Why Eliud Kipchoge can’t officially break his own marathon world record in Boston

Despite its popularity and history, the Boston Marathon course does not comply with World Athletics rules regarding "official" records.

Eliud Kipchoge after winning the Berlin Marathon in 2022 and setting a new official marathon world record. AP Photo/Christoph Soeder

By Hayden Bird

April 6, 2023

3 minutes to read

World record marathoner Eluid Kipchoge will be at the starting line of the Boston Marathon for the first time in his illustrious career when the race gets underway on April 17.

Yet should the 38-year-old Kenyan smash his own world record during his Boston debut, it won’t officially count. This is due to rules set down by World Athletics (the international governing body that presides over road running, among other sports).

According to World Athletics, Boston’s course falls outside what the acceptable standards are for official records to be set. This is not a strike against the quality or popularity of the event, but simply to do with the route and elevation.

Why a record in Boston wouldn’t count

According to World Athletics rules, world records in certified road race marathons can only happen on specific types of courses. Boston, unlike several other World Marathon Majors, does not go in a loop (or have its finish line within relatively close proximity to the starting point).

“Performances achieved on courses where the start and finish points, measured along a theoretical straight line between them, are further apart than 50% of the race distance are…not valid for world records,” reads the World Athletics website.

The reason for this is due to the consistency a looped course creates, especially regarding wind. A “point-to-point” marathon (such as Boston) could potentially force runners to deal with a headwind (or tailwind) for a majority of the race.

The other reason a record in Boston can’t officially count is due to elevation. Specifically, World Athletics deems that “Performances achieved on courses with a drop in elevation between the start and the finish which exceeds 1:1000, i.e. one meter per kilometer” are also not valid for world records.

Elevation changes beyond the 1:1000 scale can — like wind on a non-loop course — serve to create unnatural conditions for runners, potentially helping (on downhill) or hurting (on uphill).

Over the entirety of the course, the Boston Marathon descends approximately 137 meters, putting its scale of elevation change close to 3.24 meters per kilometer.

What does this mean for Kipchoge?

Kipchoge broke his own world record in Sept. 2022 when he ran the Berlin Marathon with a time of 2:01:09. It was the eighth consecutive time since 2003 that the men’s marathon record was officially broken during Berlin’s version of the event, which provides runners with a largely flat course.

During that time, Boston winner Geoffrey Mutai ran what was technically then the fastest marathon ever — breaking the tape in 2011 with a time of 2:03:02 — but given the course, his mark did not stand as the world record (it would be officially eclipsed in 2014, again in Berlin).

No runner since Mutai in 2011 has posted a time under 2:05:00 in Boston, given the varying weather conditions, wind, race tactics along the hills, and the field itself.

“It is very fast, but I try my best,” Kipchoge said of Mutai’s course record in an interview with Boston Globe reporter John Powers. “I will put all my mind here, try to push myself to see what will happen.”

Looking towards what he might accomplish, it’s worth noting that Kipchoge has never run an official race on a course like Boston (having also never run the New York City Marathon). This will be an unprecedented test for the two-time Olympic champion.

Still, he frequently trains on a hills with the specific aim of preparing for the unique nature of Boston.

“I think it’s the right time now to train on the Boston route, which we have named it here in Kenya,” Kipchoge said in a video from late March. “It’s really uphill and [a] tough course [for] all 40 kilometers. I think I will benefit from it.”