Marathon world records: the fastest humans in history (updated September 2026)

The marathon world record represents the pinnacle of human endurance. Covering 42.195 kilometres (26.2 miles) at paces that would be a sprint for most people, these records showcase what's possible when extraordinary talent meets perfect preparation. And on April 26, 2026, the impossible finally happened in race conditions: a sub-2-hour marathon, ratified by World Athletics. This page is kept current — the records below are correct as of September 9, 2026.

If you're here for the per-kilometre or per-mile pace breakdown specifically, jump to marathon world record pace per km and per mile. For the complete top-10 list of the fastest men's and women's marathons ever run, see fastest marathon times ever. For the full story of the women's record and the doping ban attached to it, see the women's marathon world record.

The current marathon world records at a glance

World Athletics keeps two women's records: one for mixed races, where women can be paced by men, and one for women-only races. Both are official world records. The mixed-race mark is the one most people mean when they say "the women's marathon world record."

Men's world record: Sabastian Sawe, 1:59:30

The first sub-2-hour marathon in race conditions

On April 26, 2026, at the TCS London Marathon, Kenya's Sabastian Sawe ran 1:59:30 — becoming the first person in history to break the two-hour barrier in an official, record-eligible race. The performance took 1 minute and 5 seconds off Kelvin Kiptum's previous mark of 2:00:35 and finally moved the long-anticipated milestone from controlled time trial into competitive reality. World Athletics ratified the record in the weeks that followed.

• Time: 1:59:30
• Average pace: 2:49.9 per kilometre (4:33.5 per mile, 21.2 km/h)
• Location: London, United Kingdom
• Date: April 26, 2026
• Halfway split: 60:29, followed by a 59:01 second half — an 88-second negative split
• Shoes: Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3

Two men under two hours in the same race

Sawe didn't run alone. Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha, in his marathon debut, finished second in 1:59:41 — making London 2026 the first race to produce two sub-2-hour marathons. Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo was third in 2:00:28, also inside Kiptum's old record, and Kenya's Amos Kipruto ran 2:01:39 in fourth. Three men ran faster than the world record had been that morning. The full 5K-by-5K breakdown is in how Sabastian Sawe broke the 2-hour marathon barrier, and the man himself is profiled in who is Sabastian Sawe?

Why this run is different from Kipchoge's 1:59:40

Eliud Kipchoge ran 1:59:40 in 2019, but that effort was a privately staged time trial with rotating pacemakers and a pace car — none of which is permitted under World Athletics record rules. Sawe's 1:59:30 was set in an open, mass-participation World Marathon Major with standard pacing rules, certified course measurement and drug testing. It is, in every sense, the first official sub-2-hour marathon. The rule-by-rule comparison is in why Kipchoge's 1:59:40 didn't count.

Former men's record: Kelvin Kiptum

Before Sawe's London run, the record belonged to Kenya's Kelvin Kiptum, who ran 2:00:35 at the 2023 Chicago Marathon at just 23 years old. Kiptum tragically died in a car accident in February 2024, cutting short a career that many believed would be the first to officially break two hours. Sawe's 2026 performance, in many ways, completed the journey Kiptum started.

• Time: 2:00:35
• Average pace: 2:51.5 per kilometre (4:36 per mile)
• Location: Chicago, USA
• Date: October 8, 2023

Women's world record: Ruth Chepngetich, 2:09:56

The first woman under 2:10

On October 13, 2024, at the Chicago Marathon, Kenya's Ruth Chepngetich ran 2:09:56 — the first time a woman had broken 2:10. She went through halfway in 1:04:16, at the time one of the fastest half marathons ever run by a woman in any race, and held on to take 1 minute and 57 seconds off Tigst Assefa's previous record of 2:11:53. World Athletics ratified the mark in December 2024.

