Report: Kelvin Kiptum Telling People He Ran '2-Hour Marathon,' Leaving Out the '35 Seconds' Part
/
Kelvin Kiptum, the 23-year-old Kenyan who broke the world record at Sunday’s Chicago Marathon with a time of 2:00:35, is now saying in casual conversation that he ran “a 2-hour marathon,” Dumb Runner has learned—an assertion that running etiquette experts called misleading and dishonest.
“He’s totally telling people things like ‘I ran a 2-hour marathon’ and ‘my marathon PR is 2 hours,’” according to a source close to Kiptum who requested anonymity. “And he didn’t.”
“He ran a 2-hour 35-second marathon,” the source added. “His PR is 2 hours 35 seconds.”
“I mean, come on, man.”
With his 2:00:35 time, Kiptum beat Eliud Kipchoge's previous world record, set last year, by 34 seconds. In doing so, he became the first person ever to run under 2 hours 1 minute on a record-eligible course—a remarkable achievement by any measure.
Still, experts said, critics have a point about Kiptum’s alleged fudging.
“It’s just not cool,” said me, handsome author of “The Runner’s Rule Book” and an acknowledged expert on running etiquette. “The widely accepted rule is that you may round a personal record down to the nearest minute only for times ending in 29 seconds or fewer; if your PR ends in 30 seconds or more, you round up.”
Following that rule, Kiptum would refer casually to his finishing time Sunday as “2:01”—not “2 hours.”
Of course, experts noted, a better approach would be not to round up or down but simply to describe a PR in hours, minutes, and seconds.
“Why not be precise, and avoid any confusion?” I said.
After repeated calls and texts requesting comment, Kiptum blocked Dumb Runner’s number.
