Two hours down the track

Of the great sporting imponderables that have come into clearer view over the past few days — will The Archers’ Lily Pargetter ever score any runs for Ambridge and herald a bold new world for women’s cricket? Will we see the first sub-two-hour marathon? — only one can be answered with clarity. As for hapless Lily, heaven knows, but unquestionably we will soon find the holy grail of distance running. By soon, I mean I hope it will happen in my lifetime, and I am knocking on a bit.

It came tantalisingly close last weekend in an extraordinary project bringing together the millions and the marketing whizz of Nike with the endurance genius of African distance runners. Before sunrise on the flat, gentle course of the Monza motor racing circuit in Italy, three elite runners set off with the aim of breaking two hours. They were shepherded by a squad of equally elite pacemakers who came in and out, running in an arrowhead formation to protect the runners from wind resistance.