Marathoner’s Nike Shoes Blow Apart, He Wins Anyway (But Misses World Record)

Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge fell 63 seconds short of breaking a marathon world record over the weekend – and he blames his Nike shoes for the failure.

In a runners’ version of a disastrous wardrobe malfunction, Kipchoge spent much of the second half of the race with both his insoles slipping out of his shoes.

Kipchoge’s pace of around 4 minutes and 40 seconds was especially incredible with the insoles peeking out the back of his sneakers.

It is clear how much damage was brought on Kipchoge’s performance, not only he was disabled to take down the new record but also the possibility of inclusion into Kenya’s Olympic marathon ream next summer. He said the pain and discomfort became a major distraction during the 26.2-mile race, which featured Adidas as one of its sponsors.

By the time he reached the finish line, blistered and bloodied, there was little doubt that Eliud Kipchoge had established himself as the world’s best marathoner.

After the race, Kiphoge acknowledged the problem with the shoe stating, “From the first kilometer, I had problems with my shoes” and communicated that he could’ve run faster. Right around the 20-mile mark, Kipchoge made the first significant move of the race. “My goal was the world record but it wasn’t to be today”. The African’s runners are holding eight of the top ten best marathons times in history. “I have been competing using the Nike shoe for long though”. The sole was not glued. I tested them in Kenya but just had bad luck on the day.

Kipchoge clocked 2:04:05 in 2013 only to be beaten by compatriot Wilson Kipsang, who set a then-record of 2:03:23.

“It was not easy”, he told Runner’s World. Gladys Cherono of Kenya beat the 2 hour 20 minutes mark to win the women’s race in 2:19.25 ahead of Ethiopian trio Aberu Kebede, Meseret Hailu and Tadelech Bekele.