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.
Stephen Henry Jones is a Welsh athlete and set the former world record in the marathon, in his first completed race at that distance at the Chicago Marathon in 1984 with 2:08:05.
This list is a chronological progression of record times for the marathon. World records in the marathon are ratified by World Athletics, the international governing body for the sport of athletics.
Elizabeth Nuttall is a Scottish former middle- and long-distance runner. She won the gold medal in the 10,000 metres at the 1991 World Championships and a silver over the same distance at the 1988 Olympic Games. McColgan earned a silver in the 3000 metres at the 1989 World Indoor Championships. She was a two-time gold medalist in the event at the Commonwealth Games, 1992 World Half Marathon champion and a two-time individual medallist at the World Cross Country Championships. She claimed three victories at the World Marathon Majors: at the 1991 New York City Marathon, 1992 Tokyo Marathon and 1996 London Marathon.
Stephen Gordon Hendry is a Scottish professional snooker player who is best known for dominating the sport during the 1990s, when he became one of the most successful players in its history. After turning professional in 1985 at age 16, Hendry rose rapidly through the snooker world rankings, reaching number four in the world by the end of his third professional season. He won his first World Snooker Championship in 1990 aged 21 years and 106 days, surpassing Alex Higgins as the sport's youngest world champion, a record he still holds. From 1990 to 1999, he won seven world titles, setting a modern-era record that stood outright until Ronnie O'Sullivan equalled it in 2022. Hendry also won the Masters six times and the UK Championship five times for a career total of 18 Triple Crown tournament wins, a total exceeded only by O'Sullivan's 21. His total of 36 ranking titles is second only to O'Sullivan's 39, while his nine seasons as world number one were the most by any player under the annual ranking system used until 2010.
Aaron Krickstein, nicknamed "Marathon Man", is an American former professional tennis player who competed on the ATP Tour from 1983 to 1996. He currently competes on the Outback Champions Series Over-30 tour.
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.
Francois Robert "Rob" de Castella is an Australian former world champion marathon runner.
The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for some time but, in 2010, relocated to Bonn, Germany, and then in 2014 to Zürich.
Gidamis Shahanga, is a retired Tanzanian long-distance runner who specialized in the 10,000 metres and the marathon race. His personal best at the marathon was 2:08:32 at the 1990 Berlin Marathon.
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.
Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics were held during the last ten days of the Games. They were due to be held from 31 July – 9 August 2020, at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the games were postponed to 2021, with the track and field events set for 30 July – 8 August. The sport of athletics at these Games was split into three distinct sets of events: track and field events, remaining in Tokyo, and road running events and racewalking events, moved to Sapporo. A total of 48 events were held, one more than in 2016, with the addition of a mixed relay event.
Paul Bannon is a Canadian long-distance runner. He won bronze medal in the marathon at the 1978 Commonwealth Games.
The Valencia Marathon is an annual marathon road running event hosted by Valencia, Spain since 1981. It is categorized as a Platinum Label Road Race by World Athletics. The race is organised by the Valencian sports club SD Correcaminos, which also organises the annual Valencia Half Marathon.
The 1989 Berlin Marathon was the 16th running of the annual marathon race held in Berlin, West Germany, held on 1 October. Australia's Alfredo Shahanga won the men's race in 2:10:11 hours, while the women's race was won by Finland's Päivi Tikkanen in 2:28:45. Heinz Frei (1:40:11) and Daniela Jutzeler (1:55:23), both of Switzerland, won the men's and women's wheelchair races. A total of 13,433 runners finished the race, 12,233 men and 1200 women.
Driss Dacha is a retired Moroccan long-distance runner who won several marathons and was named to the 1989 World Marathon Cup team for his country. He was the runner-up at the 1993 Berlin Marathon.
Tanzania 
