News Physics

How to run a marathon in under two hours

It takes an elite athlete like Eliud Kipchoge plus other runners set up to reduce air resistance

Eliud Kipchoge spreads his arms in jubilation as he finishes a sub 2 hour unofficial marathon in Vienna.

In 2019 in Vienna, elite runner Eliud Kipchoge finished an unofficial marathon in under two hours.

Alex Halada/AFP/Getty Images

By Zack Savitsky

In an unofficial race in Vienna in 2019, Kenyan long-distance runner Eliud Kipchoge became the first person ever to run a marathon in under two hours. A new study shows how teamwork made that feat possible.

Kipchoge ran with a rotating posse of pacers, other runners who deflected some of his air resistance in a process known as drafting.