Yesterday I achieved a PR or Personal Record in a half marathon running the race in 1:37:57. This is not actually a record of any real type. In fact, 34 of the 656 entrants in this small Chicago race finished before me.
Rewind: Last weekend there was an actual record set in distance running when Brigid Kosgei completed the Chicago Marathon in 2:14:04. This is a world record as it was an sanctioned course (by whom, I don’t know) and checked all of the official boxes needed. This is unlike the event that happened 48 hours earlier in Vienna when Eliud Kipchoge covered the 26.2 mile marathon distance in 1:59:40. While this did represent the fastest time to run the distance, the help of a rotating pacer team, hydration mules (not actual mules as they likely couldn’t keep up) and a pace car shooting lasers to mark the pacer spots disqualifies this from a world record. With that said, I bet Eliud is pretty proud of his accomplishment.
As am I despite the fact that nobody will talk about my accomplishment in years to come. I own the effort and set a record that may stand for some time.
The Daily Digest of Marc Grabowski 