• Time: 2:09:56
• Average pace: 3:04.8 per kilometre (4:57.3 per mile, 19.5 km/h)
• Location: Chicago, USA
• Date: October 13, 2024
• Halfway split: 1:04:16, followed by a 1:05:40 second half

The doping ban — and why the record still stands

In July 2025 the Athletics Integrity Unit provisionally suspended Chepngetich after a sample collected on March 14, 2025 tested positive for hydrochlorothiazide, a banned diuretic. In October 2025 she accepted a three-year ban, reduced from four years because she admitted the violation. Her results from March 14, 2025 onward were annulled — but the Chicago 2024 record predates the positive test, and under current anti-doping rules it remains official. World Athletics president Sebastian Coe has said publicly that he would like to see the mark removed but that the rules do not currently allow it. The full timeline is in our guide to the women's marathon world record.

Women-only world record: Tigst Assefa, 2:15:41

In races without male pacemakers, the record belongs to Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa, who ran 2:15:41 to defend her London Marathon title on April 26, 2026 — the same morning Sawe broke two hours. She took nine seconds off her own women-only record of 2:15:50 from London 2025. Hellen Obiri (2:15:53) and Joyciline Jepkosgei (2:15:55) followed her home, making London 2026 the first race ever with three women under 2:16.

Former women's record: Tigst Assefa, 2:11:53

Assefa's 2:11:53 at the Berlin Marathon on September 24, 2023 obliterated Brigid Kosgei's 2:14:04 by 2 minutes and 11 seconds — the largest single improvement to the women's marathon record in the modern era. It held for just over a year before Chepngetich's Chicago run, and it remains the third-fastest women's marathon of all time — behind Chepngetich and, since March 2026, a debutante: Ethiopia's Fotyen Tesfay ran 2:10:51 in her first marathon in Barcelona on March 15, 2026, the fastest debut in history by more than five minutes.

The road to sub-2: Kipchoge's 1:59:40

The barrier that wouldn't fall

For years, the two-hour marathon felt more like an idea than a goal. On October 12, 2019, in Vienna's Prater Park, Eliud Kipchoge ran 1:59:40 in the INEOS 1:59 Challenge — proving the time was humanly possible, even if the run itself was never going to count as an official record. It took another six and a half years before someone beat it under legal race conditions.

Why it didn't count as a world record

• Rotating pacemakers: A team of 41 elite pacemakers rotated in and out in a V-formation
• Pace car: A car with a laser projected the optimal pace line onto the road
• Controlled course: A specially chosen flat loop, run multiple times
• Non-competitive: It was a time trial, not an open race
• Drinks delivery: A cyclist handed Kipchoge his drinks

Pace analysis: 1:59:40

Kipchoge's splits were meticulously planned and executed: every 5K in roughly 14:10, halfway in 59:35, and virtually every kilometre within a second or two of 2:50. The precision demonstrated that the physiological ceiling existed somewhere below two hours — and laid the psychological groundwork for what Sawe, Kejelcha and Kiplimo would do in London seven years later.

Comparing the records

Pace comparison table

What these paces mean

• Sawe's 2:49.9/km pace means running 400m in just under 68 seconds — repeated 105 times in a row
• Most people's all-out sprint pace is slower than Sawe's marathon pace
• At Sawe's pace, you'd cover a 5K in 14:10 and a 10K in 28:19
• The men's record pace covers 353 metres every minute, for 119 and a half straight minutes
• Chepngetich's 3:04.8/km would win most local 5K races outright — held for 42.195 km

Historical progression

Men's record evolution

• 1908: 2:55:18 — Johnny Hayes (USA), London Olympics
• 1935: 2:26:42 — Sohn Kee-chung (Korea, competing for Japan), Tokyo
• 1967: 2:09:36 — Derek Clayton (Australia), Fukuoka
• 1988: 2:06:50 — Belayneh Dinsamo (Ethiopia), Rotterdam
• 1999: 2:05:42 — Khalid Khannouchi (Morocco/USA), Chicago
• 2008: 2:03:59 — Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia), Berlin
• 2014: 2:02:57 — Dennis Kimetto (Kenya), Berlin
• 2018: 2:01:39 — Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya), Berlin
• 2022: 2:01:09 — Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya), Berlin
• 2023: 2:00:35 — Kelvin Kiptum (Kenya), Chicago
• 2026: 1:59:30 — Sabastian Sawe (Kenya), London — the first official sub-2-hour marathon

