These are the pacing and fueling techniques that will help guide Lelisa Desisa, Eliud Kipchoge and Zersenay Tadese to the first-ever sub-two-hour marathon finish.
An electric car informs key information
In this attempt, pace is everything. To help Kipchoge, Desisa and Tadese remain aware of the pace they need to maintain to hit their 1:59:59 target, an electric car (that won’t blast the athletes with exhaust) will drive about six meters ahead of the pack, showing the race pace, the amount of time that has passed and the projected marathon finish time.
“This is typical of most road races, but the Breaking2 lead car will update this info every 200 meters whereas other races typically update these stats every kilometer or 5K,” says Dr. Brett Kirby, researcher and lead physiologist of the Nike Sport Research Lab.