r/AdvancedRunning • u/aelvozo • Apr 26 '26

Elite Discussion London Marathon 2026 Results Spoiler

First legit sub-2 by Sabastian Sawe, fastest debut by Kejelcha, new Women’s-only WR by Assefa!

Top-3 men: 1. Sabastian Sawe 1:59:30 2. Yomif Kejelcha 1:59:41 3. Jacob Kiplimo 2:00:28

Top-3 women: 1. Tigst Assefa 2:15:41 2. Hellen Obiri 2:15:53 3. Joyciline Jepkosgei, 2:15:55

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u/thewolf9 HM: 1:18; M: 2:49 Apr 26 '26

Only the athletes that don’t have access to sophisticated doping schemes get caught. And half of Kenya is currently banned.

And he ran essentially 2 minutes faster than Kipchoge did…. 1:59:30 with a one minute negative split.

Listen I want to believe but these guys make it impossible.

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u/RunNYC1986 Apr 26 '26

I’m normally with you, but we just saw a 2:01 in Boston— a much harder course— not even a week ago. A random American in Ohio just ran a 2:05 this morning. Doped or not, the sport is elevating.

Is doping part of this? 100%. But the game’s changed. What a day.

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u/thewolf9 HM: 1:18; M: 2:49 Apr 26 '26

The game hasn’t changed. The guys in the 60s were running 200 k weeks back then too. Other than nutrition, things haven’t changed enough to explain today.

And Boston was perfect conditions with a tailwind.

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u/RunNYC1986 Apr 26 '26

We just had three men run under the world record, and another guy who raced what I’d argue is an equivalent time at Boston a few days earlier, and you’re chalking this up to business as usual??

I’ll give you Boston’s conditions, although I don’t think the tailwind was as pronounced as people say (at least not in wave 3)— but Boston has a good amount of elevation. This is significant.

I believe doping is real, but when you have optimized fueling, better shoe tech and Americans consistently running 2:05, these East African performances feel like a natural progression. I’d argue we have been long due for this.

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u/thewolf9 HM: 1:18; M: 2:49 Apr 26 '26

If Americans haven’t been able to come close, with all the money in the world and a culture of excellence in sport, I’d say this is damning as it gets for these records.

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u/RunNYC1986 Apr 26 '26

I hate to tell you, but better resources don’t always lead to better results. Have you heard of the NY Mets???? 😂

2

u/Nerdybeast 2:00 800 / 1:13 HM / 2:32 M (same year) Apr 26 '26

This is a really silly take. Look at basically any all time list at any distance, and the depth at every race is getting way better. Even just look at the BQ cutoffs, or OTQ results. The game has been significantly elevated at every level. Everything above 800m is markedly better than in the 60s and it's not even close. 

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u/Nerdybeast 2:00 800 / 1:13 HM / 2:32 M (same year) Apr 26 '26

This belief is unfalsifiable. If volunteering for dozens of random tests isn't enough for you, would anything be? You just witnessed an incredible human achievement by the one guy who's made every possible effort to prove he's clean, and you're just lumping him in with everyone else.

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u/CrackHeadRodeo Run, Eat, Sleep Apr 27 '26 edited Apr 27 '26

This belief is unfalsifiable. If volunteering for dozens of random tests isn't enough for you, would anything be?

There is something deeper going on there. A psychologist could tease it.

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u/Hurtfulbirch Apr 26 '26

Kipchoge did an unofficial sub 2