Track & Field (Athletics)
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Marathon World Records (men)
Only recently has the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) officially ratified a 'world record' in the marathon event. Prior to that 'world bests' were listed, and even earlier to that there was no official listing of best times. Actually early marathoin events varied in distance, with the official standardized length of a marathon of 42,195 meters (or 26 miles and 385 yards) being set 28 years after the first marathon in 1896. The official marathon distance corresponds to the length of the marathon event at the 1908 London Olympic Games.
Over the years the distance claimed for some courses have later been shown to be incorrect, and advantges of wind and downhill gradients have greatly assisted some times. In recent years, the IAAF have set guidelines for a record to be set, such as "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.", and that "The decrease in elevation between the start and finish shall not exceed an average of one in a thousand, i.e. 1m per km.". These criteria aloow for point ot point courses as long as they satify these conditions, though there are some who are psuhing to only recognize out and back courses.
Below is the men's marathon running world record evolution (the more recent best times listed first), showing only those times that have been officially listed by the IAAF.
In Sept 2011 Kenya's Patrick Makau set a new world record of 2:03:38, beating the old record by 21 seconds. Will an athlete ever run under two hours? I don't think it will happen for a while. See our poll about it. The current (2011) women's world best is 2:17:42 by UK's Paula Radcliffe, achieved in the 2005 London marathon.
| Time | Date | Athlete | Country | Marathon Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 02:03:38 | Sept 25, 2011 | Patrick Makau | Kenya | Berlin Marathon |
| 02:03:59 | Sept 28, 2008 | Haile Gebrselassie | Ethiopia | Berlin Marathon |
| 02:04:26 | Sept 30, 2007 | Haile Gebrselassie | Ethiopia | Berlin Marathon |
| 02:04:55 | Sept 28, 2003 | Paul Tergat | Kenya | Berlin Marathon |
| 02:05:38 | April 14, 2002 | Khalid Khannouchi | USA | London Marathon |
| 02:05:42 | Oct 24, 1999 | Khalid Khannouchi | Morocco | Chicago Marathon |
| 02:06:05 | Sept 20, 1998 | Ronaldo da Costa | Brazil | Berlin Marathon |
| 02:06:50 | April 17, 1988 | Belayneh Dinsamo | Ethiopia | Rotterdam Marathon |
| 02:07:12 | April 20, 1985 | Carlos Lopes | Portugal | Rotterdam Marathon |
| 02:08:05 | Oct 21, 1984 | Steve Jones | UK | Chicago Marathon |
| 02:08:18 | Dec 6, 1981 | Robert De Castella | Australia | Fukuoka Marathon, Japan |
| 02:08:33.60 | May 30, 1969 | Derek Clayton | Australia | Antwerp, Belgium |
| 02:09:36.40 | Dec 3, 1967 | Derek Clayton | Australia | Fukuoka Marathon, Japan |
| 02:12:00 | June 12, 1965 | Morio Shigematsu | Japan | Polytechnic Marathon |
| 02:12:12.20 | Oct 21, 1964 | Abebe Bikila | Ethiopia | Tokyo, Japan |
| 02:13:55 | June 13, 1964 | Basil Heatley | UK | Polytechnic Marathon |
| 02:14:28 | June 15, 1963 | Leonard Edelen | USA | Polytechnic Marathon |
| 02:15:15.80 | Feb 17, 1963 | Toru Terasawa | Japan | Beppu-Ōita Marathon, Japan |
| 02:15:16.20 | Sept 10, 1960 | Abebe Bikila | Ethiopia | Rome, Italy |
| 02:15:17.00 | Aug 24, 1958 | Sergei Popov | USSR | Stockholm, Sweden |
| 02:17:39.40 | June 26, 1954 | Jim Peters | UK | Polytechnic Marathon |
| 02:18:34.80 | Oct 4, 1953 | Jim Peters | UK | Turku Marathon |
| 02:18:40.40 | June 13, 1953 | Jim Peters | UK | Polytechnic Marathon |
| 02:20:42.20 | June 14, 1952 | Jim Peters | UK | Polytechnic Marathon |
| 02:25:39 | April 19, 1947 | Suh Yun-bok | South Korea | Boston Marathon |
| 02:26:42 | Nov 3, 1935 | Son Kitei | Japan | Tokyo, Japan |
| 02:26:44.00 | April 3, 1935 | Yasuo Ikenaka | Japan | Tokyo, Japan |
| 02:27:49.00 | Mar 31, 1935 | Fusashige Suzuki | Japan | Tokyo, Japan |
| 02:29:01.80 | Oct 12, 1925 | Albert Michelsen | USA | Port Chester, USA |
| 02:32:35.80 | Aug 22, 1920 | Hannes Kolehmainen | Finland | Antwerp, Belgium |
| 02:36:06.60 | May 31, 1913 | Alexis Ahlgren | Sweden | Polytechnic Marathon |
| 02:38:16.20 | May 12, 1913 | Harry Green | UK | Polytechnic Marathon |
| 02:40:34.20 | Aug 31, 1909 | Thure Johansson | Sweden | Stockholm, Sweden |
| 02:42:31.00 | May 26, 1909 | Henry Barrett | UK | Polytechnic Marathon |
| 02:46:04.60 | May 8, 1909 | Albert Raines | USA | New York City, USA |
| 02:46:52.80 | Feb 12, 1909 | James Clark | USA | New York City, USA |
| 02:52:45.40 | Jan 1, 1909 | Robert Fowler | USA | Yonkers, USA |
| 02:55:18.40 | July 24, 1908 | Johnny Hayes | USA | London |
