Eliud Kipchoge is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in the marathon and formerly specialised at the 5000 metre distance. Widely regarded as the greatest marathon runner and one of the greatest sportsmen in history, he is the 2016 and 2020 Olympic marathon champion, holds the world record in the marathon with a time of 2:01:09 set at the 2022 Berlin Marathon, and owns four out of the five fastest marathon times in history.
Tadese Tola is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. He has represented Ethiopia at World championship level in cross country, road running, and on the track.
Deriba Merga Ejigu is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner. He mainly competes in the marathon. He finished fourth in that event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and went on to win the Boston Marathon the following year. His personal best for the distance is 2:06:38 hours.
Tsegaye Kebede Wordofa is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes in road running events, including marathons. He quickly rose to become a prominent distance runner after his international debut at the Amsterdam Marathon in 2007. In his second year of professional running, he won the Paris Marathon, the Fukuoka Marathon and won the marathon bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich is a Kenyan professional athlete who specialises in long-distance running, competing in events ranging from 10 km to the marathon. He was the bronze medallist in the marathon at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He is the former world record holder in the marathon with a time of 2:03:23, which he set at the 2013 Berlin Marathon. He has run under 2 hours 4 minutes for the marathon on four occasions.
The 2010 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held in Nanning, China on 16 October 2010. The competition took place on the city streets, beginning and ending at Wuxiang Square, with a total prize purse of US$245,000 at stake.
Geoffrey Kiprono Mutai is a Kenyan long distance runner who specialises in road running competitions. On 18 April 2011 at the Boston Marathon, Mutai ran the fastest marathon ever at the time in a time of 2 hours 3 minutes 2 seconds, though the time was not recognised by the International Association of Athletics Federations as a world record since the Boston course does not meet the criteria to be eligible for the mark.
Lelisa Desisa Benti is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who specialises in road running competitions. Desisa gained his first international medal at the 2009 African Junior Athletics Championships, where he took the 10,000 metres gold medal.
Fate Tola Geleto is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes in marathon races. She represented Ethiopia at the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships and has won marathons in Thessaloniki and Vienna. She lives in Germany and trains with Irina Mikitenko. Since 2012, she competes for the German club MTV Braunschweig.
The men's marathon at the 2012 Olympic Games in London took place on the Olympic marathon street course on 12 August, the final day of the Games. One hundred and five athletes from 67 nations competed. The event was won by Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda, the nation's first Olympic men's marathon victory and the nation's only medal in 2012. Kenya earned its fourth and fifth medals in five Games, with Abel Kirui's silver and Wilson Kipsang's bronze.
Tirfi Tsegaye Beyene is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes in marathon races. She has won the Berlin Marathon, the Paris Marathon, the Tokyo Marathon, and the Dubai Marathon. Her personal best of 2:20:18 hours came as winner of the 2014 Berlin Marathon.
Stephen Kiprotich is a Ugandan long-distance runner, born in Kapchorwa District. He is an Olympic marathon champion, having won gold at the 2012 London Summer Olympics. He also won gold at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics. He is the second person, after Gezahegne Abera, to follow an Olympic marathon gold medal with a world championship gold medal for the same event.
Helah Kiprop Jelagat is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who competes in the half marathon and marathon. Her personal bests for the events are 1:07:39 minutes and 2:21:27 hours, respectively.
The men's marathon at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro took place on the Sambódromo on 21 August, the final day of the Games. One hundred fifty-five athletes from 79 nations competed. The event was won by Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya, the nation's second victory in the event in three Games. Feyisa Lilesa of Ethiopia took silver, while Galen Rupp of the United States took bronze. The defending champion going into the marathon was Ugandan Stephen Kiprotich.
The women's marathon at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Beijing National Stadium on 30 August.
The men's marathon at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics was held on 6 August, starting and finishing on Tower Bridge.
Fred Musobo is an Ugandan mountain runner.
The men's marathon event at the 2020 Summer Olympics started at 07:00 on 8 August 2021 in Sapporo, Japan. 106 athletes from 46 nations competed. The previous Olympic champion, Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge, successfully defended his title, with Dutch and Belgian athletes Abdi Nageeye and Bashir Abdi gaining silver and bronze, respectively. Kipchoge was the third man to repeat as Olympic marathon champion, after Abebe Bikila and Waldemar Cierpinski. The Netherlands and Belgium earned their first men's marathon medals since 1980 and 1976, respectively.
The men's marathon was one of the road events at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar. Due to the heat in Doha, the race was scheduled to begin at 23:59 on 5 October 2019. Even with the unusual timing, high temperatures were expected to provide difficult conditions for running, but in the end temperatures dropped to around 29 °C (84 °F) and 50% humidity. The race was won by Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia in 2 h 10 min 40 s, followed four seconds behind by his compatriot Mosinet Geremew. Amos Kipruto of Kenya was third in 2:10:51.
The 2019 New York City Marathon was the 49th running of the annual marathon race held in New York City, United States, which took place on November 3, 2019. The men's race was won by Kenyan Geoffrey Kamworor in a time of 2:08:13. The women's race was won in 2:22:38 by Kenyan Joyciline Jepkosgei, making her official debut at the distance. The men and women's wheelchair races, were won by American Daniel Romanchuk (1:37:24) and Switzerland's Manuela Schär (1:44:20), respectively. A total of 53,508 runners finished the race, comprising 30,794 men and 22,714 women.
