Why 1:59 matters

Hello! Welcome back to Footprint – and happy Friday.

Sabastian Sawe made history at the London Marathon, becoming the first man to topple the two-hour barrier in an official marathon – and completing a quest which dates back over a century.

Journalist Ed Caesar, who wrote the book on this extraordinary pursuit, noted in the Observer that only one man (Spyridon Louis) broke three hours in the very first modern Olympic marathon, in Athens in 1896. The world’s fastest runners have had two in their sights ever since.

Eliud Kipchoge changed the game in 2019, and proved to the world that this might even be possible, when he broke two hours in a time trial. But the marathon is a race. And for seven more years, noone raced a marathon in under two hours.

It happened not once, but twice, on the streets of London late last month. Sawe might have won the race, but the runner-up, Yomif Kejelcha, also finished in less than two hours. It was his debut marathon.

Elite running has entered a new era. Kipchoge hailed “proof that we are just at the beginning of what is possible when talent, progress and an unwavering belief in the human potential come together”.

What does this mean for the rest of us? “I think it should encourage everyone to set big goals,” journalist Alex Hutchinson told WBUR, explaining that something he thought might take five decades happened in one. “And even if it takes ten years to get there, you’ll make progress.”

Three pieces worth your time this weekend…

📖 How Mary Cain exposed Nike’s disgraced coaching team | In a new memoir, the teen track prodigy, now 29, describes her wrenching stint on the sportswear giant’s Oregon Project. “I’ve had a lot of people ask me if I regret things,” she tells Maggie Mertens in the Guardian. “I was abused. I can’t regret that.”

🏅 Rachel Entrekin wins Cocodona 250 | The two-time defending women's champion set a new course record, David Gleisner reports for Outside Run, and became the first woman to win the race outright.

⏱ How Charles Hicks ran a 2:04 marathon | From staying level to “delusional optimism,” coach Alex Ostberg lists ten lessons after one of his athletes ran the second-fastest marathon ever run by an American man.

The running boom continues, Part I: a record 1.34 million people applied to run next year’s London Marathon, as organizers seek permission to hold the race over two days for the first time.

More than a million applications came from the UK alone: an estimated 1.8% of the country’s population. More than a third of these applications came from runners between the ages of 18 and 29.

Results of the ballot will be announced in early July.

Organizers announced that 59,830 people finished this year’s race, another record. Should they get the green light to hold a two-day event, some 100,000 will toe the start line next spring.

The running boom continues, Part II: Brooks announced the brand’s strongest ever financial quarter.

Right across the world, Brooks said business is surging. Sales in North America? Up 20% in the first three months of 2026. Europe, Middle East, and Africa? 30%. China? 136%.

Dan Sheridan, the firm’s CEO, said there is no sign of demand fading. “Here’s what we know about the run category historically,” he told Bloomberg. “It’s pretty resilient. It’s durable. And if you think about it in comparison to other sports or categories, this is a pretty affordable sport.

“You know, for $150, you can buy a pair of running shoes and and those will last you, for some some people, up to six months. You compare that to golf, or skiing, or any outdoor sport… It’s still a very affordable sport.”

Harry Newton, 88, was the oldest person to finish this year’s London Marathon – the 22nd time he has completed the race. “Today was a bit slower than I have ever done it before,” he said afterwards. “But that is age, isn’t it?”