Kenenisa Bekele is an Ethiopian long-distance runner and the current world record and Olympic record holder in both the 5,000 metre and 10,000 metre events. He won the gold medal in both the 5,000 m and 10,000 m events at the 2008 Summer Olympics. At the 2004 Olympics he won the gold medal in the 10,000 m and the silver medal in the 5000 m. He is married to actress Danawit Gebregziabher and he has one younger brother, Tariku Bekele, who is also an accomplished world-class distance runner.
Evans Rutto is a Kenyan long-distance runner, who specialises in road running events. He made the fastest-ever marathon debut by winning the 2003 Chicago Marathon in a time of 2:05:50. He won the London Marathon and a second title in Chicago the following year.
Rita Jeptoo is a Kenyan marathon runner. Originally a winner of the Boston Marathon three times, including setting the then course record at 2:18:57 in 2014, she had also won marathons in Chicago, Stockholm, and Milan, as well as having represented Kenya in the event at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics. She was the bronze medalist at the 2006 IAAF World Road Running Championships.
Kara Goucher is an American long-distance runner. She was the 10,000 meters silver medalist at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics and represented her country at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2012 London Olympics. She made her marathon debut in 2008 and finished third the following year at the Boston Marathon.
Edna Ngeringwony Kiplagat is a Kenyan long-distance runner. She is the 2011 and 2013 IAAF World Champion in the marathon. She established herself as an elite marathon runner with wins at the Los Angeles and New York City Marathons in 2010. Her personal best for the distance is 2:19:50 hours, set at the London Marathon in 2012. At age 37, Kiplagat won the 2017 Boston Marathon in a time of 2:21:52 hours.
Nelson Cruz is a Cape Verdean athlete, specializing in long-distance running, marathon and half marathon.
Yoshimi Ozaki is a Japanese long-distance runner, who specializes in the marathon. She won the 2008 Tokyo Women's Marathon in a personal best time of 2:23:30 hours. A year later she took the silver medal in the event at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics.
Ana Dulce Ferreira FélixComM is a Portuguese long distance runner who competes in track, cross country, and road running events. She ran the Olympic marathon in 2012 and 2016 and placed 21st and 16th, respectively.
Daniele Meucci is an Italian athlete who specialises in long-distance running, including track running, cross country and road running. He represented Italy at the 2012 Summer Olympics, running in the 5000 metres and 10,000 metres.
Michael Shelley is an Australian long-distance runner who competes in track events and road races. He has won gold medals in the marathon event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games at Glasgow, Scotland, as well as the 2018 Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast, Australia. He has also represented Australia at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships and the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships. On the road, he has won at the Gold Coast Half Marathon and the City2Surf race in Sydney.
Desiree "Desi" "Des" Nicole Linden is an American long-distance runner. She represented the United States in the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics women's marathon. In 2018, she won the Boston Marathon, becoming the first American in 33 years to win the woman's category in the event.
Zohar Zimro is an Israeli marathon runner.
Joyce Chepkirui is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in road running events. She established herself as a half marathon runner, winning races in Granollers, Bogotá and Gothenburg. She set a best of 1:06:19 hours to win the 2014 Prague Half Marathon. She also competes in 10K road races and her personal best of 30:38 minutes makes her fifth fastest woman ever.
Yuki Kawauchi is a Japanese marathon runner. He came to prominence after running the 2011 Tokyo Marathon in 2:08:37, finishing as the first Japanese and third overall. He is known as the "citizen runner" given that he works full-time for the government of Saitama Prefecture and trains in his time off with his own expenses without any sponsorship.
Jorge Torres is an American long-distance and cross-country runner. He is a three-time runner-up at the U.S. Cross-Country Championships, a 2002 NCAA Cross Country Champion, and a 2006 U.S. Outdoor Champion for the 10,000 meters.
António Carlos Pina Zeferino is a Cape Verdean athlete, specializing in long-distance running, marathon and half marathon.
Euclides Varela is a Cape Verdean long-distance runner.
Sónia Lopes is a Cape Verdean middle distance and long-distance runner.
Simon Chemoiywo is a Kenyan former long-distance runner. He competed in track, cross country and road running. At the IAAF World Cross Country Championships he twice represented Kenya: in 1994 he was the runner-up and team champion, then helped retain the team title for Kenya at the 1995 race.
Carlos Martín Díaz del Río is a Chilean middle-distance runner who competes mainly in the 1500 metres. He holds a Chilean Record of 3:37.86 minutes for the distance. He was the gold medallist in the event at the South American Championships in Athletics in 2015.
