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Geoffrey Mutai temporarily became the fastest marathoner in history when he ran the 2012 Berlin Marathon in 2:04.15 Picture: Getty

Two Hours: The Quest to Run the Impossible Marathon

By Ed Caesar

Viking, €22.60

At the 1896 Olympics, when Spyridon Louis won the marathon in a time of 2:58.50, he became the first person to run the distance – 26 miles – in less than three hours. Since then, the sport has been revolutionised: in 2014, Dennis Kimetto set a new world record when he crossed the finish line of the Berlin marathon ...