by Alfonz Juck
The men of the two hour program: Lelisa Desisa, Zersenay Tadesse and Eliud Kipchoge, photo couresy of Nike communications
Plan for 2 hours
MONZA (ITA): An attempt on the sub-two hour marathon mark will take place in Monza, Italy later this year. Eliud Kipchoge, Lelisa Desisa and Zersenay Tadese will all take to a 2.4km loop at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza complex which they will run 17.5 times. “The temperature hovers around 12 degrees Celsius and vapour pressure is under 12mmHg. Additionally, skies are typically overcast (minimising heat load on the runners) and air currents don’t exhibit drastic directional shifts — thanks to the course being perfectly situated off shore and amid many trees,” said Nike in a release. Nike also unveiled product innovation within the Breaking2 project. The Nike Zoom Vaporfly Elite is the “concept car” footwear that is custom designed for each of the three runners participating in Nike’s Breaking2 journey.
Breaking2 logo, courtesy of Nike communications
RunBlogRun opines: This has been described at Nike as their moon shot. I disagree, it is their Mars shot. The lessons from the adventure is what is key. The non race is a bit bizarre, and while I understand the rarefied circumstances needed for world record attempts, this continues to get media attention, for all of the wrong reasons. Energy return? That was a topic that Reebok built an entire genre of running and sports shoes around in the 1990s. Obviously fascinated to see these new shoes. And I have to say, Breaking2 logo is awesome: stark and clean.
