“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela
On Sunday, April 26, Kenyan long-distance runner Sabastian Sawe went where no human being had gone before. He finished the TCS London Marathon with a time of 1 hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds. Sawe made history as he crossed the finish line, heading toward Buckingham Palace at what felt like supersonic speed.
For those keeping track at home, I’ll spare you the mental math: Sawe was completing each mile in an average time of 4 minutes and 33 seconds. He actually got faster as the race went on, running the second half of the marathon in 59:01, compared to his 1:00:29 first half. His average speed was 13.6 mph over the course of 26.2 miles. The fastest animals in the world, including cheetahs, can only hold their maximum pace for short bursts of 20 to 30 seconds. There is no living thing on Earth with a more potent combination of endurance and speed than Sabastian Sawe.
He is the first person to finish an official marathon in less than two hours, shattering a barrier that many thought unbreakable. He smashed the previous world record, held by the late Kelvin Kiptum, by 65 seconds. Remarkably, Yomif Kejelcha, a professional runner from Ethiopia, became the second person to accomplish this feat about 11 seconds later. Kejelcha finished the race with a time of 1:59:41.
While world-famous Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge ran the marathon distance with a time of 1:59:40 in October 2019, his effort did not count as a world record. The route he ran and the event itself, the INEOS 1:59 Challenge, were specifically constructed to help Kipchoge break the two-hour mark. Despite covering 26.2 miles, the event was not a sanctioned race with other competitors. However, it changed the public perception of what was possible in marathon running and stood as the most impressive feat the sport had ever seen. Until last Sunday.
Sawe’s nickname is “the Silent Assassin.” He is unassuming, calm, humble and measured when he speaks. In all of his interviews, he simply expresses gratitude. He comes from a country that consistently produces the fastest runners in the world, yet his coach, Claudio Berardelli, has described him as “a different human being. An outlier.” He is 31 years old, and last Sunday’s race was only the fourth marathon he has ever run, after Valencia in 2024 and Berlin and London in 2025. He has won them all.
As the Silent Assassin spends more time in the spotlight, people have taken to another aspect of Sawe: his faith.
Sawe is a parishioner at Holy Family Catholic Church, an outstation of St. Josephine Bakhita Lower Moiben Parish in Kenya’s Catholic Diocese of Eldoret. Julius Kemei, the chairperson of Holy Family Catholic Church, told reporters that Sawe asked for prayers during the last Mass he attended before flying to London. He said that Sawe “never misses Mass. He comes with his entire family to church. Whenever he is not around, his wife and children come.” His family is a pillar of their parish, donating generously toward church initiatives. Sawe is a leader in their community, and “many youths in our parish have started going to him for mentorship. He is a great resource to our church,” Kemei said.
Sabastian was raised primarily by his grandmother, Esther, whom he has credited with instilling values of gratitude and discipline and stressing the importance of faith: “She raised me as a child. She was always there for me. She always told me; it will be OK.” He also received support from his uncle, Abraham Chepkirwok, who was a professional runner in his own right and competed in the Olympics for Uganda. Chepkirwok supplied Sawe with support in both the figurative and literal sense, providing knowledge, guidance and running shoes.
In some ways, Sawe might seem the least relatable man in the world. He possesses talent that virtually no other human being does. But stories of him inheriting his faith from a grandparent, asking his fellow parishioners for prayers and doing his best to support his community are ones that resonate with those who have never run a race.
I found myself feeling quite moved by Sawe’s achievement last Sunday, as the sport of running has come to mean a great deal to me. I have completed four marathons in the past two years, a journey that has taken me from Disney World to Sydney, Australia, with a few stops in between. I am captivated by the opportunity that running presents to challenge and better myself, and I have been nourished by the community and joy I have found in the marathon community. I am in awe of what Sawe has accomplished. His feats hint at the presence of the divine, a reminder that something greater than ourselves is at play in the world.
Sabastian Sawe’s magnificent performance on April 26, 2026, will go down as one of the most memorable days in marathon history. It serves as a reminder that our faith can propel us toward greatness and that worldly barriers only exist to be surpassed.
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