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Re:Sawe becomes first athlete to run a sub-two-hour marathon... by helsinkiandrew on Monday April 27, 2026 @12:56AM (#47917835)
> unless you are competing on a world stage, these aren’t meant for you.

There’s a lot of people trying to get a 3 hour marathon or some other goal where chasing the marginal gains is worth the cost to them.

Re:Sawe becomes first athlete to run a sub-two-hour marathon... by somenameforme on Monday April 27, 2026 @01:59AM (#47918186)
What sort of gain would that be for a non-world class runner? I'm unfamiliar with high level running, but I'm curious as in most sports these sort of things provide a small benefit at the top level (seems to be about a ~3% reduction in times over the past decade since the shoe wars began), and that quickly becomes statistical noise outside of the top due to diminishing returns.
Re:Sawe becomes first athlete to run a sub-two-hour marathon... by helsinkiandrew on Monday April 27, 2026 @02:12AM (#47918263)
But if you really want to reduce your marathon time by 15 minutes, then gaining a few minutes from better shoes, a few minutes from a high altitude training camp/holiday in Flagstaff/Dolomites, and a few minutes from a day at a gait analysis centre, may be worthwhile - or atleast a fun way to spend money on your hobby.
Re:Sawe becomes first athlete to run a sub-two-hour marathon... by Maxion on Monday April 27, 2026 @01:56AM (#47918173)
10% improvement on a 5 hour marathon time is more absolute seconds than on a 2.1hr marathon time.
Re:Sawe becomes first athlete to run a sub-two-hour marathon... by let_rec on Monday April 27, 2026 @06:15AM (#47919732)
But if you could only achieve it by adding the shoe isn't that a bit hollow?

If you are a 3:02 marathoner in normal shoes then run a 3:00 in a super shoe, you are still a 3:02 marathoner in normal shoes.