Marathon Running in 2025: The Strongest Countries and Deepest Fields
49m
In this episode of The Sweat Elite podcast, hosts Luke and Matt dive into marathon statistics for the year 2025, analyzing the strongest nations and the fastest races. They discuss the sub-2:10 performances for men and sub-2:25 for women, highlighting the dominance of Kenya, Ethiopia, and Japan. Alex Yee's impressive 2:06:38 at the Valencia Marathon is also examined, with an in-depth look at his training from Strava. The episode touches on the concept of elite versus sub-elite marathon times, the role of shoe brands in elite performances, and the recent challenges faced by the Grand Slam Track League. Additionally, the hosts mention the surge in Olympic Trials qualifiers from the California International Marathon.
00:00 Introduction and Episode Overview 00:36 Strongest Countries in the Marathon 2025 10:38 Deepest Marathon Events 2025 17:56 Defining Elite and Sub-Elite Marathon Standards 24:20 Olympic Trials Qualifying at CIM 25:20 Debate on Olympic Standards
29:11 Alex Yee - Valencia Marathon Training Analysis