Marathon world record progression facts for kids

The late Kelvin Kiptum during his world record run at the 2023 Chicago marathon with 2:00:35

Mary Keitany during her women-only world record run at the 2017 London Marathon with 2:17:01

A marathon is a very long running race, about 42 kilometers (26 miles) long. Runners from all over the world try to set new world records in this challenging event. These records are officially approved by World Athletics, which is the main group for track and field sports globally.

Recently, amazing new records have been set. A Kenyan runner named Kelvin Kiptum set a men's world record. He finished the 2023 Chicago Marathon in an incredible 2 hours, 0 minutes, and 35 seconds on October 8, 2023.

For women, another Kenyan athlete, Ruth Chepngetich, set a new world record. She ran the 2024 Chicago Marathon in 2 hours, 9 minutes, and 56 seconds on October 13, 2024. This record was set in a "mixed-sex" race, meaning both men and women were running together.

World Athletics also keeps a separate record for women's races where only women compete. This is called the "Women Only" category. The current record for this category is 2 hours, 16 minutes, and 16 seconds. It was set by Peres Jepchirchir on April 21, 2024, at the London Marathon.

The Marathon's Journey Through Time
Rules for Setting a World Record
Gallery of World Record Holders
See also

The Marathon's Journey Through Time

Marathon races first started in 1896. But for many years, the exact distance of a marathon was not always the same. It wasn't until 1921 that World Athletics (then called the IAAF) decided on the official distance: 42.195 kilometers (26 miles 385 yards).

Before 1921, races were often shorter. For example, the first Olympic marathon in 1896 was about 40 kilometers. A Greek runner named Spiridon Louis won it in 2 hours, 58 minutes, and 50 seconds.

The first marathon run over the official distance was at the 1908 Summer Olympics. An American runner, Johnny Hayes, won it in 2 hours, 55 minutes, and 18.4 seconds.

For women, it's believed that Stamata Revithi might have been the first to run the 1896 Olympic course. She ran it the day after the men's race. World Athletics officially recognizes Violet Piercy's run in 1926 as the first woman to complete the standard marathon distance.

Sometimes, a runner's amazing time might not count as a world record. This can happen if the course is found to be too short. For example, in 1981, Alberto Salazar and Allison Roe ran very fast times at the New York City Marathon. But later, the course was found to be 151 meters too short, so their records were not approved.

Another example is the 2011 Boston Marathon. Geoffrey Mutai ran an incredibly fast time of 2:03:02. However, the Boston course has a big downhill section and goes from one point to another. Because of these rules, the time could not be an official world record.

Many world records have been set at famous marathons around the world. These include the Berlin Marathon, Chicago Marathon, and London Marathon.

Rules for Setting a World Record

For a marathon time to be a world record, the course must follow strict rules. These rules are set by World Athletics.

The course must be exactly 42.195 kilometers (26.2 miles) long. Special tools, like a "calibrated bicycle," are used to measure it very carefully.
The start and finish points of the race cannot be too far apart. They must be within 50% of the total race distance. This prevents courses that are mostly downhill.
The course cannot drop too much in height from start to finish. The drop can't be more than 1 meter for every 1,000 meters of running. This also helps prevent very fast times from downhill courses.

These rules make sure that all world records are set on fair and challenging courses.

Women's Marathon Records: A Closer Look

Tigst Assefa during her women's world record run at the 2023 Berlin Marathon with 2:11:53

In 2011, World Athletics changed a rule for women's marathon records. They decided that a women's world record must be set in a race where only women are competing.

However, the rules changed again in 2021. Now, World Athletics tracks two types of women's world records:

Mixed-sex races: Where men and women run together.
Women-only races: Where only women compete.

Unofficial Record Attempts: Breaking Barriers

Sometimes, runners try to break records in special events that don't follow all the official rules. These attempts are amazing, but they don't count as official world records.

For example, in 2017, Nike organized an event called "Breaking2." Three top runners tried to run a marathon in under two hours. Eliud Kipchoge ran it in 2 hours, 0 minutes, and 25 seconds. This was super fast, but it wasn't an official record. The event had special conditions, like pace cars and rotating teams of pacers.

