Science says Eliud Kipchoge could technically run a marathon in under 1 hour 15 minutes
Reading Time: 2min | Sat. 24.08.24. | 16:33
It would require very specific conditions—but it’s possible
Eliud Kipchoge is considered the greatest marathon runner in the world. Despite failing in his quest for a record third Olympics title in Paris, instead failing to finish for the first time in his career, many feel he has nothing to prove.
However, scientists have a different idea. Apparently, there are enough worlds out there for Kipchoge to conquer. Because as it turns out, outer space might offer a way for the G.O.A.T. of running to shave even more time off his marathon.
Now, this proposition might seem a bit odd if your only image of people moving in space is those old grainy videos of astronauts in space suits slowly striding across the lunar surface.
But a 2017 study took a look at how running would be affected by a decrease in gravity in outer space—particularly Mars—and the data suggest that a trip to the stars might make Kipchoge even faster.
The study found that as gravity decreased, there was a proportional decrease in ground reaction forces during the first and second force peaks (the first 20 percent and 40–60 percent of the contact phase, respectively) as well as an increase in stride length.
As noted by NASA, Mars’ gravity is approximately 38 percent of what we experience here on Earth. As such, since the increase in running performance is purportedly proportional to the decrease in gravity, it would stand to reason that Kipchoge’s performance would see a 62 percent increase if he were sprinting on the fourth planet from the sun.
So, assuming optimal running conditions, if Kipchoge’s peak performance for a marathon was a time of 1:59:40, or 119.67 minutes, then a 62 percent performance increase could see Kipchoge completing a marathon in just 1:14:12, or a staggering 74.2 minutes!
