Hello

Your subscription is almost coming to an end. Don’t miss out on the great content on Nation.Africa

Ready to continue your informative journey with us?

Hello

Your premium access has ended, but the best of Nation.Africa is still within reach. Renew now to unlock exclusive stories and in-depth features.

Reclaim your full access. Click below to renew.

Nike and Adidas running shoes

The shoes of respectively Kenya's world record holder Eliud Kipchoge (Nike, left) and Kenya's Amos Kipruto (Adidas, left) are pictured at a press conference on September 22, 2023 in Berlin, during the presentation of the men's elite runners of the Berlin Marathon scheduled to take place on September 24, 2023.

| Odd Andersen | AFP 

Shoes, pacesetting in focus in Chicago Marathon

What you need to know:

  • The blistering time of 2 hours, 11 minutes 53 seconds set by Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa was inside the previous record by a massive two minutes
  • Kelvin Kiptum, who is the second fastest marathoner of all times, having achieved the feat of 2:01:25 in London in April, and third fastest woman in history, Ruth Chepng’etich ( 2:14:18), could take a shot at the men’s and women’s world records in Chicago
  • Men’s defending champion Benson Kiptruto said that if the pace is good there will be some fast times on Sunday



The marathon world records have steadily fallen since the first officially recognized best time of 2:55:18.4 set on July 24, 1908 by Johnny Hayes of the USA.

But the fall of the women’s record a fortnight ago at the Berlin Marathon was astounding for the time shaved.