Marathon world record progression
This list is a chronological progression of record times for the marathon. World records in the marathon are now ratified by the International Association of Athletics Federations, the international governing body for the sport of athletics.
Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge set an official world record for men of 2:01:39 on September 16, 2018, at the 2018 Berlin Marathon. His run broke the previous world record by 1 minute and 18 seconds, the greatest improvement over a previous record since 1967.
The IAAF recognizes two world records for women, a time of 2:14:04 set by Brigid Kosgei on October 13, 2019 during the Chicago Marathon which was contested by men and women together, and a "Women Only" record of 2:17:01, set by Mary Keitany, on April 23, 2017 at the London Marathon for women only.
Criteria for record eligibility
In order for a performance to be ratified as a world record by the IAAF, the marathon course on which the performance occurred must be long, measured in a defined manner using the calibrated bicycle method and meet other criteria that rule out artificially fast times produced on courses aided by downhill slope or tailwind. The criteria include:- "The start and finish points of a course, measured along a theoretical straight line between them, shall not be further apart than 50% of the race distance."
- "The decrease in elevation between the start and finish shall not exceed an average of one in a thousand, i.e. 1m per km."
Road racing events like the marathon were specifically excepted from IAAF rule 260 18 that rejected from consideration those track and field performances set in mixed competition.
The Association of Road Racing Statisticians, an independent organization that compiles data from road running events, also maintains an alternate marathon world best progression but with standards they consider to be more stringent.
Performances claiming world best or world record status on "point-to-point" courses such as the Boston Marathon have historically been rejected by USA Track & Field. Performances on these courses could be aided by slope or tailwinds.
Women's world record
The IAAF Congress at 2011 World Championships in Athletics passed a motion changing the record eligibility criteria effective January 2012, so that women's world records must be set in all-women competitions. The result of the change was that Radcliffe's 2:17:42 performance at the 2005 London Marathon would supplant the existing women's mark as the "world record"; the earlier performance was to be referred to as a "world best". The decision was met with strong protest in Britain, and in November 2011 an IAAF council member reported that Radcliffe's original mark would be allowed to stand, with the eventual decision that both marks would be recognized as "world records," the faster one as a "Mixed Gender" mark, the other as a "Women Only" mark.Unofficial record attempts
In December 2016, Nike, Inc. announced that three top distance runners — Eliud Kipchoge, Zersenay Tadese and Lelisa Desisa — had agreed to forgo the spring marathon season to work with the company in an effort to run a sub-two-hour marathon, though a detailed plan to complete the marathon in 1:59:59 or faster was not released.The Breaking2 event took place in the early morning of May 6, 2017; Kipchoge crossed the finish line with a time of 2:00:25. This time was more than two minutes faster than the world record. Among other factors, specialized pacers were used, entering the race midway to help Kipchoge keep up the pace.
Kipchoge took part in a similar attempt to break the two-hour barrier in Vienna on October 12, 2019, as part of the. He successfully ran the first sub two-hour marathon distance, with a time of 1:59:40.2. The effort did not count as a new world record under IAAF rules due to the setup of the challenge. Specifically, it was not an open event, Kipchoge was handed fluids by his support team throughout, the run featured a pace car, and included rotating teams of other runners pacing Kipchoge in a formation designed to reduce wind resistance and maximize efficiency. The achievement was recognized by Guinness World Records with the titles ‘Fastest marathon distance ’ and ‘First marathon distance run under two hours’.
