This archive report was first published on 7 October 2019.
Vienna, Austria, is set to host a historic attempt at a sub two-hour marathon, with world record holder Eliud Kipchoge leading the charge. The 42km challenge, scheduled to take place between October 12 and 20, will see Kipchoge jog over the 4.3km Prater Hauptallee course in the Austrian capital.
According to sources, Kipchoge will be in high spirits as he jets out for the herculean task, having told Standard Sports that he was ready to take on the challenge. “I will leave tomorrow (today). All is well as I head there,” Kipchoge said.
His mother, Janeth Rotich, has been praying for Kipchoge's success, waking up at 3am every day to pray the rosary. Fellow athlete Moses Kiptanui, a three-time 3,000 steeplechase champion, has also been praying for Kipchoge's success, acknowledging that it will not be an easy feat.
“I know it’s not easy. He needs to get good health, right conditions and the pace setters to get their tactics right,” Kipchoge's supporter said.
On May 6, 2017, Kipchoge ran the 42km in 2:00:25, and will hope to shave off 26 seconds to dip under the landmark two-hour barrier. He has described the challenge as like landing on the moon, going up the tallest mountain, and even going to the middle of the ocean.
Vienna offers many advantages as a venue for the attempt, including its proximity to Kipchoge's home time zone and the fact that it's only an hour behind. This means his sleeping and eating patterns won't be disrupted, and he can remain in Kenya, reaping the benefits of being at 2,400m altitude, before heading to the O2-rich air of Vienna, at 165m, the day before his attempt.
The course, which will see Kipchoge run 1.2km to The Prater, a park known as the ‘green lung of Vienna’, and begin four laps of the Hauptallee, is roughly 90 per cent straight and pancake flat, with just a 2.6m height difference and 0.06 per cent gradient change on the route.
Another major plus of Vienna is its weather – cool and sunny in October, with an average temperature of 10C (min 6.4C, max 14.3), low humidity and only six days of rain. This was an area identified for improvement after Monza, when a shower spiked humidity.
For this attempt, Kipchoge will be wearing the ZoomX Vaporfly Next%, a major evolution of the Vaporfly 4% shoes that he wore at Monza. The new shoes feature a 15g drop in the weight of the upper, with 15% more midsole added with no overall weight gain.
