The tech that made a 2-hour marathon possible

September 8, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

In 1991, a researcher named Michael Joyner published a paper arguing that, based on the limits of human physiology, someone should be able to run a marathon in 1 hour and 58 minutes. For decades, the idea seemed like science fiction. When journalist Alex Hutchinson wrote a feature for Runner's World in 2014 examining the prospects of a sub-two-hour marathon, he concluded it would happen — but not until 2075. A decade later, two runners broke the barrier in the same official race. The short answer for why Hutchinson was off by half a century: shoes got very fast, very quickly.

The mechanics of the super shoe

The shoe that changed everything was the Nike Vaporfly 4%, released in 2016. Its name came from a stunning finding: when tested at the University of Colorado, runners were, on average, 4% more efficient — meaning they could run at a given pace using 4% less energy. This was unheard of in a sport that had seen incremental gains for decades.

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What you'll learn

1 (06:08) **Context: Why a two-hour marathon is a historic milestone** - Alex Hutchinson explains the significance of the round-number barrier and how his 2014 prediction of 2075 turned out to be half a century too pessimistic.
2 (07:41) **The short answer: shoes got really fast** - Hutchinson identifies the development of "super shoes" as the single most transformative technological factor.
3 (08:18) **How super shoes actually work (nobody fully agrees)** - A breakdown of the key components and the mystery of their combined effect.
4 (10:05) **How super shoes differ from traditional trainers** - A comparison of old and new technology and the controversy they sparked.
5 (11:34) **Nike's Breaking2 project: controlling every variable** - How Nike designed an exhibition race to break the two-hour barrier by optimizing conditions beyond just shoes.
6 (14:28) **The 2017 and 2019 attempts: Kipchoge's near-miss and breakthrough** - How the technology and strategy evolved between the two exhibition races.
7 (15:56) **The ongoing arms race in shoe materials** - Why running shoes have continued to improve year after year, unlike other sports equipment.

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Show Notes

At this year's London Marathon, two runners completed the route in under two hours, becoming the first people to ever do so on an official course. It's a feat that Outside magazine's Alex Hutchinson once thought wouldn't be accomplished until 2075. The Verge's senior policy reporter (and marathoner) Lauren Feiner talks to Alex about "super shoes" and the other surprising technological advances that led to this moment.