It has been quite an emotional 2024 in the marathon world. We lost one world record holder early in the year, then discovered another one late. It was hard to wrap your head around either, because the first was so tragic, while the second was so polarizing.

When 24-year-old Kelvin Kiptum and his coach Gervais Hakizimana died in a late night auto accident traveling back to their Kaptagat training camp from the city of Eldoret on February 11th, it left a pall hanging over the entire sport.

In the face of such fullness of life, death is even more subversive to the spirit. The only thing similar I could think of was when 2008 Olympic Marathon champion, Sammy Wanjiru, fell to his death in 2011 at his home in Kenya.

Then, when Ruth Chepngetich won her third BofA Chicago Marathon this past October in 2:09:56, becoming the first woman to go under 2:10 for the marathon, while stripping nearly two minutes from the year-old world record set in Berlin 2023 by Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa, it left the entire sport stunned. 

But this is the state of today’s world where cynicism and doubt has overtaken faith and goodwill. Rather than innocent until proven guilty, it’s questioned till proven otherwise, though it will never be 100% either way. 

Just as there are some people that don’t get caught that should get caught in the drug net, there are other people who will get tarred by brushes of accusation who don’t deserve that swipe, either. 

Still, I’m trying like the devil to conceptualize accepting the performances we see today. Many others just doubt them out of hand, using stats to back up either side of the claim. I’ve been a doubter before and probably been right. So this is more of a conceptual rather than intellectual exercise.

I want to see if I can get all the way there, to see if I can stretch my credulity that far, and come away being able to say, ‘I’m okay with this in every way, shape, or form.” Because, at heart, it’s not easy.

Some of that has to do with long-held beliefs. In a career spanning nearly 50 years, you come to accept certain truths. But when the ground shifts beneath your feet, you have to be able to re-orient your thinking. 

Therefore, what these numbers used to represent, they no longer do. 2:10 as we once knew it is not the 2:10 of today. So let’s not get hung up on the numbers by themselves.

Still, the number remains jarring. And when compared to the other world records run in 2024, it still stands as an outlier.

Besides Ruth Chepngetich in the marathon, we saw four other women run standard-distance world records in 2024:

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA) – 400m hurdles – 50.37

Faith Kipyegon (KEN) – 1500m – 3:49.11

Agnes Ngetich (KEN) – 5K Road – 14:13 (= Agnes Tirop 2023)

Beatrice Chebet (KEN) – 10,000m – 28:54.14

Comparing the new women’s world records with the men’s world records, in percentage terms:

1) Marathon = 92.80% of men’s world record

2) 5K Road = 91.52% of men’s world record 

3) 400m Hurdles = 91.20% of men’s world record

4) 10,000m = 90.59% of men’s world record,

5) 1500m =89.94% of men’s world record

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said of McLaughlin-Levrone‘s record, “I’ve only seen one  (in person) in an Olympic Stadium to rival that just in terms of strength of character, physically and mentally, and that was David Rudisha (800m WR) in London winning gun – to – tape.“
     
What’s more, Coe called for a reconsideration of the 400 m hurdles height after Sydney‘s record run. What must he think of Ms. Chepngetich!?

What I need is to find some path to a new truth I can accept, or I’ll have to stop paying attention, altogether. If the cynicism in the sport is so complete, if there is such a complete lack of belief,  if it’s just all one big sh*t-show, then I find myself at fault. 

Former top U.S.marathoner Benji Durden posted the following on Facebook yesterday (Dec. 28, 2024).

“Our sport has a drug problem. It has gotten to point where we don’t think “Wow” when there is a great performance, we wonder what they were on. This petition hopes to address this.”

I made a choice almost five decades ago to pay close attention to this sport at a professional level as broadcaster/reporter. But if this is what it’s become, transactionally, nihilistically, corrupt, then that’s on me for not seeing its limitations early enough. 

I attached myself to this sport because, as a life-long fan, I thought I saw a higher ground in this enterprise, something beyond the corruptions in other human spheres. 

This is yet another attempt to see if I can find that untrammeled ground in which to still plant my youthful flag of wonder, while retaining my journalistic objectivity.

You know how hard it is to keep skepticism at full power? To see everything as worthy of question until proven otherwise, rather than innocent till proven guilty? 

But innocent-until-proven-guilty has burned us so many times, to keep extending it openly, and expecting honesty in return, has begun to look more and more like a fool’s errand. 

It wasn’t that long ago when we used to think there remained at least one spot on earth similar to Eden before A&E noshed on that forbidden apple. But no more. Such a garden does not exist. We are all cored out, fallen creatures. 

But who is to blame? Why wouldn’t the least amongst us game the system after seeing all those in power gaming it forever and a day? How do you reconcile honor and integrity when so little of it is exhibited from on high?

Years ago, we understood how modern-day athletes had out trained the marathon distance, making the marathon more of a speed event at distance, rather than a pure endurance contest. 

And then, with the introduction of the new super shoes in 2016, and their across-all-brands accessibility in the 2020s, the ability to run far at pace improved even more. So, what constitutes an endurance event anymore, ultra events, alone? Anything?

2025 is all but upon us. Here’s hoping our sense of wonder returns and is rewarded in full measure this coming year, even as our diligence in protecting the game against corruption and cynicism remains steadfast, as well. 

Happy New Year to one and all. 

END