History
Marathon races were first held in 1896, but the distance was not standardized by the International Association of Athletics Federations until 1921. The actual distance for pre-1921 races frequently varied slightly from the present figure of 42.195 km. In qualifying races for the 1896 Summer Olympics, Greek runners Charilaos Vasilakos and Ioannis Lavrentis won the first two modern marathons. On April 10, 1896, Spiridon Louis of Greece won the first Olympic marathon in Athens, Greece in a time of 2:58:50; however, the distance for the event was reported to be only 40,000 meters. Three months later, British runner Len Hurst won the inaugural Paris to Conflans Marathon in a time of 2:31:30. In 1900, Hurst would better his time on the same course with a 2:26:28 performance. Later, Shizo Kanakuri of Japan was reported to have set a world record of 2:32:45 in a November 1911 domestic qualification race for the 1912 Summer Olympics, but this performance was also run over a distance of approximately 40 km. The first marathon over the now official distance was won by American Johnny Hayes at the 1908 Summer Olympics, with a time of 2:55:18.4.It is possible that Stamata Revithi, who ran the 1896 Olympic course a day after Louis, is the first woman to run the modern marathon; she is said to have finished in 5½ hours. The IAAF credits Violet Piercy's 1926 performance as the first woman to race what is now the standard marathon distance; however, other sources report that the 1918 performance of Marie-Louise Ledru in the Tour de Paris set the initial mark for women. Other "unofficial" performances have also been reported to be world bests or world records over time. Although her performance is not recognized by the IAAF, Adrienne Beames from Australia is frequently credited as the first woman to break the 3-hour barrier in the marathon.
In the 1953 Boston Marathon, the top three male finishers were thought to have broken the standing world record, but Keizo Yamada's mark of 2:18:51 is now considered to have been set on a short course. The Boston Athletic Association does not report Yamada's performance as a world best. On October 25, 1981, American Alberto Salazar and New Zealander Allison Roe set apparent world bests at the New York City Marathon ; however, these marks were invalidated when the course was later found to have been nearly 150 meters short. Although the IAAF's progression notes three performances set on the same course in 1978, 1979, and 1980 by Norwegian Grete Waitz, the Association of Road Racing Statisticians considers the New York City course suspect for those performances, too.
On April 18, 2011, the Boston Marathon produced what were at that time the two fastest marathon performances of all time. Winner Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya recorded a time of 2:03:02, followed by countryman Moses Mosop in 2:03:06. However, since the Boston course does not meet the criteria for record attempts, these times were not ratified by the IAAF.
Eight world records have been set at the Polytechnic Marathon. World records have been broken at all of the original five World Marathon Majors on numerous occasions; eight times at the Berlin Marathon, three times at the Boston Marathon, and four times each at the Chicago, London, and New York City Marathons. However, the records established in the Boston event have been disputed on grounds of a downhill point-to-point course, while three of the four New York records have been disputed on grounds of a short course.
Men
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Table key:
| 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 | October 3, 1926 | London | IAAF | The ARRS indicates that Piercy's 3:40:22 was set on August 2, 1926, during a time trial on a course that was only 35.4 km. | |
| 3:37:07 | Merry Lepper | December 16, 1963 | Culver City, United States | IAAF | Disputed. | |
