The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of 42.195 km, usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair divisions. More than 800 marathons are held throughout the world each year, with the vast majority of competitors being recreational athletes, as larger marathons can have tens of thousands of participants.
An ultramarathon, also called ultra distance or ultra running, is a footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of 42.195 kilometres. Various distances, surfaces, and formats are raced competitively, from the shortest common ultramarathon of 31 miles (50 km) and up to 3100 miles. World Championships are held by the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) for 50 km, 100 km, 24 hours, and ultra trail running. The Global Organization of Multi-Day Ultramarathoners (GOMU) holds World Championships for 48 hours and 6 days. World Records are ratified and recognized by World Athletics, the IAU, and by GOMU.
A half marathon is a road running event of 21.0975 kilometres —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcuts. If finisher medals are awarded, the medal or ribbon may differ from those for the full marathon. The half marathon is also known as a 21K, 21.1K, or 13.1 miles, although these values are rounded and not formally correct.
The World Marathon Majors (WMM) is a championship-style competition for marathon runners that started in 2006. A points-based competition founded on six major marathon races recognised as the most high-profile on the calendar, the series comprises annual races for the cities of Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York. In addition, each edition of the series recognises and includes the results of the major global championship marathon held in that year, usually on a one-off lapped course. These races are the biennial World Athletics Championships Marathon, and the quadrennial Olympic Games Marathon.
The Tokyo Marathon is an annual marathon sporting event in Tokyo, Japan. It is a World Athletics Platinum Label marathon and one of the six World Marathon Majors. The latest edition of the race took place on 3 March 2024. It is sponsored by Tokyo Metro.
The following tables are an overview of all current national records in the marathon, as compiled by World Athletics and other authoritative sources of road racing statistics.
Cameron Levins is a Canadian long-distance runner. He won the bronze medal in the 10,000 meters at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Levins had the best-Canadian finish ever of fourth in the marathon at the 2022 World Championships, setting a new Canadian record. He is the North American record holder for the marathon and the Canadian record holder for the half marathon.
The 2013 Tokyo Marathon was the seventh edition of the annual marathon race in Tokyo, Japan and was held on Sunday, 24 February. An IAAF Gold Label Road Race, it was the first World Marathon Majors event to be held that year and represented the first occasion that the Tokyo race was part of the elite-level marathon series.
The marathon at the Summer Olympics is the only road running event held at the multi-sport event. The men's marathon has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since the first modern Olympics in 1896. Nearly ninety years later, the women's event was added to the programme at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
The 2016 Tokyo Marathon was the tenth edition of the annual marathon race in Tokyo, Japan and was held on Sunday, 28 February. An IAAF Gold Label Road Race, it was the first World Marathon Majors event to be held that year.
Abdi Nageeye is a Somali-Dutch long-distance runner from the Netherlands. He won the silver medal in the marathon at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Nageeye placed third at the 2022 New York City Marathon.
The men's marathon 10 kilometre event at the 2020 Summer Olympics was held on 5 August 2021 at the Odaiba Marine Park. It was the fourth appearance of the event, having first been held in 2008.
The 2019 Tokyo Marathon was the thirteenth edition of the annual marathon race in Tokyo and was held on Sunday, 3 March. An IAAF Gold Label Road Race, it was the first World Marathon Majors event to be held that year. The men's race was won by Birhanu Legese in 2:04:48 hours while the women's race was won by Ruti Aga in 2:20:40.
The 2020 Tokyo Marathon was the 14th edition of the annual marathon race in Tokyo, and was held on Sunday, 1 March. A World Athletics Platinum Label Road Race, it was the first World Marathon Majors event held that year. The prior year's men's winner, Ethiopian Birhanu Legese, successfully defended his title by winning with a time of 2:04:15. In the women's marathon Israeli Lonah Chemtai Salpeter set a new course record, breaking the old one by over two minutes, as well as a new Israeli national record by winning with a time of 2:17:45; the sixth-fastest women's marathon in the world of all time.
Tomoki Suzuki is a Japanese wheelchair racer, who won the 2020 and 2024 Tokyo Marathons, came second at the 2015, 2018, 2021 and 2023 Tokyo Marathons, and came third at the 2017 Tokyo, 2019 and 2023 London Marathons. Suzuki competed in multiple events at the 2020 Summer Paralympics, and won a bronze medal in the mixed 4 × 100 metres relay.
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.
Kenya 
Ethiopia 
Israel 
Japan 
Netherlands 
United States 
Mongolia 