Is the sub-2 hour marathon imminent? Don't hold your breath, and here's why | The Science of Sport

link

So a man who runs a 59-min half marathon will not be able to sustain two back-to-back 60 min half marathons. It’s just not possible. And so therefore, before we can even consider the sub-2 hour marathon, we need to look at the ability over the half marathon. Until humans can run a half-marathon in under 58-minutes (and here, I’m talking low-57), it will not be possible to produce 59:59 twice in a marathon.

And that can be taken one step further, to 10km. If you are going to see a 57:x half marathon, then you should also be seeing a 10km that is substantially faster than the current 26:x. The 10km performance required to run a 57 is probably in the high 25s.

I’d never considered that. We may get there, but sounds further away than I thought it would be.

Is the sub-2 hour marathon imminent? Don't hold your breath, and here's why | The Science of Sport

Gone Girl

image

I read Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, and really really liked it. It was a welcome change of pace from some of the other recent reading drudgery I’ve put myself through. Just really compelling in its own right. I love when you find an addictive page-turn-y book, whatever the genre, and it just makes you want to read more in general. I only read this book because I heard that David Fincher had his recent movie adaptation coming out. I made it about ~80-85% into the book, and I just couldn’t wait any more before I saw the movie. Kind of a fun way to experience this particular one. I knew nothing about the story, but always had Affleck and Pike’s faces in mind as I was reading, but none of their movements or mannerisms I know from the movie now. I was already well past one big turn in the story, but one climactic scene in the movie tops just about everything. Recommended.

Gone Girl

image

Gone Girl. I loved this one. Pike and Affleck work as both archetypes and just really odd layered characters. Highly disturbing, and like Zodiac, has this seductive quality where you don’t care how long it takes to unfold. I saw it when I was ~80-85% finished with the book – I didn’t want to wait another day. There’s a good chance I’ll catch it in the theaters again. The soundtrack is great, too. As for updated David Fincher rankings… I’ll use recency bias as a tiebreaker, and let this edge in to the second slot:

  1. Zodiac
  2. Gone Girl
  3. The Social Network
  4. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
  5. Seven
  6. Fight Club

Killing Them Softly

image

Killing Them Softly. A steady chain of transactions – literal and figurative distancing from violence – with a constant undertow of economic collapse/politicking in the background. Very heavy-handed, thematically, but it works. Crummy neighborhoods, bare infrastructure, sweat and damp. The scene with Liotta reduced to tears was more disturbing than any movie violence in recent memory. Odd visuals with the shallow focus and vignetting. I love that hyper-experiential scene with the guy getting hight and his fitful conversation – zooms, speed changes, audio shifts, etc. Too bad the packaging was off. This was much more thoughtful and strange than they sold it.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

image

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I loved the trippy oozy music video opening. Seemed like they were trying to kick off a brand. (I’m glad Fincher didn’t get sucked into a trilogy though). Dunno. It’s good. A little cold. Might as well try some David Fincher rankings. I’ll go with…

  1. Zodiac
  2. The Social Network
  3. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
  4. Seven
  5. Fight Club