Kipchoge tried again in 2019 in Vienna, in an event called the "Ineos 1:59 Challenge." He successfully ran the marathon distance in 1 hour, 59 minutes, and 40.2 seconds! He was the first person ever to run a marathon in under two hours. But again, this wasn't an official world record because of the special setup. It was more like a scientific experiment to see what was possible. Guinness World Records recognized it as the "Fastest marathon distance (male)."

Men's Marathon World Records

Table key:
      Listed by World Athletics as a world best prior to official acceptance
      Ratified by World Athletics as a world best (since January 1, 2003) or world record (since January 1, 2004)
      Recognized by the Association of Road Racing Statisticians (ARRS)

This table shows the progression of men's marathon world records over time. Some records were considered "world bests" before official recognition.

Time	Name	Nationality	Date	Event/Place	Source	Notes
2:55:18.4	Johnny Hayes	United States	July 24, 1908	London Olympics, England	IAAF
2:52:45.4	Robert Fowler	United States	January 1, 1909	Yonkers, United States	IAAF
2:46:52.8	James Clark	United States	February 12, 1909	New York City, United States	IAAF
2:46:04.6	Albert Raines	United States	May 8, 1909	New York City, United States	IAAF
2:42:31.0	Henry Barrett	United Kingdom	May 8, 1909	Polytechnic Marathon, London, England	IAAF
2:40:34.2	Thure Johansson	Sweden	August 31, 1909	Stockholm, Sweden	IAAF
2:38:16.2	Harry Green	United Kingdom	May 12, 1913	Polytechnic Marathon	IAAF
2:36:06.6	Alexis Ahlgren	Sweden	May 31, 1913	Polytechnic Marathon	IAAF
2:38:00.8	Umberto Blasi	Italy	November 29, 1914	Legnano, Italy	ARRS
2:32:35.8	Hannes Kolehmainen	Finland	August 22, 1920	Antwerp Olympics, Belgium	IAAF, ARRS
2:29:01.8	Albert Michelsen	United States	October 12, 1925	Port Chester Marathon, United States	IAAF
2:30:57.6	Harry Payne	United Kingdom	July 5, 1929	AAA Championships, London, England	ARRS
2:26:14	Sohn Kee-chung	Japanese Korea	March 21, 1935	Tokyo, Japan	ARRS
2:27:49.0	Fusashige Suzuki	Japan	March 31, 1935	Tokyo, Japan	IAAF
2:26:44.0	Yasuo Ikenaka	Japan	April 3, 1935	Tokyo, Japan	IAAF
2:26:42	Sohn Kee-chung	Japanese Korea	November 3, 1935	Meiji Shrine Games, Tokyo, Japan	IAAF
2:25:39	Suh Yun-bok	Korea	April 19, 1947	Boston Marathon	IAAF
2:20:42.2	Jim Peters	United Kingdom	June 14, 1952	Polytechnic Marathon	IAAF, ARRS
2:18:40.4	Jim Peters	United Kingdom	June 13, 1953	Polytechnic Marathon	IAAF, ARRS
2:18:34.8	Jim Peters	United Kingdom	October 4, 1953	Turku Marathon	IAAF, ARRS