Women's record evolution

• 1985: 2:21:06 — Ingrid Kristiansen (Norway), London
• 1998: 2:20:47 — Tegla Loroupe (Kenya), Rotterdam
• 2001: 2:19:46 — Naoko Takahashi (Japan), Berlin — the first woman under 2:20
• 2001: 2:18:47 — Catherine Ndereba (Kenya), Chicago
• 2002: 2:17:18 — Paula Radcliffe (Great Britain), Chicago
• 2003: 2:15:25 — Paula Radcliffe (Great Britain), London — a record that stood for 16 years
• 2019: 2:14:04 — Brigid Kosgei (Kenya), Chicago
• 2023: 2:11:53 — Tigst Assefa (Ethiopia), Berlin
• 2024: 2:09:56 — Ruth Chepngetich (Kenya), Chicago — the first woman under 2:10

From 2:10 to sub-2 in two generations

In 1967, Derek Clayton became the first man to break 2:10 with his 2:09:36. It seemed an insurmountable barrier at the time. Fifty-nine years later, Sabastian Sawe stood on The Mall in London having just run 10 minutes and 6 seconds faster than Clayton — and, more importantly, having become the first human to officially break two hours. On the women's side, Chepngetich's 2:09:56 is faster than Clayton's men's world record from 1967.

2026 record watch: what's happened and what's coming

2026 has already been the most significant year in the history of the marathon record, and the autumn racing season is still ahead. The key dates:

• March 1, Tokyo: Brigid Kosgei ran 2:14:29 for a course record; Tadese Takele won the men's race in 2:03:37.
• March 15, Barcelona: Fotyen Tesfay's 2:10:51 debut — the second-fastest women's marathon ever, 55 seconds off the record.
• April 20, Boston: John Korir ran 2:01:52, the fastest marathon ever on the Boston course. Boston's point-to-point, net-downhill layout means it is not eligible for world records.
• April 26, London: Sawe 1:59:30 (men's WR), Kejelcha 1:59:41, Kiplimo 2:00:28; Assefa 2:15:41 (women-only WR).
• August 30, Sydney: Addisu Gobena won in a course-record 2:04:42; Peres Jepchirchir took the women's race in 2:18:31.
• September 27, Berlin: Sawe was due to return to the fastest course on the calendar but withdrew in late August with a stress injury to his right tibia. The women's field is headlined by Tigst Assefa, whose 2:11:53 is still the Berlin course record.
• October 11, Chicago: Jacob Kiplimo defends his title on the course that produced both the previous men's record and the current women's record. Sharon Lokedi and Brigid Kosgei lead the women's field.
• December, Valencia: The other course on the calendar built for record attempts — Joyciline Jepkosgei ran 2:14:00 there in December 2025.

What makes these athletes different

Physiological advantages

• VO2 max: Elite marathoners typically have VO2 max values of 70–85 ml/kg/min
• Running economy: They use 5–10% less oxygen at any given pace than well-trained sub-elites
• Lactate threshold: They can run at 85–90% of VO2 max before lactate accumulates
• Body composition: Extremely lean with a high slow-twitch muscle fibre percentage
• Biomechanics: Efficient stride patterns honed over decades of running

The deep dive on the numbers is in inside elite marathon training: what it takes to run sub-2.

The Kenyan and Ethiopian dominance

• Altitude training: Many live and train at 2,000–2,500m elevation
• Running culture: Children run to school; running is a path out of poverty
• Body type: Generally lighter frames with long, efficient legs
• Training groups: Highly competitive training camps push athletes daily
• Motivation: Success means life-changing money for entire families

The shoe technology factor

Since Nike introduced the Vaporfly in 2016–17, marathon times have dropped significantly. Carbon-plated, highly cushioned shoes provide measurable benefits: studies show roughly 4% energy savings compared with traditional racing flats, which translates to 2–3 minutes over 42.2 km at elite pace. Every current world record — men's, women's and women-only — has been set in a super shoe, and World Athletics now caps stack height at 40mm with a single rigid plate. Sawe, Kejelcha and Assefa all wore the Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 in London. The full story is in super shoes and the sub-2 marathon.

