge, who has resigned from the Doha World Championships and the Marathon in the German capital for this challenge.
This will be the second time that Kipchoge has attempted to be the first to run a marathon in under two hours.
On May 5, 2017, on the Italian circuit of Monza, Kipchoge already ran the fastest marathon in history with a non-homologated mark of 2h00: 25.
That failure has given him the necessary experience to run now with more confidence, because he knows what he is going to face.
“I feel more prepared and more confident. I have run at that speed (to break the two hours) for the past two years, so it is not that I have to ask myself how I am going to do it, ”he summarizes about the changes compared to 2017.
The marathoner stressed over and over that his desire was sports glory and overcoming an insurmountable barrier until now, and not money. In being a figure that inspires a whole new generation.
“I run to make history, to move forward, to show that there are no limits to a whole generation in the world, I hope that 3.000 billion people will see it on Saturday. It is not about money, but about running, making history and changing people's lives, "he said.
The test, in which he will run alone but supported by 41 'hares', will take place in the Viennese Prater park, on a completely flat circuit of 9,6 kilometers, of which the vast majority of the route is straight.
It will be 4,3 kilometers one way and many others back. At both ends there are two large roundabouts that have been adapted to avoid any unevenness.
Saturday will be the race but the start time remains to be determined, with the time range between 03.00 and 07.00 GMT, because that is when better weather conditions are expected.
The absence of wind and rain, humidity below 80%, an ideal temperature between 9 and 11 degrees (although it is also optimal between 7 and 14 degrees throughout the entire test) are the best conditions for the challenge.
The 34-year-old athlete has only been defeated once in a total of thirteen marathons - with a second place in Berlin 2013 -, and holds the world record, with 2h: 01: 39, a mark that the Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele was 2 seconds away from breaking in the Berlin marathon on September 29.
EFE