2:17:39.4	Jim Peters	United Kingdom	June 26, 1954	Polytechnic Marathon	IAAF
2:18:04.8	Paavo Kotila	Finland	August 12, 1956	Finnish Athletics Championships, Pieksämäki, Finland	ARRS
2:15:17.0	Sergei Popov	Soviet Union	August 24, 1958	European Athletics Championships, Stockholm, Sweden	IAAF, ARRS
2:15:16.2	Abebe Bikila	Ethiopia	September 10, 1960	Rome Olympics, Italy	IAAF, ARRS
2:15:15.8	Toru Terasawa	Japan	February 17, 1963	Beppu-Ōita Marathon	IAAF, ARRS
2:14:28	Leonard Edelen	United States	June 15, 1963	Polytechnic Marathon	IAAF
2:14:43	Brian Kilby	United Kingdom	July 6, 1963	Port Talbot, Wales	ARRS
2:13:55	Basil Heatley	United Kingdom	June 13, 1964	Polytechnic Marathon	IAAF
2:12:11.2	Abebe Bikila	Ethiopia	October 21, 1964	Tokyo Olympics, Japan	IAAF, ARRS
2:12:00	Morio Shigematsu	Japan	June 12, 1965	Polytechnic Marathon	IAAF
2:09:36.4	Derek Clayton	Australia	December 3, 1967	Fukuoka Marathon	IAAF, ARRS
2:08:33.6	Derek Clayton	Australia	May 30, 1969	Antwerp, Belgium	IAAF
2:09:28.8	Ron Hill	United Kingdom	July 23, 1970	Edinburgh Commonwealth Games, Scotland	ARRS
2:09:12	Ian Thompson	United Kingdom	January 31, 1974	Christchurch Commonwealth Games, New Zealand	ARRS
2:09:05.6	Shigeru So	Japan	February 5, 1978	Beppu-Ōita Marathon	ARRS
2:09:01	Gerard Nijboer	Netherlands	April 26, 1980	Amsterdam Marathon	ARRS
2:08:18	Robert De Castella	Australia	December 6, 1981	Fukuoka Marathon	IAAF, ARRS
2:08:05	Steve Jones	United Kingdom	October 21, 1984	Chicago Marathon	IAAF, ARRS
2:07:12	Carlos Lopes	Portugal	April 20, 1985	Rotterdam Marathon	IAAF, ARRS
2:06:50	Belayneh Dinsamo	Ethiopia	April 17, 1988	Rotterdam Marathon	IAAF, ARRS
2:06:05	Ronaldo da Costa	Brazil	September 20, 1998	Berlin Marathon	IAAF, ARRS
2:05:42	Khalid Khannouchi	Morocco	October 24, 1999	Chicago Marathon	IAAF, ARRS
2:05:38	Khalid Khannouchi	United States	April 14, 2002	London Marathon	IAAF, ARRS
2:04:55	Paul Tergat	Kenya	September 28, 2003	Berlin Marathon	IAAF, ARRS
2:04:26	Haile Gebrselassie	Ethiopia	September 30, 2007	Berlin Marathon	IAAF, ARRS
2:03:59	Haile Gebrselassie	Ethiopia	September 28, 2008	Berlin Marathon	IAAF, ARRS
2:03:38	Patrick Makau	Kenya	September 25, 2011	Berlin Marathon	IAAF, ARRS
2:03:23	Wilson Kipsang	Kenya	September 29, 2013	Berlin Marathon	IAAF ARRS
2:02:57	Dennis Kimetto	Kenya	September 28, 2014	Berlin Marathon	IAAF ARRS
2:01:39	Eliud Kipchoge	Kenya	September 16, 2018	Berlin Marathon	IAAF
2:01:09	Eliud Kipchoge	Kenya	September 25, 2022	Berlin Marathon	World Athletics
2:00:35	Kelvin Kiptum	Kenya	October 8, 2023	Chicago Marathon	World Athletics	First man to break 2:01:00 in a record-eligible marathon.

