Marathon World Record Evolution

In the last two years, road races have seen many records being improved both in the Men and Women’s category. In 2019, the following records have been beaten (only main distances):

• Marathon: Men (Eliud Kipchoge , Vienna— not an official record) Women (Brigid Kosgei, Chicago)

• Half-Marathon: Men (Geoffrey Kamoror, Copenhagen)

If you extend to 2018, the official Marathon record was beaten by Kipchoge and the Women Half-Marathon record by Netsanet Gudeta, meaning the the 2 main distances records have been beaten for both Men and Women.

In this article, we will see the evolution of the Marathon world record. You can then play with the World Record Marathon World Record Evolution Viz to see the evolution over time of the Marathon and Half-Marathon world records, where the record was beaten the most and which nation has beaten the record the most.

Marathon World Record

The first recorded time on the marathon distance was in 1908 when Johnny Hayes (USA) ran the distance in 2 hours and 55 minutes in London. Since then, the record improved by 53 minutes and 39 seconds and his now property of Eliud Kipchoge from Kenya with a time of 02:01:39 established in 2018 in Berlin.

Kipchoge beating the World Record in Berlin in 2018 © Maja Hitij / Bongarts

In 2019, Eliud Kipchoge ran the marathon under 2 hours in Vienna. However, this record was not officially recognized as performed under special circumstances: pacers relaying ever 5 km, car helping with the pace, and so on. However, it showed the world that the record is very likely to evolve in the coming years. Furthermore, in 2019, Kenenisa Bekele ran the Berlin marathon in 02:01:41, just 2 seconds behind Kipchoge’s official record. The half marathon record got beaten by Kamworor in Copenhagen end of 2019 and in January 2020, Kipruto set a new record on the 10 km distance.

Kamworor, new record holder on the Half-Marathon © Gear Junkie

Soon a New Record?

On April 26, 2020, Kenenisa Bekele and Eliud Kipchoge, the two fastest runner on the marathon distance, will face at the London Marathon 2020 for what might be one of the most epic marathon race. There is a little chance that, despite a slower track than Berlin, the record gets smashed another time!

UPDATE: due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the London marathon has been postoned.

Kipchoge & Bekele © BBC

Evolution of the Records Over Time (Tableau Viz)

In the Tableau visualization below (click to open the link), you will see the evolution of the Marathon and Half-Marathon overtime. You will also see where the record has been beaten the most and which are the nations that have claimed the record the most.

Marathon World Record Evolution Dashboard © Robin Hurni

For the moment, this dashboard only includes the Men records. The Women Records can be found on Wikipedia for the Marathon and Half-Marathon.

Sources

• AP. Kenenisa Bekele misses out on world record by two seconds at Berlin Marathon. The Guardian. Retrieved 21 January 2020.

• Dawson, Andrew. Kipchoge, Bekele to Face Off at London Marathon. Runner’s World. Retrieved 21 January 2020.

• Henson, Mike. Kenenisa Bekele to take on Eliud Kipchoge at London Marathon 2020. BBC Sports. Retrieved 21 January 2020.

• Robinson, Roger. Eliud Kipchoge Crushes Marathon World Record at Berlin Marathon. Runner’s World. Retrieved 21 January 2020.

• Valiente, Emeterio. “Kipruto breaks world 10km record in Valencia”. World Athletics. Retrieved 21 January 2020.