This list is a chronological progression of record times for the marathon. World records in the marathon are now ratified by World Athletics, the international governing body for the sport of athletics.
Rolando Patricio Vera Rodas is a retired long-distance runner from Ecuador, who represented his native country at three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1988. He reached the top ten of the 10,000 metres at the 1987 World Championships in Athletics. He enjoyed much championship success at the regional level: he was a two-time South American Champion on the track and won gold medals at the South American Games and Bolivarian Games, as well as reaching the podium at the Ibero-American Championships and the 1987 Pan American Games.
Yelena Sipatova is a retired long-distance runner from the Soviet Union, and a former winner of the Rome City Marathon (1995) and the Istanbul Marathon (1993).
Luchia Yishak is a former Ethiopian long-distance runner. She ran for Ethiopia at the Summer Olympics in 1992 and 1996.
Elena Fidatov, sometimes known as Elena Fidatof, is a former Romanian middle- and long-distance runner who competed in track, road, and cross country running competitions. In a period spanning 1984 to 2002, she competed at IAAF World Cross Country Championships on thirteen occasions, making her one of the most frequent participants at the event. She is a two-time Olympian for Romania, having represented her country at the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics.
Silvana Cruciata is a former Italian middle- and long-distance runner. She represented Italy at the 1976 Montreal Olympics and shared medals with the Italian women's teams at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. Her best of 18.084 km for the one hour run set in 1981 was a world record for over seventeen years.
Ondoro Osoro is a former Kenyan long-distance runner who competed mostly in cross country and road races.
Beatrice Omwanza is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in marathon and half marathon races. She represented Kenya in the marathon at the World Championships in Athletics in 2003 and 2005. Her personal best for the event is 2:27:19 hours.
Martha "Marty" Cooksey is an American former long-distance runner who competed in events ranging from 5000 meters to the marathon. She achieved her marathon best time of 2:35:42 hours at the American Olympic Trials in 1984.
Bekele Debele is an Ethiopian former long-distance runner who specialised in cross country running. His greatest achievement was winning the gold medal at the 1983 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, becoming only the second African man to do so.
The IAAF World Road Relay Championships was a biennial international athletics competition in long-distance relay running. First organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) in 1992, the championship ran for four editions, with its last one occurring in 1998.
Natalya Sorokivskaya is a Kazakhstani female former long-distance runner who competed for the Soviet Union and later Kazakhstan. She competed in track, road and cross country running disciplines. She holds the Kazakhstani national records from 3000 metres to the 10K run and also the half marathon record.
The 1998 IAAF World Road Relay Championships was the fourth and final edition of the global, international marathon relay competition, organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The event took place on 18–19 April in Manaus, Brazil with the participation of 222 athletes from 28 nations. The women's race took place on Saturday 18 April, starting at 9:00 AM Amazon Standard Time, and featured twelve national teams comprising a total 72 athletes. The men's race took place on Sunday 19 April, also starting at 9:00 AM Amazon Standard Time, and featured 25 national teams comprising a total 150 athletes.
The Beijing International Women's Ekiden was an annual, international ekiden road running competition held in Beijing, China. Formed in 1991 as the Great Wall International Ekiden Relay, the competition featured a six-stage relay race for women from 1991 to 2005, and included a men's race once, at its final edition. The race format had first, third and fifth legs at five kilometres in distance, second and fourth legs over ten kilometres, and a sixth and final leg covering the remaining 7.195 km of the classic marathon distance.
Mariana Chirilă is a Romanian female distance runner who competed in events ranging from 800 metres to the marathon. Individually she won gold medals in the 3000 metres at the 1986 Goodwill Games and the 1992 Balkan Athletics Championships, and won the senior race at the Balkan Cross Country Championships in 1985. She represented her country at the European Athletics Championships in 1986, twice at the Universiade, and twice at the IAAF World Women's Road Race Championships. Her highest global ranking was eighth in the 3000 m for the 1986 season.
David Robert Clarke is a British former distance runner who competed over distances from the 1500 metres to the marathon. He represented Great Britain over 5000 metres at the 1983 World Championships in Athletics and the 1981 Summer Universiade.
The 1996 IAAF World Road Relay Championships was the third edition of the global, international marathon relay competition, organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The event took place on 13–14 April on the streets of Copenhagen, Denmark with the participation of 282 athletes from 34 nations. The women's race took place on Saturday 13 April and the men's race took place on Sunday 14 April.
The 1994 IAAF World Road Relay Championships was the second edition of the global, international marathon relay competition, organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The event took place on 16–17 April on a 5-kilometre circuit in Litochoro, Greece with the participation of 240 athletes from 23 nations. The women's race took place on Saturday 16 April and the men's race took place on Sunday 17 April.
The 1992 IAAF World Road Relay Championships was the first edition of the global, international marathon relay competition, organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). It marked the formal establishment of an ekiden as a world championship event, following on from the non-championship 1986 IAAF World Challenge Road Relay. The event took place on 9–10 May in Funchal, Portugal with the participation of 138 athletes from 16 nations. The women's race took place on Saturday 9 May and the men's race took place on Sunday 10 April.
The 25K run is a long distance running footrace that is between the distance of a half marathon and a marathon. It was formerly an official world record distance in road running by World Athletics, but has since been downgraded to world best status. Separately, the Association of Road Racing Statisticians retains world records in the 25K distance. The ARRS holds different standards for records than World Athletics, with exclusions for certain point-to-point races and mixed sex races. As a result its women's world record is 1:26:34 by Nancy Conz, set in 1982.
Ethiopia 
Great Britain 
New Zealand 
Soviet Union 
United States 