Women's Marathon World Records

This table shows the progression of women's marathon world records. Notice how the times have gotten much faster over the years!

Time	Name	Nationality	Date	Event/Place	Source	Notes
5:40:xx	Marie-Louise Ledru	France	September 29, 1918	Tour de Paris Marathon	ARRS
3:40:22	Violet Piercy	United Kingdom	October 3, 1926	London	IAAF
3:37:07	Merry Lepper	United States	December 16, 1963	Culver City, United States	IAAF
3:27:45	Dale Greig	United Kingdom	May 23, 1964	Ryde	IAAF, ARRS
3:19:33	Mildred Sampson	New Zealand	July 21, 1964	Auckland, New Zealand	IAAF
3:14:23	Maureen Wilton	Canada	May 6, 1967	Toronto, Canada	IAAF, ARRS
3:07:27.2	Anni Pede-Erdkamp	West Germany	September 16, 1967	Waldniel, West Germany	IAAF, ARRS
3:02:53	Caroline Walker	United States	February 28, 1970	Seaside, OR	IAAF, ARRS
3:01:42	Elizabeth Bonner	United States	May 9, 1971	Philadelphia, United States	IAAF, ARRS
2:55:22	Elizabeth Bonner	United States	September 19, 1971	New York City Marathon	IAAF, ARRS
2:49:40	Cheryl Bridges	United States	December 5, 1971	Culver City, United States	IAAF, ARRS
2:46:36	Michiko Gorman	United States	December 2, 1973	Culver City, United States	IAAF, ARRS
2:46:24	Chantal Langlacé	France	October 27, 1974	Neuf-Brisach, France	IAAF, ARRS
2:43:54.5	Jacqueline Hansen	United States	December 1, 1974	Culver City, United States	IAAF, ARRS
2:42:24	Liane Winter	West Germany	April 21, 1975	Boston Marathon	IAAF
2:40:15.8	Christa Vahlensieck	West Germany	May 3, 1975	Dülmen	IAAF, ARRS
2:38:19	Jacqueline Hansen	United States	October 12, 1975	Nike OTC Marathon, Eugene, United States	IAAF, ARRS
2:35:15.4	Chantal Langlacé	France	May 1, 1977	Oiartzun, Spain	IAAF
2:34:47.5	Christa Vahlensieck	West Germany	September 10, 1977	Berlin Marathon	IAAF, ARRS
2:32:29.8	Grete Waitz	Norway	October 22, 1978	New York City Marathon	IAAF
2:27:32.6	Grete Waitz	Norway	October 21, 1979	New York City Marathon	IAAF
2:31:23	Joan Benoit	United States	February 3, 1980	Auckland, New Zealand	ARRS
2:30:57.1	Patti Catalano	United States	September 6, 1980	Montreal, Canada	ARRS
2:25:41.3	Grete Waitz	Norway	October 26, 1980	New York City Marathon	IAAF
2:30:27	Joyce Smith	United Kingdom	November 16, 1980	Tokyo, Japan	ARRS
2:29:57	Joyce Smith	United Kingdom	March 29, 1981	London Marathon	ARRS
2:25:28	Allison Roe	New Zealand	October 25, 1981	New York City Marathon	IAAF
2:29:01.6	Charlotte Teske	West Germany	January 16, 1982	Miami, United States	ARRS
2:26:12	Joan Benoit	United States	September 12, 1982	Nike OTC Marathon, Eugene, United States	ARRS
2:25:28.7	Grete Waitz	Norway	April 17, 1983	London Marathon	IAAF, ARRS
2:22:43	Joan Benoit	United States	April 18, 1983	Boston Marathon	IAAF
2:24:26	Ingrid Kristiansen	Norway	May 13, 1984	London Marathon	ARRS
2:21:06	Ingrid Kristiansen	Norway	April 21, 1985	London Marathon	IAAF, ARRS
2:20:47	Tegla Loroupe	Kenya	April 19, 1998	Rotterdam Marathon	IAAF, ARRS
2:20:43	Tegla Loroupe	Kenya	September 26, 1999	Berlin Marathon	IAAF, ARRS
2:19:46	Naoko Takahashi	Japan	September 30, 2001	Berlin Marathon	IAAF, ARRS
2:18:47	Catherine Ndereba	Kenya	October 7, 2001	Chicago Marathon	IAAF, ARRS
2:17:18	Paula Radcliffe	United Kingdom	October 13, 2002	Chicago Marathon	IAAF, ARRS
2:15:25 Mx	Paula Radcliffe	United Kingdom	April 13, 2003	London Marathon	IAAF, ARRS
2:17:42 Wo	Paula Radcliffe	Great Britain	April 17, 2005	London Marathon	IAAF
2:17:01 Wo	Mary Jepkosgei Keitany	Kenya	April 23, 2017	London Marathon	IAAF
2:14:04 Mx	Brigid Kosgei	Kenya	October 13, 2019	Chicago Marathon	IAAF
2:11:53 Mx	Tigst Assefa	Ethiopia	September 24, 2023	Berlin Marathon	World Athletics	First woman to break the 2:12:00 barrier in the marathon.
2:16:16 Wo	Peres Jepchirchir	Kenya	April 21, 2024	London Marathon	World Athletics
2:09:56 Mx	Ruth Chepng'etich	Kenya	October 13, 2024	Chicago Marathon	World Athletics	First woman to break the 2:11:00 and 2:10:00 barriers in the marathon. Awaiting ratification.