Tomorrow’s London Marathon will be a great opportunity to see how merely mortal we really are. It will give us the chance to see where we fit, our place if you will, in the grand scheme of today’s world marathoning.
My place? My last marathon (4:14, Lincoln 2011) is the only standard I can use. Hard to swallow but Real for this comparative purpose. When I finish the Lincoln Half on May 5 (under trained to be sure- I’ve been running only twice a week for the last month), my time will likely mirror what these studs will run for the full 26.2.
Your place? We’ll find out in a couple of weeks at Lincoln.
Consider the personal bests of the top 10 men entered for London, being described as the Greatest Men’s field ever assembled for a marathon:
1. Wilson Kipsang, 2:03:42 (defending London Champ, 31 years old)
2. Patrick Makau, 2:03:38 (World Record holder, 28 years old)
3. Geoffrey Mutai, 2:04:15 (World Marathon Majors Champ, 31 years old)
4. Ayele Abshero, 2:04:23 (22 years old)
5. Tsegaye Kebede, 2:04:38 (2010 London Champ, 26 years old)
6. Emmanuel Mutai, 2:04:40 (2011 London Champ, 28 years old)
7. Feyisa Lilesa, 2:04:52 (23 years old)
8. Stanley Biwott, 2:05:12 (27 on race day)
9. Deressa Chimsa, 2:05:42 (26 years old)
10. Stephen Kiprotich, 2:07:20 (2012 Olympic Champ)
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