Marathons | Guinness World Records
Find out all about setting a Guinness World Records title at a marathon.
www.guinnessworldrecords.comHere’s the latest available on marathon world records and notable progressions up to 2025–2026.
Direct answer
- The men’s marathon world record as of 2023 is 2:00:35, set by Kelvin Kiptum at the Chicago Marathon in October 2023.
- The women’s marathon world record as of 2024 is 2:11:53, set by Tigst Assefa at the Berlin Marathon in September 2023, with notable further improvements elsewhere in 2024–2025.
Context and recent developments
- After Kiptum’s 2:00:35 in Chicago (2013), the trend over the 2010s–2020s has been a steady, sometimes explosive, acceleration of times on fast courses (Berlin, Chicago, London) due to improved pacing strategies, shoe technology, and course logistics. This is consistent with the historical pattern of Berlin often hosting record-worthy performances.[3][9]
- In recent years, women’s marathoning has seen rapid improvements on Chicago and Berlin, with record improvements occurring in 2023–2024 as top athletes pushed under 2:10 and then under 2:09, culminating in new bests on major championship and city courses.[2][3]
- Media coverage regularly features yearly or biennial advances, but breakthroughs depend on specific race conditions (weather, pacers, course profile) and athlete form. For example, major outlets highlighted Mantz's American record in 2025 Chicago (2:04:43) and Chepngetich’s 2:09:56 world-leading time in 2024 Chicago, underscoring ongoing progress and the sport’s global depth.[2]
Illustrative notes
- Berlin remains a common site for fast contest times and record attempts, often producing the fastest men’s times in the modern era.[9]
- Chicago and London have also produced record-qualifying performances, especially as the field tightens and training strategies evolve, contributing to the ongoing progression narrative.[3][2]
What I can provide next
- A concise, up-to-date timeline of all official men’s and women’s marathon world records with dates, athletes, and venues.
- A chart showing year-by-year marathon record times for both genders.
- A brief explainer of the main factors driving sub-2:00 performances and recent record-style breakthroughs.
Would you like a precise, sourced timeline and a quick chart? If yes, tell me whether you prefer a text timeline, a CSV dataset, or a Plotly chart. I can generate and attach the artifacts.