Former world marathon record holder Dennis Kimetto knows what it feels like to do what was thought impossible. On a sunny morning in Berlin on September 28, 2014, the athlete would become the first man in history to run a marathon under 2 hours and 3 minutes.
He completed the 41st Berlin Marathon in 2:02:57, shaving 26 seconds off Wilson Kipsang’s world record on the same course a year earlier. His second half of the race that day, completed in 1:01:12, was the fastest ever.
Twelve years later, Kimetto, now aged 42, has retired. Kimetto, who is now a farmer in Eldoret, told Nation Sports that the world has yet to witness history, and that the current record will be lowered further thanks to new technology and sports science in running.
“The sport has changed, and it has been interesting to see how the record has been lowered over the years. We will even see an athlete run a marathon in under 1:55 very soon, and that is, of course, due to various factors, including technology,” he said.
The current world record is held by Sebastian Sawe, who attained the feat at London Marathon on 26 April by becoming the first man to officially run a marathon under two hours when he clocked 1:59:30.
Sponsored by the Adidas team under the 2Running Athletics Club in Kapsabet, Nandi County, Sawe wore the 96-gram Adizero Pro Evo 3 supershoe, which he described as ‘faster than anything before’. He beat Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha (1:59:41) and Jacob Kiplimo (2:00:28).
This has been called the greatest marathon ever. All three runners surpassed Kelvin Kiptum’s previous official record of 2:00:35 set in Chicago in 2023.
Kimetto said Sawe’s run was not a surprise, and that it was only a matter of time before another record was broken. “Technology and the constantly evolving shoes, especially for road racers, are the biggest factor here, because those are not the types of shoes we used in our day,” said Kimetto.
In the 2014 historic race, Kimetto wore relatively flat racing shoes. There was no carbon plate. There was no super foam, and he remembers his splits: 14:42, 14:42, 14:46, 14:26, 14:32, 14:30, 14:09 and 14:42 for every 5 km.
Former Marathon World Record Holder, Dennis Kimetto trains at Kapng’etuny in Uasin Gishu County on March 7, 2019.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation Media Group
“We trained hard, but the shoes were simple. Today, companies are investing millions in shoes that enable athletes to train more, recover faster and race faster,” said Kimetto.
He said when they were running, they used to feel the road. Now, the shoe does part of the work, which is why times are changing so quickly—a trend he expects to continue for some time. But he said the record will depend not only on the shoe and technology, but also on hard work, endurance, and speed during the marathon race.
“The training regime has changed compared to our day. Athletes are now doing more mileage, which gives them an advantage, and they have to be strong because a marathon is not easy. Good planning and discipline are key when preparing for a race,” he said.
In Kimetto’s era, running 180–200 km per week was considered extreme, but now athletes are running up to 220–260 km per week, and with more intensity. Kimetto believes the record could be broken again as soon as December 7 during the Valencia Marathon, when John Korir, winner of the Chicago Marathon in 2024 and the Boston Marathon in 2025 and 2026, clash with Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia.
While winning the Boston Marathon, Korir ran a course record of 2:01:52, breaking Geoffrey Mutai’s previous record of 2:03:02.
“They’re doing double thresholds, longer runs at a faster pace and using altitude tents. In our day, we ran hard but rested more. Nowadays, they run hard and then recover in shoes that protect them,” said Kimetto.
Kimetto’s record is part of a Kenyan dynasty that has dominated the marathon world for most of the last two decades. Of the last 10 official men’s world records, eight have been set by Kenyans, starting with Paul Tergat’s time of 2:04:55 in the 2003 Berlin Marathon, which made him the first man to run under 2:05. In 2007, Ethiopia’s legendary runner Haile Gebrselassie lowered the record to 2:04:26, then broke his own record at the 2008 Berlin Marathon with a time of 2:03:59.
In 2011, Patrick Makau lowered the record further to 2:03:38 in Berlin, taking 21 seconds off Haile’s mark. In 2013, Wilson Kipsang ran the fastest time in history, clocking 2:03:23 — 15 seconds faster than Makau — but this record lasted only a year, until Kimetto broke it. On the same day, fellow Kenyan Emmanuel Mutai also broke the old record with 2:03:13.
Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge stands in front of a clock displaying his time after winning the Berlin Marathon setting a new world record with 2h01m39s on September 16, 2018 in Berlin. PHOTO | JOHN MACDOUGALL |
In 2018 at the Berlin Marathon, Eliud Kipchoge smashed Kimetto’s time by one minute and 18 seconds, becoming the first man to run a marathon in under two hours and two minutes.
At the same race, in 2022, Kipchoge lowered his record again, shaving off 30 seconds to clock 2:01:09.
Kenyans had vowed to ensure the record remained at home, and in 2023, Kelvin Kiptum broke the record at the Chicago Marathon with a time of 2:00:35. He was 23 years old. It was only his third marathon. He tragically died in a car crash in February 2024, aged 24.
At the 2026 London Marathon, Sawe made history by becoming the first man to officially run under the two-hour mark, clocking 1:59:30.
Last week, he confirmed Kimetto’s remarks that it is possible to lower the mark, stating that he believes it is still possible to run faster than that.
Kimetto believes the record could be broken again as soon as December 7 during the Valencia Marathon, when John Korir, winner of the Chicago Marathon in 2024 and the Boston Marathon in 2025 and 2026, face off with Yomif Kejelcha.
“With Korir preparing to compete against Yomif Kejelcha at the Valencia Marathon in December, the record could be broken again. Valencia is relatively flat with good weather and pacers, so if they work together, they could run 1:58,” he said.
Sawe, who was planning to race in Berlin in September in an attempt to achieve a time of under 1:59, but then withdrew due to a stress fracture in his right tibia, is now aiming to make a full recovery by spring 2027 and return to London.
Kimetto, who struggled with injuries since 2016, pulling out of Chicago with a stress fracture and missing Boston due to a knee injury, warns about mileage. “More mileage is good, but it must be managed. That is why I say 1:55 is possible, but athletes must avoid injury. The shoes help, but the body is still human.”
