Ahead of the Berlin Marathon on Sunday morning, Eliud Kipchoge said he merely hoped to run a time that would be his personal best. He fulfilled that goal — and more, smashing the world record by winning the race in 2 hours 1 minute 39 seconds.
Kipchoge, a 33-year-old Kenyan who is widely regarded as the most dominant distance runner of the modern era, shaved more than a minute off the previous world record, set four years ago by Dennis Kimetto. But as Kipchoge established his supremacy in recent years, Kimetto’s mark (2:02:57) seemed like a place holder for a record that Kipchoge would surely break.