Ineos 1:59 Challenge: Eliud Kipchoge

Eliud Kipchoge says he hopes to show there are “no limits” by becoming the first person to break the two-hour marathon barrier. He is attempting the feat for the second time in the Ineos 1:59 Challenge in Vienna, having missed out by 26 seconds in Monza back in 2017.

He is the current world record holder, though this attempt will again not count as an official record as he will be assisted by rotating pacemakers.

Olympic champion Kipchoge, won the London Marathon for the fourth time earlier this year, clocked two hours, 25 seconds in a similar attempt as part of Nike’s Breaking 2 project at the Monza grand prix circuit in Italy.

This time he will run the 26.2 miles over 4.4 laps of a 5.97-mile course in Prater park in the Austrian capital, with the route consisting of two 2.67-mile stretches and two small loops at each end.

The location was selected because of the favorable climate, excellent air quality and almost completely flat terrain, with only 2.4 metres of incline over the entire route.

The attempt is being funded by petrochemicals company Ineos – owned by Britain’s richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe – which also sponsors the cycling team of the same name.

The Ineos team assessed the weather conditions before selecting Saturday as the attempt date, with Kipchoge also hoping the course will be lined with spectators, unlike his previous attempt.

Kipchoge will be assisted by 41 pacemakers, who will be helped to maintain a constant speed by a leading pace car that will beam lasers onto the road.

The pacemakers will rotate twice each lap and Kipchoge will be handed his drinks and energy gels from a bike every 3.1 miles, instead of picking them up from a table. The IAAF, did not recognise his first attempt as the official marathon world record and will not sanction this one either.

Kipchoge broke the official record by running 2:01:39 in the 2018 Berlin Marathon, while Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele fell two seconds short of that mark in this year’s race.