World record progression
| Time | Athlete | Date | Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 58:14 |  Albertine Regel (FRA) | 1926-11-11 | Paris, France |
| 56:26 |  Margit Lindström (SWE) | 1934-10-07 | Stockholm, Sweden |
| 53:17 | Sandrah Holm (SWE) | 1935-05-19 | Uppsala, Sweden |
| 52:56 | Birgit Frisk (SWE) | 1942-06-21 | Almunge, Sweden |
| 51:14 | May Holmén (SWE) | 1942-08-09 | Mariestad, Sweden |
| 51:11 | Stina Lindberg (SWE) | 1942-08-23 | Gävle, Sweden |
| 51:01 | Margareta Simu (SWE) | 1972-06-24 | Äppelbo, Sweden |
| 49:04 | Margareta Simu (SWE) | 1976-06-22 | Äppelbo, Sweden |
| 48:53 | Margareta Simu (SWE) | 1978-06-25 | Äppelbo, Sweden |
| 48:40 |  Thorill Gylder (NOR) | 1978-09-16 | Søfteland, Norway |
| 47:24 | Thorill Gylder (NOR) | 1979-09-15 | Valer, Norway |
| 46:28 |  Sue Orr (AUS) | 1980-05-11 | Moss, Norway |
| 45:38 | Sally Pierson (AUS) | 1982-05-08 | Melbourne, Australia |
| 45:32 | Susan Cook (AUS) | 1982-06-10 | Canberra, Australia |
| 45:14 |  Young Juxu (CHN) | 1983-09-24 | Bergen, Norway |
| 44:52 |  Olga Krishtop (URS) | 1984-08-05 | Penza, Soviet Union |
| 44:14 | Yan Hong (CHN) | 1985-03-16 | Jian, PR China |
| 43:22 | Olga Krishtop (URS) | 1987-05-03 | New York City, United States |
| 42:52 | Kerry Saxby (AUS) | 1987-05-04 | Melbourne, Australia |
| 41:30 | Kerry Saxby (AUS) | 1988-08-27 | Canberra, Australia |
| 41:29 |  Larisa Ramazanova (RUS) | 1995-06-04 | Izhevsk, Russia |
| 41:04 | Yelena Nikolayeva (RUS) | 1996-04-20 | Sochi, Russia |