Grete Waitz was a Norwegian marathon runner and former world record holder. In 1979, at the New York City Marathon, she became the first woman in history to run the marathon in under two and a half hours. Waitz won nine New York City Marathons, women's division, between 1978 and 1988, the highest number of victories in a single big city marathon in history. She won the silver medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and a gold medal at the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki. She was also a five-time winner of the World Cross Country Championships.
Mustafa Hassan Mohamed is a Swedish long-distance runner who mainly competes in the 3000 meter steeplechase.
Günther Weidlinger is an Austrian long-distance runner who is a former 3000 metres steeplechase specialist but now competes in the marathon.
Galina Yevgeniyevna Bogomolova is a Russian long-distance runner, who specializes in the 10,000 metres and the marathon.
Abderrahim Goumri was a Moroccan long-distance runner. He had competed in cross country, track, road running and marathon races.
Daniele Meucci is an Italian athlete who specialises in long-distance running, including track running, cross country and road running who won twenty medals at international level.
Andrea Lalli is an Italian long distance runner.
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.
Carl Edward Thackery is a retired British long-distance runner, who competed in the 1980s and 1990s.
Eseosa Fostine "Fausto" Desalu is an Italian sprinter who specialises in the 200 metres winning a silver medal in that event at the 2018 Mediterranean Games and a gold medal in the 4×100 m relay at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
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 2018 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships took place on 24 March 2018 in Valencia, Spain. It was the 23rd edition of the event and the 2nd time it was held in Spain.
Eyob Faniel is an Eritrean-born Italian long-distance runner who won a silver medal at the 2018 Mediterranean Games. He is the national record holder in the marathon with a time of 2:07:19, set on 23 February 2020, at the 2020 Seville Marathon. He finished 20th at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in the Marathon.
Yassine Rachik is a Moroccan-born Italian long-distance runner who won the Italian Athletics Championships three times and also won an individual bronze medal at the 2018 European Athletics Championships.
Italy 
