Marathon, there’s no eternal record
In the marathon at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Korean marathon legend Son Ki-jung broke the 30-minute mark with a time of 2:29:19:2. Seo Yoon-bok, a small giant who won the Boston Marathon in 1947, also set a world record of 2:25:39, making Korea’s potential known to the world with one marathon.
And in 1967, Derek Clayton (Australia) broke the 10-minute barrier in 2:09:36 at the Fukuoka Marathon. Then, in 2003, Paul Turgatt (Kenya) crossed the five-minute barrier with a time of 2:04:55 that was considered impossible in the Berlin Marathon. In the 2022 Berlin Marathon, Kipchoge (Kenya) set a new world record with 2:01:09 to achieve the “one-hour mark” beyond the limits of humans, which is considered a “wall of horses, record of dreams.”
The women’s marathon also completed in 2:14:04 at the 2019 Chicago Marathon, ahead of most men’s records, breaking the 16-year-old world record by 1 minute and 21 seconds ahead of Paula Radcliffe (UK) at the 2003 London Marathon.
Experts also released a study showing that the marathon full course limit record is 1 hour and 57 minutes when simulated under optimal conditions such as weather, course, racing shoes, and condition. To run a 42.195km marathon in an hour and 57 minutes, you need to run 100m in an average time of 16.63 seconds. Kenyae Kipchoge, the best marathoner so far, exceeded the “two-hour limit” for the first time in the history of the world marathon with an unofficial record of 1 hour 59 minutes and 40 seconds, with cutting-edge equipment such as pacemakers and shoes that reduce wind resistance at the INEOS 1:59 Challenge held in Vienna Park, Germany, in October 2019.
In the Korean men’s marathon, the Korean record of 2:07:20 set by Lee Bong-joo, the “people’s marathoner” at the Tokyo International Marathon in 2000 has not been broken for 23 years. In addition, the women’s marathon set by Kwon Eun-joo (independent) at the Chuncheon Marathon in 1997 and Kim Do-yeon (K-water) advanced 31 seconds to 2:25:41 at the Seoul International Marathon in 2018, a new 21-year-old Korean record.
There have been numerous marathoners running 42.195km that can never be reached in a single stroke, trying to overcome the limits of the new record, and will continue to run as long as the history of mankind continues. Because it is an endless challenge to human limits. We firmly believe that there is no eternal record. All records will be broken one day. Marathon is truly a race that shows human victory and experiences extreme human tests.
In the era of 10 million people in Korea, we look forward to seeing junior national athletes dreaming of the second Son Ki-jung and Seo Yoon-bok in the wake of the film “1947 Boston,” which will be released on September 27 in honor of our eternal “marathon heroes” Son Ki-jung, Seo Yoon-bok, Nam Seung-ryong and Ham Ki-yong.