| 3:27:45 | Dale Greig | May 23, 1964 | Ryde | IAAF, ARRS | ||
| 3:19:33 | Mildred Sampson | July 21, 1964 | Auckland, New Zealand | IAAF | Disputed by ARRS as a time trial. | |
| 3:14:23 | Maureen Wilton | May 6, 1967 | Toronto, Canada | IAAF, ARRS | The ARRS notes Wilton's extended time as 3:14:22.8 | |
| 3:07:27.2 | Anni Pede-Erdkamp | September 16, 1967 | Waldniel, West Germany | IAAF, ARRS | The ARRS notes Pede-Erdkamp's extended time as 3:07:26.2 | |
| 3:02:53 | Caroline Walker | February 28, 1970 | Seaside, OR | IAAF, ARRS | ||
| 3:01:42 | Elizabeth Bonner | May 9, 1971 | Philadelphia, United States | IAAF, ARRS | ||
| 2:55:22 | Elizabeth Bonner | September 19, 1971 | New York City Marathon | IAAF, ARRS | ||
| 2:49:40 | Cheryl Bridges | December 5, 1971 | Culver City, United States | IAAF, ARRS | ||
| 2:46:36 | Michiko Gorman | December 2, 1973 | Culver City, United States | IAAF, ARRS | The ARRS notes Gorman's extended time as 2:46:37 | |
| 2:46:24 | Chantal Langlacé | October 27, 1974 | Neuf-Brisach, France | IAAF, ARRS | ||
| 2:43:54.5 | Jacqueline Hansen | December 1, 1974 | Culver City, United States | IAAF, ARRS | The ARRS notes Hansen's extended time as 2:43:54.6 | |
| 2:42:24 | Liane Winter | April 21, 1975 | Boston Marathon | IAAF | Disputed. | |
| 2:40:15.8 | Christa Vahlensieck | May 3, 1975 | Dülmen | IAAF, ARRS | ||
| 2:38:19 | Jacqueline Hansen | October 12, 1975 | Nike OTC Marathon, Eugene, United States | IAAF, ARRS | ||
| 2:35:15.4 | Chantal Langlacé | May 1, 1977 | Oiartzun, Spain | IAAF | ||
| 2:34:47.5 | Christa Vahlensieck | September 10, 1977 | Berlin Marathon | IAAF, ARRS | ||
| 2:32:29.8 | Grete Waitz | October 22, 1978 | New York City Marathon | IAAF | Disputed. | |
| 2:27:32.6 | Grete Waitz | October 21, 1979 | New York City Marathon | IAAF | Disputed. | |
| 2:31:23 | Joan Benoit | February 3, 1980 | Auckland, New Zealand | ARRS | ||
| 2:30:57.1 | Patti Catalano | September 6, 1980 | Montreal, Canada | ARRS | ||
| 2:25:41.3 | Grete Waitz | October 26, 1980 | New York City Marathon | IAAF | Disputed. | |
| 2:30:27 | Joyce Smith | November 16, 1980 | Tokyo, Japan | ARRS | ||
| 2:29:57 | Joyce Smith | March 29, 1981 | London Marathon | ARRS | ||
| 2:25:28 | Allison Roe | October 25, 1981 | New York City Marathon | IAAF | Disputed. | |
| 2:29:01.6 | Charlotte Teske | January 16, 1982 | Miami, United States | ARRS | ||
| 2:26:12 | Joan Benoit | September 12, 1982 | Nike OTC Marathon, Eugene, United States | ARRS | ||
| 2:25:28.7 | Grete Waitz | April 17, 1983 | London Marathon | IAAF, ARRS | ||
| 2:22:43 | Joan Benoit | April 18, 1983 | Boston Marathon | IAAF | Disputed. | |
| 2:24:26 | Ingrid Kristiansen | May 13, 1984 | London Marathon | ARRS | ||
| 2:21:06 | Ingrid Kristiansen | April 21, 1985 | London Marathon | IAAF, ARRS | ||
| 2:20:47 | Tegla Loroupe | April 19, 1998 | Rotterdam Marathon | IAAF, ARRS | ||
| 2:20:43 | Tegla Loroupe | September 26, 1999 | Berlin Marathon | IAAF, ARRS | ||
| 2:19:46 | Naoko Takahashi | September 30, 2001 | Berlin Marathon | IAAF, ARRS | ||
| 2:18:47 | Catherine Ndereba | October 7, 2001 | Chicago Marathon | IAAF, ARRS | ||
| 2:17:18 | Paula Radcliffe | October 13, 2002 | Chicago Marathon | IAAF, ARRS | First "World's Best" recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations. The ARRS notes Radcliffe's extended time as 2:17:17.7 | |
| 2:15:25 | Paula Radcliffe | April 13, 2003 | London Marathon | IAAF, ARRS | First world record for the women's marathon ratified by the International Association of Athletics Federations. The ARRS notes Radcliffe's extended time as 2:15:24.6 | |
| 2:17:42 | Paula Radcliffe | Great Britain | April 17, 2005 | London Marathon | IAAF | |
| 2:17:01 | Mary Jepkosgei Keitany | Kenya | April 23, 2017 | London Marathon | IAAF | |
| 2:14:04 | Brigid Kosgei | October 13, 2019 | Chicago Marathon | IAAF |