Achievements
- All results regarding marathon, unless stated otherwise
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing the  United States | ||||
| 1995 | Grandma's Marathon | Duluth, United States | 1st | 2:15:23 |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Born | January 5, 1959 Chillicothe, Missouri |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Long-distance running |
| College team | Central Missouri State University |
Mark Curp (born January 5, 1959, in Chillicothe, Missouri) held the world record for the half marathon from 1985 until 1990. He continued holding the American record in the half marathon until a new record was set by Ryan Hall in 2007.
Curp attended Central Missouri State University, receiving a bachelor's degree in 1981 and a master's degree in 1982. [1]
Curp broke the men's world record in the half marathon on September 15, 1985, clocking 1:00:55 at the Philadelphia Distance Run in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at an overall pace just under 4:39 per mile for the official 13.1094-mile distance. According to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, "in 1987 and 1988, Runner’s World magazine ranked him the number one road racer in the world." [2] (Curp's best time in a marathon came at the 1987 Twin Cities Marathon, when he finished third with a time of 2:11:45. [3] )
Curp's world record in the half marathon stood for five years, until September 16, 1990, when Dionicio Ceron broke Curp's time by nine seconds on the same Philadelphia course. [4]
Curp's time of 1:00:55 stood as the American record until January 14, 2007, when Ryan Hall broke the record at the Aramco Houston Half-Marathon in Houston, Texas. [5]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Representing the United States | ||||
| 1995 | Grandma's Marathon | Duluth, United States | 1st | 2:15:23 |
This list is a chronological progression of record times for the marathon. World records in the marathon are now ratified by World Athletics, the international governing body for the sport of athletics.
Joan Benoit Samuelson is an American marathon runner who was the first women's Olympic Games marathon champion, winning the gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. She held the fastest time for an American woman at the Chicago Marathon for 32 years after winning the race in 1985. Her time at the Boston Marathon was the fastest time by an American woman at that race for 28 years. She was inducted into the Maine Women's Hall of Fame in 2000.
William Henry Rodgers is an American runner, Olympian, and former record holder in the marathon. Rodgers is best known for his four victories in both the Boston Marathon, including three straight from 1978 to 1980, and 4 straight wins in the New York City Marathon, between 1976 and 1979.
Ingrid Kristiansen is a Norwegian former athlete. She was one of the best female long-distance runners during the 1980s. She is a former world record holder in the 5000 metres, 10,000 metres and the marathon. Kristiansen was a World Champion on the track, roads and cross-country, becoming the first athlete to win World titles on all three surfaces. At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, she finished fourth in the first women's Olympic marathon. At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, she dropped out of the 10,000 metres final while leading. Early in her career, she was also an elite cross country skier, winning several Norwegian titles and a European junior championships.
Arturo Barrios Flores is a Mexican long-distance runner who set the 10,000 m world record in 1989, the one hour world record in 1991, and the 20,000 m world record en route to the one hour run world record.
John Stamstad is a member of the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. He was famous for his domination of long-distance mountain bike races. He entered his first long-distance road bike race in 1985. The 547-mile (880 km) non-stop race was across Missouri from St. Louis to Kansas City and back. In 1991 he switched from road events to ultra-marathon mountain bike events when he entered the Montezuma's Revenge, a 24-hour race in Colorado.
Deena Michelle Kastor is an American long-distance runner. She was a holder of American records in the marathon (2006-2022) and numerous road distances. She won the bronze medal in the women's marathon at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. She is also an eight-time national champion in cross country.
Ryan Hall is a retired American long-distance runner who holds the U.S. record in the half marathon. With his half marathon record time (59:43), he became the first U.S. runner to break the one-hour barrier in the event. He is also the only American to run a sub-2:05 marathon. However, this time is not eligible to be a record due to the course being point-to-point and a net-downhill course. Hall won the marathon at the 2008 United States Olympic Trials and placed tenth in the Olympic marathon in Beijing.
Ted Corbitt was an American long-distance runner. The first African-American to run the marathon at the Summer Olympics and the founding president of New York Road Runners, Corbitt is often called "the father of American long distance running." He was also an ultramarathon pioneer, helping to revive interest in the sport in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s. New York Times columnist Robert Lipsyte called Corbitt a "spiritual elder of the modern running clan". In a Runner's World feature honoring lifetime achievement, writer Gail Kislevitz called Corbitt a "symbol of durability and longevity". Corbitt was among the first five runners to be inducted into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame, and the first to be inducted into the American Ultrarunning Hall of Fame.
Paul Richard Cummings was a world-class middle and long distance runner who ran competitively from the 1,500 meters to the marathon, breaking several American records and one world record. His ability to have a middle distance runner's kick and also have the stamina to compete in distances up to the marathon place him as one of the most versatile American track and road racers of his era.
Dale Greig was a Scottish cross country champion and pioneering long-distance runner. In 1964 she became the first woman to run a marathon in under 3 hours 30 minutes. Her time of 3:27:45 at the Isle of Wight Marathon was recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations as a world best. She was also the first woman to run two ultramarathons: the Isle of Man 40 in 1971 and the 55-mile London-to-Brighton race in 1972 – seven years before female competitors were officially allowed. In 1974, at the age of 37, she won the first International Masters Marathon for women, at the World Veterans' Championships in Paris.
Bruce Emery Bickford is a retired long-distance runner from the United States. He claimed the gold medal at the 1987 Pan American Games in the Men's 10,000 metres, and represented his native country in the 1988 Summer Olympics. He set his personal best (27:37.17) in the 10,000 metres in 1985 in Stockholm, Sweden. Bickford won a gold medal in the 1989 United States Olympic Festival Half Marathon.
Marie-Véronique Antoinette Colette Jeannine Marot is a former marathon runner from France who moved to England in 1976. She twice broke the British record for the marathon, with 2:28:04 at the 1985 Chicago Marathon and 2:25:56 when winning the 1989 London Marathon. The latter time stood as the UK record for 13 years. She is also a three-time winner of the Houston Marathon and represented Great Britain at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Caroline Walker is a former American long-distance runner from Oregon who is recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations as having set a world best in the marathon on February 28, 1970 with a time of 3:02:53 at the inaugural Trail's End Marathon in Seaside, Oregon.
Patti Catalano Dillon is a former long-distance runner from the United States who is recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations as having set world bests in the half marathon, 30 kilometers, and 20 kilometers.
The Philadelphia Distanced Run is an annual half marathon road running event which takes place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States on the third Sunday of September.
Nelly Aerts is a Belgian former long-distance runner who competed in the marathon. She represented Belgium at the 1990 European Athletics Championships and won marathons in Rotterdam and Brussels. Her personal bests of 1:11:32 for the half marathon and 2:33:33 hours for the marathon are former national records.
Marion Irvine is an American nun and former marathon runner. Irvine became the then-oldest person to participate in the United States Olympic Trials in track and field in 1984, when she was 54 years old. Following the Trials, she regularly ran on the marathon circuit and gained attention from the media, along with the nickname "The Flying Nun". Irvine broke numerous age-group records in distance running events during her career, and has been inducted into multiple running halls of fame.
Dominic Ondoro is a Kenyan long-distance runner best known for winning the 2017 Houston Marathon in Texas.
Marty Froelick is a professional runner in the United States. In 1987, he won the Twin Cities Marathon, one of the largest races in the nation at the time. He finished with a time of 2:10:59, which remained his career-best marathon time.
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