Sideline Sid Sports correspondent & historian www.sunlive.co.nz

In a frenetic weekend of sport that included the Rugby World Cup and all its dramas, the Silver Ferns snatching victory from the Aussie's and Bathurst - one outstanding individual achievement took place that will be etched in athletics history forever.

Like the landing of the first man on the moon a half of century ago, the superlative performance of Kenyan marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge smashing the two hour barrier in running the fastest marathon in history, will stand in the annuals of history for a lifetime.

Described as 'the last barrier of modern athletics' the time of one hour, 59 minutes and 40 seconds set by Kipchoge in Vienna, for the 26.2 mile course, simply outranks the breaking of the four minute mile by Roger Bannister some 65 years ago and similar milestone athletic achievements.

While the four minute mile barrier was a big target, it was always going to be broken one day. By contrast, the sub two-hour marathon appeared just a pipe dream, as recently as the dawn of the new millennium

However the first sub two-hour marathon won't be recognized as a world record, as the run in Vienna was a skillfully manufactured event, with military like precision put in place to break the two hour barrier.

Kipchoge went into to the record attempt with impeccable athletic credentials as the Olympic champion and current world record holder.

From a squad of professional runners as pacemakers, to a car in front of the pack that projected a green grid in front of the runners to ensure the optimum route was traversed, nothing was left to chance. Thousands of spectators lined the course to watch history being made on the streets of the Austrian capital.

Critics will try to undervalue the achievement as a manufactured event without the cut and thrust of a genuine race, however time has dulled the memories of the first sub four minute mile, which was set in a choreographed time trial.

Sideline Sid has a small library of sports reference books, from which he turned to the ‘Complete Book of the Olympics', to uncover the history of the marathon. The doorstop sized book, tells us that the marathon, was one of the inaugural athletic events at the first Modern Olympics held in Athens Greece in 1896.

The idea for a marathon race was inspired by the legend of Pheidippides, a professional runner who supposedly carried the news of the Greek victory over the Persians at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC, running approximately 25 miles to announce the news.

The winner of the first Olympic marathon, which started at the Marathon Bridge and ended after 24.8 miles at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, was Spyridon Louis a Greek water-carrier, who was the first to cross the finish line in 2 hours, 58 minutes and 50 seconds.

Early Olympic marathons didn't have the controls and marshals out on the course as in today's events, with plenty of shenanigans taking place away from the eyes of officialdom.

The 1904 Olympics in St Louis, USA, was notable for the organisers setting a course that encompassed seven hills, which was reflected in the winning time of 3 hours, 28 minutes and 53 seconds. Confusion reigned when a New York competitor entered the stadium well in front of the pack, only to be disqualified for hitching a ride in a new fangled automobile for 11 miles, before resuming running.

The eventual winner was Thomas Hicks, who stopped when faced with a final big hill two miles from the stadium, before being revived with a mixture of strychnine and brandy which got him over the line.

It was appropriate that the first runner to break the two hour barrier was the current Olympic champion, who has direct links through Olympic competition, to the first Modem Olympic marathon winner.

One can only wonder now that the magical two hour barrier has been shattered, how long it will be before the marathon race record is lowered to under two hours.