Course and conditions

Why Berlin produces fast times

Berlin has hosted more men's marathon world records than any other race — Kimetto, Kipchoge (twice) and Gebrselassie all set theirs there, and Assefa's 2:11:53 was a Berlin record too. Factors include a flat course with only about 20m of total elevation gain, reliably cool late-September weather, professional pacemakers and smooth asphalt roads.

Chicago and London on the record map

Chicago now holds a unique place in record history: Kiptum's 2:00:35 in 2023 and Chepngetich's 2:09:56 in 2024 were set there a year apart. London, despite a slightly more undulating profile, delivered the first official sub-2 in April 2026 along with the women-only record. The competition between the majors — and Valencia — to produce records is now genuinely global.

What's next? The future of marathon records

The sub-2 barrier is gone — what now?

For more than a decade, every conversation about the marathon record bent around the same question: "Could a human break two hours in a real race?" On April 26, 2026, two of them did it in the same field. The question is no longer if but how much further.

Predictions and possibilities

• Kejelcha's 1:59:41 in his debut and Kiplimo's 2:00:28 suggest the men's record will be attacked at every fast autumn major. A time in the 1:58s is now a realistic conversation for 2027–2028.
• Sawe's own return depends on recovery from the tibial stress injury that kept him out of Berlin 2026.
• The women's record is under pressure from two directions: Tesfay's 2:10:51 debut, and Assefa's consistency at 2:11–2:15 on any course she chooses.
• Shoe technology is refining incrementally rather than producing another step change.
• Berlin, Chicago, London and Valencia will keep hosting the record attempts; Boston and New York will keep producing the fastest times that don't count.

Frequently asked questions

What is the marathon world record?

The men's marathon world record is 1:59:30, set by Sabastian Sawe of Kenya at the London Marathon on April 26, 2026. The women's world record is 2:09:56, set by Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya at the Chicago Marathon on October 13, 2024. The women-only world record is 2:15:41, set by Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia in London on April 26, 2026.

What is the marathon world record pace per mile?

Sawe's men's record works out to 4:33.5 per mile (2:49.9 per km, 13.2 mph). Chepngetich's women's record is 4:57.3 per mile (3:04.8 per km, 12.1 mph). The full mile-by-mile and kilometre-by-kilometre tables are in marathon world record pace per km.

Who holds the fastest marathon time ever?

Sabastian Sawe, 1:59:30. Eliud Kipchoge's 1:59:40 from Vienna in 2019 was faster than every marathon in history until London 2026, but it was a time trial and is not an official record. Yomif Kejelcha's 1:59:41 is the second-fastest official time.

How many people have run a marathon under 2 hours?

Two, in official races: Sabastian Sawe (1:59:30) and Yomif Kejelcha (1:59:41), both at London 2026. Eliud Kipchoge covered the distance in 1:59:40 in 2019 in a non-record-eligible time trial.

Has a woman run a marathon under 2:10?

Yes. Ruth Chepngetich ran 2:09:56 in Chicago in October 2024. She is the only woman under 2:10; Fotyen Tesfay's 2:10:51 in Barcelona in March 2026 is the next fastest.

Is Ruth Chepngetich's world record still valid after her doping ban?

Yes. Her three-year ban, accepted in October 2025, annulled results from March 14, 2025 onward — the date of her positive test. The Chicago 2024 record predates that and remains in the World Athletics record book.

What is the fastest marathon debut?

Yomif Kejelcha's 1:59:41 in London 2026 is the fastest men's debut. Fotyen Tesfay's 2:10:51 in Barcelona 2026 is the fastest women's debut.

Putting it in perspective

• Average marathon finish: about 4:30:00 (roughly 6:24/km or 10:18/mile)
• Boston qualifying (M 18–34): 3:00:00 — still 1 minute 26 seconds per kilometre slower than Sawe
• Sub-3 hour marathon: Achieved by only around 4% of finishers
• World record pace: Faster than most people's 5K race pace

These records represent the absolute limit of human endurance. Every second shaved off requires exponentially more effort, better conditions, and sometimes a once-in-a-generation talent. For the rest of us, these times provide inspiration — and a reminder of just how remarkable the human body can be. To see what your own goal pace looks like split by split, use the calculator at runpace.co.