The marathon: ‘the greatest race of them all’

Runners dressed as Batman and Robin. A team of firefighters tied together in a fire engine outfit, trying to set a world record. An astronaut who harnessed himself to a treadmill, 400km above the earth’s surface.

They were some of the 39,698 runners who took part in the London marathon yesterday. But the speediest was Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya, who ran the second fastest marathon in history, missing the world record by just eight seconds.

‘It was good to get a personal best,’ he said. Former Olympic runner Steve Cram, though, said he had produced ‘the best run ever’.

Kipchoge’s time – 2:03:05 – was a reminder of the improvement in men’s elite marathon running since a world record of 2:55:18 was set in 1908. Now the book Two Hours by Ed Caesar suggests a runner from Kenya’s Kalenjin tribe might soon break the most significant milestone in distance running.

Caesar says the Kalenjin’s dominance of the discipline may be because their evolutionary heritage helps them process oxygen. Poverty and violence in their daily lives also encourage a fierce drive to succeed.

Scientific advances and new running-shoe technology could also help to break the two-hour barrier. Some have suggested a ‘moonshot marathon’, in good conditions and with trained pacemakers, to mimick the moment Roger Bannister ran the first sub-four-minute mile in 1954.

Endurance running is a peculiarly human pursuit – runners can go further than any other animal in warm conditions. Scientists say our stone age ancestors evolved to chase meat in hot weather, meaning we have benefited from strong joints and tendons and – most importantly – the ability to keep cool.

And marathons, which have a 2,500-year history, are growing in popularity. More than 1,200 were held in the USA alone in 2014, with over 550,000 people completing them. Yesterday, the millionth runner crossed the line of the London marathon, which has taken place annually since 1981.

Why are we so fascinated by a race which takes place over the eccentric distance of 26 miles and 385 yards?

Born to run

Marathons are thrilling, say some. We appreciate competitors’ physical endurance and ability to overcome a mental puzzle which requires planning, training and a uniquely personal approach. And they are a good leveller — unlike, for example, climbing Everest, anyone can have a try at competing with the best.

The attraction is not the race itself, respond others, but the status it confers. In an age of relative comfort, the marathon fulfils our need to face and overcome obstacles — and as the philosopher Hegel wrote, humans will even risk their lives for prestige and recognition. We love marathons because we want to become ‘marathoners’.