World records in the marathon are ratified by World Athletics, the international governing body for the sport of athletics.
Kenenisa Bekele Beyecha is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. He was the world record holder in both the 5,000-metre and 10,000-metre from 2004 until 2020. He won the gold medal in both the 5,000 m and 10,000 m events at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. At the 2004 Olympics, he won the gold medal in the 10,000 m and the silver medal in the 5,000 m.
Jonathan Michael Brown is a former British long-distance runner who specialised in 10,000 metres, cross country running and the marathon.
Eliud Kipchoge is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in the marathon and formerly specialized in the 5000 metres. Regarded as one of the greatest marathon runners of all time, he is the 2016 and 2020 Olympic marathon champion, and was the world record holder in the marathon from 2018 to 2023, with a time of 2:01:09 set at the 2022 Berlin Marathon, until that record was broken by Kelvin Kiptum at the 2023 Chicago Marathon with a time of 2:00:35. He has run four of the 10 fastest marathons in history.
José Manuel ("Chema") Martínez Fernández is a Spanish long-distance runner. He is married to Spanish field hockey player Nuria Moreno.
Abderrahim Goumri was a Moroccan long-distance runner. He had competed in cross country, track, road running and marathon races.
Bernard Kiprop Kipyego is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in the marathon. His personal best for the event is 2:06:22 hours. He has reached the podium at the Amsterdam Marathon, Chicago Marathon, Boston Marathon, Paris Marathon and Tokyo Marathon.
The 2009 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held in Birmingham, United Kingdom on 11 October 2009. It was the final event of the International Association of Athletics Federations' 2009 World Athletics Series.
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.
World Athletics Label Road Races are races that World Athletics designates as the "leading road races around the world." The classification was first introduced for the 2008 running season, upon the suggestion of the IAAF Road Running Commission. The races are split into three categories: marathons, half marathons and other. Within the "other" category are traditional road race distances, over which World Athletics world records can be set, along with some "Classical races", which span unusual distances. The Labels are considered a prestigious award by race organisers, and include the six World Marathon Majors.
Yemane Adhane Tsegay is an Ethiopian long distance runner who specialises in the marathon. He won the 2012 Rotterdam Marathon with a personal best time of 2:04:48 hours. He has also won marathons in Eindhoven, Gyeongju, Macau and Taipei.
Vincent Kipruto Limo is a Kenyan long distance runner who specialises in the marathon. He made his debut in the event in 2008 and won the Paris Marathon a year later. He then placed top three at the Chicago Marathon and the Rotterdam Marathon.
Stanley Kipleting Biwott is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in half marathon and marathon races. He won the 2012 Paris Marathon in a course record time of 2:05:11 hours and the 2015 New York City Marathon. His half marathon best is 58:56 minutes.
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.
Dennis Kipruto Kimetto is a Kenyan long distance runner who competes in road running events. He was the world record holder in the men's marathon with a time of 2 hours 2 minutes 57 seconds, a record which he held until Eliud Kipchoge broke it in 2018 with a time of 2:01:39.
The 2012 Berlin Marathon was the 39th edition of the annual marathon event and was held on Sunday 30 September on the streets of Berlin, Germany. An IAAF Gold Label Road Race, it was the third World Marathon Majors event to be held that year. Geoffrey Mutai won the men's race in a time of 2:04:15 hours and Aberu Kebede was the women's winner in 2:20:30. A total of 34,377 people finished the marathon race.
In 2014 there was no primary outdoor global athletics championship, as neither the Summer Olympics nor the World Championships in Athletics occurred in the year. The 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships, and the 2014 IAAF Continental Cup were the foremost global events to be held in 2014. The 2014 IAAF World Relays marked the debut of the new international competition exclusively for relay races.
Stephen Kosgei Kibet is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in road running competitions from the 10K run to the marathon. His half marathon personal best of 58:54 minutes ranks him in the top ten of all-time for the distance. His best of the marathon distance is 2:08:05 hours.
Jonathan Kiplimo Maiyo is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in half marathon and marathon events. His personal bests of 59:02 minutes and 2:04:56 hours, respectively, ranks him in the top twenty all-time in both events. He was also the silver medallist over 5000 metres at the 2012 African Championships in Athletics.
Jonathan "Jonny" Hay is a British middle- and long-distance runner who competes in cross country, track and half marathons.
