Eventual winner Eliud Kipchoge began the race with three pacemakers dedicated to him. After 5 km the gap between him and the Kipsang group was 9 seconds.[3][4] After 15 km two of the pacemakers were unable to continue pacing him. The remaining pacemaker dropped out after 25 kilometres, leaving Kipchoge to cover the final 17 km alone.[5] Kipchoge had planned to run with a pacemaker through 30 km; this adversity "was unfortunate," he reflected post-race, "but I had to believe".[6] Kipchoge accelerated, covering the second half (1:00:33) of the race faster than the first half (1:01:06).[7] In sunny weather conditions, the temperature was 14 °C (57 °F) during the start and 18 °C (64 °F) when Kipchoge crossed the finish line.[8][9][10]
Before the race, Kipchoge stated that he planned to run a new personal best.[11][12] The prize money he made for his Berlin run was €120,000, consisting of €30,000 for finishing in less than 2:04 hours, €40,000 for the win and a further €50,000 for setting a new world record.[3] The world record set during this run was the 8th world record in 20 years in the men's marathon at the Berlin marathon.[3] During the run, Kipchoge used Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4% shoes.[13][14]
The pace during the run averaged to 2:53/km (4:38/mile). The second half of the race in 1:00:33, and the last 10 km was covered in 28:33.[15][16]
It was the most evenly paced marathon ever recorded, with the fastest 5 km interval covered in 14:18 and the slowest in 14:37, a difference of only 19 seconds.[17]
^"Eliud Kipchoge sets new marathon world record". BBC Sport. 17 September 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
^Robinson, Roger (16 September 2018). "Eliud Kipchoge Crushes Marathon World Record at Berlin Marathon". Runners World. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
^ a b cWELT (16 September 2018). "Berlin-Marathon 2018: Kenianer Eliud Kipchoge knackt den Weltrekord". DIE WELT. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
^Cacciola, Scott; Zaveri, Mihir (16 September 2018). "Berlin Marathon Results: Eliud Kipchoge Breaks World Record". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
^"Kipchoge Breaks Marathon World Record in Berlin with Stunning 2:01:39". IAAF. 16 September 2018.
^Chavez, Chris (16 September 2018). "Olympics Eliud Kipchoge Breaks Marathon World Record, Cements Himself As The Greatest Of All-Time". Sports Illustrated.
^Ingle, Sean (16 September 2018). "Eliud Kipchoge smashes world marathon record by 78 seconds in Berlin". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
^Wirz, Jürg (17 September 2018). "Eliud Kipchoge läuft einen Marathon-Weltrekord für die Geschichte | NZZ". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in Swiss High German). ISSN 0376-6829. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
^"Berlin Marathon 2018: Eliud Kipchoge smashes marathon world record, wins third Berlin Marathon". sportingnews.com. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
^"Eliud Kipchoge destroys marathon world record in 2:01:39". SI.com. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
^Cacciola, Scott (14 September 2018). "Eliud Kipchoge Is the Greatest Marathoner, Ever". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
^Cacciola, Scott (14 September 2018). "Eliud Kipchoge Is the Greatest Marathoner, Ever". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
^"Eliud Kipchoge über seinen neuen London-Schuh: "Als ob man fliegt" - laufen.de". www.laufen.de. 19 April 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
^"London Marathon im Highspeed – Farah, Kipchoge und der neue Nike Vaporfly". www.leichtathletik.de | Das Leichtathletik-Portal. 26 April 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
^"Amazing Stats from Eliud Kipchoge's Marathon World Record". Runner's World. 17 September 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
^"Kipchoge's world-record-setting Berlin marathon deconstructed – Canadian Running Magazine". Canadian Running Magazine. 18 September 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
^Geisser, Remo (17 September 2018). "Weshalb der jüngste Marathon-Weltrekord erklärbar ist | NZZ". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in Swiss High German). ISSN 0376-6829. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
^"Official results". Berlin Marathon. Retrieved 16 September 2018.