Why Kiptum's new world record is an amazing feat

Congratulations are in order for Kenya’s Abraham Kiptum who broke the men’s world record half marathon in Valencia, Spain on Sunday.

He clocked 58:18 seconds to shave five seconds off the mark set by Eritrea’s Zersenay Tadese in 2010.

The record coming only weeks after Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge set the world mark in the full marathon leaves no doubt about the country’s prowess in road running.

Remember, it was still in Valencia where Joyciline Jepkosgei broke the women’s world half marathon record last year. The beauty about Kiptum and his new mark is that there was no hullabaloo around it and when it came, it took all of us by surprise.

Even the organisers had set a target of running inside 59 minutes and had ordered the pace makers to cross the 10km point in 27:50 with no talk of a possible world record assault.

The main pack crossed the 5km mark in 13:56 as per the plan but dipped slightly at the 10km as they went through that checkpoint in 28:02. Kiptum then took over the pace, dropping the rest of the pack with incredible ease and began to cover each kilometre in a stunning 2:44.

A split of 41:40 at 15km - just seven seconds slower than Tadese’s equivalent split from his world record run - suggested that Kiptum was on course to break his PB of 59:09 set six weeks ago in Copenhagen.

Kiptum reached 20km in 55:18 to take three seconds off Tadese’s previous world best of 55:21 set on his way to his world half marathon best of 58:23 in Lisbon eight years ago.

Having covered the second 10km section in 27:16, Kiptum strode home in 58:18 to bring the world record back to his country’s possession with Samuel Wanjiru being his predecessor in 2007 (58:35).

Yes that was our man and the way he tackled things speaks volume about his focus. Running 16km without pace makers was no mean achievement and this depicts a man who knows what he wants and where he is going. His coach Noah Bushienei summed it all having been in charge of the boy for the last five years.

He said: “Kiptum has been consistent with his career. He is very competitive and he is always focused. I am not surprised with the latest news of a record,”
He said Kiptum has always researched on how his opponents are doing around the world including their running styles and consistency and that has made him understand what he wants in his career.

Kiptum’s running style can only be equated to Kipchoge’s and this being the case there is light at the end of the tunnel. Following his feat and considering he hails from Nandi, a similar reception to that accorded Kipchoge will go a long way to motivate him. Have a good day buddies!