Ricky Bateman

Two sub 2 hour marathon performances in the same race, with a third runner under the old world record. The most mind blowing day of performances in maybe any sport. What happened, what were the contributing factors, and how do we make sense of it? stevemagness.substack.com/p/the-2-hour-b…

What in the world did we just see! The 2 hour marathon barrier has been broken. Three guys went under the old world record... Sabastian Sawe just ran 1:59:30 with crazy negative splits, closing the last half in 59:01....faster than the American Record in the half. One of the most mind blowing performances we've seen. How did we get here? Every breakthrough is a mixture of belief and progress. It takes folks daring to see what's possible, surrounding themselves with a quality team and doing the work to give themselves a shot. You've got to bet on yourself in a big way. When asked whether he believed he could run a sub-2-hour marathon before the race, Sawe answered with one word: "Yes." Let's get the obvious out of the way. Performance enhancing drugs are the legitimate question mark to every breakthrough. So Sawe did as much as he could about taking that off the table. He and his team asked to be tested all the time. His sponsor put up 50K to the Athlete Integrity Unit. The tests are run independently, no advance notice. Over a 2 month stretch, he went through 25 drug tests. There's always a doubt. There has to be given what we know. Hopefully there's transparency in the results. But hats off to Sawe for addressing it: "I want to prove that I am clean when I set foot at the start line." But how'd we actually get here where two guys went sub 2 in the same race? 1. Shoe tech We've had a revolution in shoe technology that boosts running economy. For years shoe companies said their shoe would make you faster and was mostly marketing. Until 2016, when it actually did. Initial research showed a 3-4% saving in economy, while subsequent work has shown it's highly variable. Now, it's a matching game. Find the perfect shoe for your form and you can get a big boost. Normally, it takes years of lots of miles and strength training to boost economy. But now we get that instant boost that not only helps boost performance but often leaves us feeling less beat up in the later stages of the marathon. So we get a little bit less hitting of the wall... 2. The fuel For a long time, fueling was limited by biology. You can only take in and process so much. Then in the 2000s, researchers found if we mixed sugars, we can boost intake because they're processed differently. Then recently, Maurten found if you use a hydrxogel, you boost utilization without GI distress anymore. We've gone from pushing 60g/hr to 120g/hr in a few decades. Again...less bonking. 3. Depth A few decades ago, you spent your career racing on the track and then once your speed started to fade a bit you went to the marathon. Now, many skip right to the marathon. That's where the money is. And with the economy boost from the shoes, you can make that jump quickly. More depth of talent means more competitors in their prime pushing barriers. 4. Belief Even with the shoes and tech, a few years ago sub 2 hours seemed a long way off, until Kipchoge pushed that barrier in a series of time trials. Yes, they weren't official races and had contrived pacing. But it absolutely shifted everyone's thinking on what is possible. A generation of runners saw Kipchoge go for it. Our prediction of what is possible changed. It's mind blowing how far we've come in such a short time. What once seemed decades away, just got smashed twice in the same race. Hats off to Sawe, especially for addressing the scourge of doping and showing folks what is possible with a lot of hard work, some crazy belief, and some fortuitous advances.

HISTORY HAS BEEN MADE 🫨 Sabastian Sawe becomes the first person ever to break the 2-hour barrier in official race conditions, storming to a historic 1:59:30‼️ @KejelchaYomif, on his marathon debut, also breaks 2 hours with a stunning 1:59:41 and @jacobkiplimo2 clocks 2:00:28, also faster than the previous world record 😤

There’s live TV, and then there’s Beastie Boys tearing through “Sabotage” on Letterman in 1994 like they were trying to blow the roof off the place.

In Tour de France 2026, anticipate rain, adapt your braking and trajectories, take risks to make gains on descents, and try to win your first Tour de France. 🌧️ 🔗 Read more: store.steampowered.com/news/app/39365… #TDF2026 #TourdeFrance @LeTour

Unbelievable. Gout Gout 🐐

Hear from the man of the moment following his historic run!

Hooley Dooley

Gout with a procession in the heats 🔥 Fastest time in Australia this year for our rising star!

DOMINANT. 🔥 19-year-old Cam Myers wins the Australian 1500m national title and solo’ed a 3:29.85 personal best — just shy of the Australian record. 🇦🇺 The OAC’s Olli Hoare finishes second.

It’s hard to overstate how impressive this is. 3:29.85. Wire-to-wire. No pacer. 19 years old. What a sensational run by Cam Myers to win the Australian 1500m title.

Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd can't handle each other's improv while filming ANCHORMAN 😅 Amazing this movie was completed at all

Nick Watson has that magic touch 🧙‍♂️ #AFLHawksCats

Cathy Freeman was on another level. 🤯

Scores level. Less than a minute left. Geelong wins the centre clearance. And yet the final 30 seconds of Easter Monday 2026 will go down in Hawthorn lore. RE-LIVE IT ALL HERE >> bit.ly/4vcQs7v

Watson from the stoppage AGAIN 🪄 #AFLHawksCats

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I THREW UP 😭

Cathy Freeman relives that iconic Stawell Gift victory with Bruce McAvaney 😍

SHA'CARRI RICHARDSON WINS THE 2026 WOMEN'S GIFT LEGENDARY 👸