In breaking the two-hour time barrier for the marathon, Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge wants you to challenge what's possible.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
It's something to take on board when you're pounding the pavement in The Canberra Times Fun Run next Sunday.
When the lungs are burning, the legs are heavy and there's still one kilometre to go take inspiration from the fact no one thought a sub two-hour marathon was possible.
The Olympic gold medallist and world-record holder's effort is even more amazing when you consider this - he would've broken the record for both the 5km and 10km fun runs.
His first five took just 14 minutes and 10 seconds - well under Yosef Gemechu's record of 14:19 - and his 10km mark was 28:20 - eclipsing Canberra's former world champion Robert de Castella record of 29:01 from 1990.
Then Kipchoge kept going. For another 32km. At the same speed.
Yeah sure, he had a bit of help. Fresh pacers coming in and out to protect him in a pack.
A moving laser beam on the road showing him where he needed to be.
Plus some super-flash, state-of-the-art sneakers with three carbon-fibre plates in them to help hurl him down the road like springs.
So it wasn't under race conditions. But it's shown what's possible.
Two-time Olympian Shaun Creighton, who broke the over-50s marathon record three weeks ago, hoped it was a Roger Bannister moment.
Bannister was the first to break the four-minute mile, which opened the floodgates for others to do it.
Creighton will run The Canberra Times Fun Run, albeit with legs still feeling the effects of the Melbourne marathon.
"To achieve anything you've got to believe you can do it otherwise you're not going to have a crack at it," he said.
"That's a very, very significant step for elite marathon runners to know that it is humanly possible for someone to run under two hours.
"I think what Kipchoge has said is he's testing what people believe is possible.
"So the take-home message that Kipchoge would show us is set goals above what you think you're capable of.
"Against that you've also got to set realistic goals."
READ MORE:
While life is like a box of chocolates, running is like a bucket of water.
Pace is king. Both Creighton and de Castella say the key is to not go out too fast - or too slow.
Creighton has his trusty smartwatch beeping at him every kilometre to allow him an easy way to keep track of how fast he's going.
For "Deek", who's at the New York marathon for the Indigenous Marathon Project, running is a "body, mind and spirit" exercise.
You need to be fit from training, smart enough to run at your pace and then spirit kicks in when the energy's running out.
"In a lot of ways running is like pouring a bucket of water out," de Castella said.
"You've got to be able to pour it evenly throughout the entire distance of the race so when you get to the finish line there's nothing left in the bucket.
"You don't want to pour it too fast at the start, you don't want to pour it too slow."
CANBERRA TIMES FUN RUN:
- Men's 5km: Yosef Gemechu 14:19 (2018)
- Women's 5km: Melinda Witchard 17:04 (2018)
- Men's 10km: Robert de Castella 29:01 (1990)
- Women's 10km: Krishna Wood 32:20 (1986)