The fastest marathon ever run in record-eligible conditions is Sabastian Sawe's 1:59:30 at the London Marathon on April 26, 2026 — the first time a human has officially broken two hours. The fastest women's marathon is Ruth Chepngetich's 2:09:56 from the 2024 Chicago Marathon. This page is the full top-10 list for both, with paces, venues, and the context that makes each performance read as more than a number. It is accurate as of September 9, 2026, before the autumn majors in Berlin and Chicago.
Men's top 10 fastest marathon times ever
These are official, record-eligible marathon performances only — no time trials, no INEOS 1:59 Challenge, no Breaking2, and no Boston (its point-to-point, net-downhill course is not eligible for records).
| # | Time | Pace per km | Athlete | Race | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1:59:30 | 2:49.9 | Sabastian Sawe (KEN) | London | Apr 26, 2026 |
| 2 | 1:59:41 | 2:50.2 | Yomif Kejelcha (ETH) | London | Apr 26, 2026 |
| 3 | 2:00:28 | 2:51.3 | Jacob Kiplimo (UGA) | London | Apr 26, 2026 |
| 4 | 2:00:35 | 2:51.5 | Kelvin Kiptum (KEN) | Chicago | Oct 8, 2023 |
| 5 | 2:01:09 | 2:52.3 | Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) | Berlin | Sep 25, 2022 |
| 6 | 2:01:25 | 2:52.7 | Kelvin Kiptum (KEN) | London | Apr 23, 2023 |
| 7= | 2:01:39 | 2:53.0 | Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) | Berlin | Sep 16, 2018 |
| 7= | 2:01:39 | 2:53.0 | Amos Kipruto (KEN) | London | Apr 26, 2026 |
| 9 | 2:01:41 | 2:53.0 | Kenenisa Bekele (ETH) | Berlin | Sep 29, 2019 |
| 10 | 2:01:48 | 2:53.2 | Sisay Lemma (ETH) | Valencia | Dec 3, 2023 |
Just outside the ten: Kiptum's 2:01:53 debut in Valencia (December 2022), Sawe's own 2:02:05 debut in Valencia (December 2024) and 2:02:16 in Berlin (September 2025), Kiplimo's 2:02:23 in Chicago (October 2025), John Korir's 2:02:24 in Valencia (December 2025) and Sawe's 2:02:27 in London (April 2025).
A few things in that list are worth pointing at. Four of the ten fastest marathons in history were run on the same morning in London in April 2026 — the first race ever to produce two sub-2-hour times. Every one of the top 10 was set by a Kenyan, Ethiopian or Ugandan runner. Every one was set in Berlin, London, Chicago or Valencia. And every single one was set after 2018. The current top of the men's marathon is a story about the last eight years, not the last fifty.
Women's top 10 fastest marathon times ever
| # | Time | Pace per km | Athlete | Race | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2:09:56 | 3:04.8 | Ruth Chepngetich (KEN) | Chicago | Oct 13, 2024 |
| 2 | 2:10:51 | 3:06.1 | Fotyen Tesfay (ETH) | Barcelona | Mar 15, 2026 |
| 3 | 2:11:53 | 3:07.5 | Tigst Assefa (ETH) | Berlin | Sep 24, 2023 |
| 4 | 2:13:44 | 3:10.2 | Sifan Hassan (NED) | Chicago | Oct 8, 2023 |
| 5 | 2:14:00 | 3:10.5 | Joyciline Jepkosgei (KEN) | Valencia | Dec 7, 2025 |
| 6 | 2:14:04 | 3:10.6 | Brigid Kosgei (KEN) | Chicago | Oct 13, 2019 |
| 7 | 2:14:18 | 3:11.0 | Ruth Chepngetich (KEN) | Chicago | Oct 9, 2022 |
| 8 | 2:14:29 | 3:11.2 | Brigid Kosgei (KEN) | Tokyo | Mar 1, 2026 |
| 9 | 2:14:43 | 3:11.6 | Peres Jepchirchir (KEN) | Valencia | Dec 7, 2025 |
| 10 | 2:14:56 | 3:11.9 | Hawi Feysa (ETH) | Chicago | Oct 12, 2025 |
Just outside the ten: Amane Beriso's 2:14:58 (Valencia, December 2022), Paula Radcliffe's 2:15:25 (London, April 2003), and Tigst Assefa's women-only world record of 2:15:41 (London, April 2026).
The women's list has changed shape dramatically in the last twelve months. Five of the ten were run between October 2025 and March 2026. Fotyen Tesfay's 2:10:51 in Barcelona was her marathon debut — the fastest debut in history by more than five minutes, and within a minute of the world record. Paula Radcliffe's 2:15:25 from London 2003, which sat in the top three for two decades, has now slipped to twelfth — a measure of how quickly the event has moved since super shoes arrived.
One asterisk the record book does not carry but readers should know: Ruth Chepngetich accepted a three-year doping ban in October 2025 after a positive test in March 2025. Her results from the test date onward were annulled; her 2022 and 2024 Chicago times predate it and remain official. The full story is here.
What about Kipchoge's 1:59:40?
Eliud Kipchoge ran 1:59:40 in Vienna on October 12, 2019 — faster than every time on the men's top 10 except Sawe's 2026 record. It is not in the table because it was not an official, record-eligible performance. The INEOS 1:59 Challenge used:
- A team of 41 elite pacemakers rotating in a V-formation
- A pace car projecting a laser line of the optimal pace
- A specially designed flat loop course
- Drinks delivered by a cyclist
- A non-competitive time-trial format
All five are disallowed under World Athletics record rules. Kipchoge's 1:59:40 stands as a milestone in human performance, but not as an official time. For a full breakdown of why, see why Kipchoge's 1:59 didn't count.
