Is a sub-2 hour marathon possible?

Heard an item on the radio this morning in which Dave Bedford and Haile Gebrselassie both predicted that a runner will one day break the two hour barrier for a marathon? One experts predicts that target will be breached by 2028. Do you think a sub-2 hour marathon is ever possible?

Who am I to argue with Dave Bedford and Haile Gebrselassie? Think if they think its possible then don't see why not. Not sure it will happen in that aggressive timetable though. Would need everything coming together, an athlete at the peak of their form, perfect course, right pace making right weather etc etc. Probably will happen one day as there are very few records (non drug assisted) that don't get chipped away bit by bit.

In the first 100 years of the modern era it came down by 50 minutes. In the last 30 by 5 minutes....so it may take some time but those 4 minutes needed are "only" just over 8 seconds a mile :-)

I'm sure one day it will be done but it is insane to think that someone could be capable of running 13 miles in an hour. That is probably quicker than my sprinting speed!

of course it will be done.  Roger Bannister and the 4 minute mile comes to mind.  That was supposed to be an impossibility.....

generations get bigger, stronger, faster than the previous ones, so it will be done. 

As to when, now thats a different question.....

Of course it will be done, although I'm not sure the timeframe will be withthin the next 20 years. It will take someone who is the most freakishly gifted runner (much in the way that Usain Bolt is in sprints) who comes along not even every generation, and then combined with a superb sports science team behind them they could push the athlete to the limits of human endurance. I'm sure all bets are on it being an African.

How about Boston last week??? Won't be officially recognised as a record due to undulations (although some runners think it is a tougher course than London or Berlin) but Geoffrey Mutai smashed Geb's time in 2hr 3min 2s!! Even second place would have beaten it too.

Boston was a great run on a normally hard course but the freakish conditions made the race very favourable for the athletes. 12mph winds all the way from start to finish produce great times. Regardless of that I think it will have a big effect of the mentality of runners looking to break the world record. I think the best result came from the guy in 2nd place at Boston. That was his 1st marathon!

I think we will see a similar thing to the four minute mile. Everyone will want to be that first person to get it. Cant wait for the record to get nearer and nearer so there will be more hype around it.

Is it inevitable that if the sub-2 hour barrier is breached that it is going to be by an African? Perhaps a European with the right frame and backing might be able to do it?

The Americans seem to present the biggest threat to African dominance. Ryan Hall is right up there with them now.

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The Americans seem to present the biggest threat to African dominance. Ryan Hall is right up there with them now.

Ryan Hall's performance at Boston this year was superb but even still he came in fourth. There are younger and better Africans coming through all the time.

I wonder if any bookies are offering odds on the nationality of the first athlete to break the 2 hour mark?

It's bound to happen, though it could be a good few generations off. Each generation seems to get bigger - just take a look at your own kids, if they are teenagers they are probably bigger than you already - and this coupled with improvements in sports science, nutrition, training will mean that the sub-2 will happen eventually.  

One things is certain, it won't be a Brit will it? Unless, of course, we adopt a runner and get him to run in a GB vest.

Quoted from fivetimes

Well after Mo Farah's Eurpoean record the other week we are a step further (26.46 for 10,000 see http://www.realbuzz.com/blogs/u/Footnote/athlete-s-foot/posts/welcome-to-your-new-training-calendar-go-mo/). That puts him on for a 2.05 marathon.

Obviously this is whether you accept Mo as a Brit.