Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance

by Alex Hutchinson

according to a 2006 analysis by University of Nottingham researcher David Gardner, winning times at major races like the Kentucky Derby and the Epsom Derby have remained stagnant since about 1950. Over the same period, winning times at major marathons such as the Olympics continued to drop by more than 15 percent.20 A champion marathoner and a champion horse are both physiological marvels; the difference is that the marathoner can look beyond the present moment. Secretariat’s Kentucky Derby record of 1:59.4 has stood since 1973. Nearly thirty years later, in 2001, Monarchos became only the second horse to dip under 2:00 at the Derby, winning by five lengths. Could he have challenged Secretariat’s record? Perhaps if Secretariat had been there in front of him. But only humans can make the abstract leap to virtual competition: if you know that someone, somewhere, has covered a given distance in 1:59.4, you know that it’s possible to cover that distance in 1:59.3—and you can guide your training and execute your race plan accordingly.