The fastest marathon courses
If you cross-reference the men's and women's lists above, four venues dominate: London, Chicago, Berlin and Valencia. None of this is a coincidence.
- London delivered the fastest marathon in human history with Sawe's 1:59:30 in April 2026, plus three more top-10 men's times and the women-only world record on the same day. The course has slightly more roll than Berlin, but a deep elite field, professional pacing and reliably cool spring conditions.
- Chicago is flat, fast and lined with deep crowds. It produced Kelvin Kiptum's 2:00:35 in 2023, Ruth Chepngetich's 2:09:56 in 2024, Sifan Hassan's 2:13:44, Brigid Kosgei's 2:14:04 and Paula Radcliffe's first sub-2:18 in 2002.
- Berlin has hosted more men's marathon world records than any other race. The course has only about 20 m of total elevation gain, the late-September weather is reliably cool, and the field is built to chase records. Assefa's 2:11:53 is the course record.
- Valencia has emerged in the last decade as a deliberately engineered fast course — early-December timing, sea level, almost no elevation change — and produced two of the women's top 10 on one day in December 2025.
The other four World Marathon Majors — Tokyo, Boston, New York and Sydney — produce extraordinary races but rarely record-eligible top-10 times. Boston's net downhill makes it ineligible for world records, which is why John Korir's 2:01:52 there in April 2026 — faster than all but six official marathons ever — does not appear above. New York is too hilly. Tokyo and Sydney tend to be raced for the win rather than the clock, though Kosgei's 2:14:29 Tokyo course record in March 2026 shows that is changing.
Fastest marathon by category
Beyond the open elite times, several other "fastest" records are worth knowing. Times below are accurate to September 2026.
- Fastest marathon in a time trial: Eliud Kipchoge, 1:59:40, Vienna, October 12, 2019 (unofficial).
- Fastest debut marathon (men): Yomif Kejelcha, 1:59:41, London, April 26, 2026.
- Fastest debut marathon (women): Fotyen Tesfay, 2:10:51, Barcelona, March 15, 2026.
- Fastest women-only marathon: Tigst Assefa, 2:15:41, London, April 26, 2026 (the official women-only world record).
- Fastest marathon on a non-record-eligible course: John Korir, 2:01:52, Boston, April 20, 2026.
- Fastest marathon by a non-African-born athlete (men): Galen Rupp (USA), 2:06:07, Prague, May 6, 2018.
- Fastest marathon by a non-African-born athlete (women): Sifan Hassan (NED, born in Ethiopia), 2:13:44; among European-born athletes, Paula Radcliffe (GBR), 2:15:25, London, April 13, 2003.
- Fastest masters (40+) marathon (men): Kenenisa Bekele, 2:04:15, London, April 23, 2023, aged 40.
- Fastest wheelchair marathon (men): Marcel Hug, 1:17:47, Berlin, September 24, 2023.
- Fastest wheelchair marathon (women): Catherine Debrunner, 1:34:16, Berlin, September 24, 2023.
How fast is a "fast" marathon for the rest of us?
The all-time top 10 is its own universe — but the question "what counts as a fast marathon time?" depends entirely on which population you're comparing to. Some useful benchmarks:
- Average marathon finish time worldwide: about 4:30:00 (roughly 6:24/km, 10:18/mile).
- Sub-4 marathon: achieved by roughly a third of all finishers.
- Sub-3:30 marathon: achieved by roughly 10–12% of finishers.
- Sub-3 marathon: achieved by roughly 4% of finishers.
- Boston qualifying standard (M 18–34): 3:00:00.
- Sub-2:30 marathon: the rough threshold for "elite club runner" anywhere in the world.
- Sub-2:10 marathon (men) / sub-2:25 (women): the rough threshold for "professional, gets paid to run."
- Top 10 all-time: the entries in the tables above.
For a complete pace-to-time reference at every realistic pace between 4:00 and 7:00 per km, see the marathon pace chart for every finish time.
Where the records go from here
For a decade, the conversation around the men's marathon record was: can a human officially break two hours? On April 26, 2026, Sabastian Sawe and Yomif Kejelcha both answered that in the same race. The conversation has shifted to two new questions.
How fast does the men's record go? Most physiologists put the asymptotic floor somewhere between 1:57 and 1:58 in race conditions, given current shoe technology and course standards. With a debutant already at 1:59:41 and Kiplimo at 2:00:28 in his second marathon, the record is likely to be attacked at every fast autumn major. Sawe's own return depends on recovery from the tibial stress injury that forced him out of Berlin 2026; Kiplimo defends his Chicago title on October 11, 2026.
Does the women's record fall further? Almost certainly. Tesfay came within 55 seconds of it on her debut. Assefa, who runs Berlin on September 27, 2026, has run 2:11:53 there before. And the depth behind them — five women under 2:15 between October 2025 and March 2026 — is unlike anything the event has seen.
The deeper story behind both records — the physiology, the training, the shoes — is in inside elite marathon training: what it actually takes to run sub-2 and marathon world records: the fastest humans in history.
Build your own goal time
The fastest marathon ever is 1:59:30. The fastest marathon you will ever run is the one you're training for now. Set your goal pace, see your finish time, and tweak the splits at runpace.co. The list above is what the front of the race looks like. The list you actually finish on is the one that matters to you.