How fast can one run 42.1954 kilometers, and why would anyone care?

[DGS49]

Kenyan Kiptum smashes men's marathon world record in Chicago

Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum shattered the men's marathon world record in Chicago on Sunday, winning in two hours and 35 seconds to beat compatriot Eliud Kipchoge's previous mark by more than 30 seconds.

www.reuters.com

I have to wonder how long it will take for metric fanatics to abolish the traditional distance of 26 miles 385 yards for the marathon, and change it to 40 kilometers or some such distance that is tidier in metric units.

After all, they did it with the mile run. The whole world knew it when a runner bested the four minute mark that he was a world class competitor, but if there is a "metric mile" (I don't know if such a distance exists in track competition), who the hell knows or cares what the record is?

Wouldn't it be ironic if some runner was poised to finish a marathon in under two hours when the distance was abolished by the world track & field overlords in favor of a metric distance that made more sense to them?

 

[ReinyDays]

Yeah ... it's only 25 miles between Marathon and Athens ...

"For the next few Olympics, the length of the marathon remained close to 25 miles. But at the 1908 Games in London, the course was extended, allegedly to accommodate the British royal family. Reportedly, Queen Alexandra requested that the race start on the lawn of Windsor Castle (so the littlest royals could watch from the window of their nursery, according to some accounts) and finish in front of the royal box at the Olympic stadium—a distance that happened to be 26.2 miles (26 miles and 385 yards). The random boost in mileage ended up sticking, and in 1921 the length of a marathon was formally standardized at 26.2 miles (42.195 kilometers)." {Cite} from The History Channel ...

 

[MarathonMike]

Kenyan Kiptum smashes men's marathon world record in Chicago

Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum shattered the men's marathon world record in Chicago on Sunday, winning in two hours and 35 seconds to beat compatriot Eliud Kipchoge's previous mark by more than 30 seconds.

www.reuters.com

I have to wonder how long it will take for metric fanatics to abolish the traditional distance of 26 miles 385 yards for the marathon, and change it to 40 kilometers or some such distance that is tidier in metric units.

After all, they did it with the mile run. The whole world knew it when a runner bested the four minute mark that he was a world class competitor, but if there is a "metric mile" (I don't know if such a distance exists in track competition), who the hell knows or cares what the record is?

Wouldn't it be ironic if some runner was poised to finish a marathon in under two hours when the distance was abolished by the world track & field overlords in favor of a metric distance that made more sense to them?

Nonsense. The mile is still the mile, there was no mythical "metric mile mark" that abolished Roger Bannister's record and there will be no metric marathon mark that will abolish the 2 hour marathon mark when it happens.