Melbourne Marathon – Run Your Best Time!

It’s the  Melbourne Marathon this weekend; a hard act to follow after the recent achievements in Berlin! The marathon world record has been broken five times in the last eight years, and every time it was in Berlin.

This year Dennis Kimetto from Kenya broke the marathon world record by 26 seconds in a time of 2hrs 2 mins and 57 sec. Kimetto’s average pace per mile was 4mins 41.5sec, and he ran each 400m in just under 70 sec. The second place getter Emmanuel Mutai also from Kenya also broke the record in a time of 2hrs 2 mins and 3 sec. Last year the record was broken in Berlin by Wilson Kipsang by 15 seconds in a time of 2hr 3mins and 23 sec.

So how do they do it? Berlin is a flat course with few corners. Running on asphalt rather than concrete seems to be better with runners reporting fewer problems with their joints. Berlin in September has more optimal weather conditions with not much wind and a temperature of 12-18 degrees C.

How do other cities compare? London undulates more, and there can be a headwind along the Thames. Boston’s finish line is so much lower than the start that it makes it ineligible for world record attempts. Chicago often too hot, and New York has too many hills

There is plenty of speculation about cracking the 2hr mark in the near future, but even with 20 sec improvements each time, it will take 9 years to crack the 2 hour barrier.

So what about Melbourne this Sunday? According to the BOM, the forecast for Melbourne is for a high of 21 and low of 11 degrees C. Wind up to 25km/h and a chance of showers. The elevation map online shows a mostly flat course with undulations up and down of 10metres.

The Pure Team want to wish all runners the best of luck.  We are looking forward to hearing about some PB’s, but perhaps not a world record.

Back to blog home