Alex Yee returns to the track still ‘blown away’ by London’s historic sub-two marathon

Alex Yee thought he had plenty of time.

The Olympic triathlon champion had just completed his pacing duties at the London Marathon, covering 28.15 kilometres in 1:23:50 – an average of 2:59 per kilometre, equivalent to his own 2:06 marathon pace in Valencia last year – before stepping off the course and heading for the finish.

He expected to arrive in time to watch the elite race reach its conclusion.

Instead, he emerged from the Tube to discover marathon history had already been made.

‘Blown away’

“I remember I pulled out about 30k of the run and jumped straight on the Tube and expected to be back for the finish of the races because I think we got back at about 2:02,” Yee recalled when he spoke to RUN247 ahead of his return to the Diamond League in Monaco on Friday.

“Then I heard that five people had finished already, so I was a bit blown away.

“To be part of the first official sub-two race and to have two people there was pretty awesome.

“It’s going to be a special day which will be remembered for many years to come and I’m pretty proud that it was able to be in London.”

Yee was one of the official pacemakers on a day which rewrote marathon history, helping guide the third lead group through the opening stages before witnessing the sport break one of its most iconic barriers.

His own relationship with running continues this week when he lines up in the Diamond League, an opportunity that actually arose from his decision to step away from triathlon last year.

“I actually got asked to do it last year,” he explained.

“It just came at the wrong time after I had a little bit of an injury after the London Marathon, so it didn’t quite work.

“We asked if I could do it the year after and they said absolutely.

“It’s really cool to be able to step back on a start line and to have a PB from last year, which takes me a step closer to the ridiculous level those guys are running.

“It gives me confidence and keeps me excited that hopefully I can still be running at my best, still improving and experiencing it in a really cool place.”

What comes next?

For someone who has spent the past year immersed in marathon running, London’s historic day carried extra significance.

Yee admitted he never expected to witness an officially ratified sub-two-hour marathon during his own sporting career.

“I didn’t think I’d see it in my career,” he said.

“But now we’ve seen it happen, I honestly don’t know what comes next.

“I think we’ll either not see it again for 10 years or it will become a consistent feature in most major marathons.”

That uncertainty, he believes, is part of what makes the achievement so remarkable.

While conditions in London were good, they were not perfect for chasing the fastest possible marathon times. Temperatures were warmer than athletes would ideally choose for an all-out world-record attempt, leaving Yee convinced there could still be considerably more to come.

“If you look at those conditions you think, well, potentially there’s another 45 seconds there, which is pretty obscene.

“But I can either see it happening very frequently or not again in my career.”