A marathon is not just a race, it is a battle of endurance, strategy, and strength of spirit. Over the past hundred years, marathon results for men and women have changed dramatically. While at the beginning of the 20th century, a time of 2:30 seemed fantastic, today it is achievable even for strong amateurs.
Sportmaster traced the development of marathon running and which records now seem achievable.
From Theodoricus to Spiridon
The marathon was included in the program of the first modern Olympic Games in Athens. It could not have been otherwise, as ancient Greece is considered the birthplace of 40-kilometer races.
According to some sources, the messenger Theodoris was the first to run this distance to announce the victory of the Greek army over the Persians. As for the first modern Games, the qualifying race for the Olympic marathon (March 22, 1896) was held first, which was won by Charilaos Vassilakos. It took the Greek three hours and 18 minutes to reach the finish line first.
But when the official start took place 19 days later, where medals were awarded, another Greek, water carrier Spyridon Louis, managed to run the distance in under three hours — 2:58:50 seconds. However, the marathon distance at that Olympics was exactly 40 km.
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The first official world record in the men’s marathon was set in 1908 at the London Games, when American Johnny Hayes ran 42.195 km in 2:55:18. It was indeed a world “achievement”: until January 1, 2004, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) did not record world records in the marathon. It was believed that the tracks varied greatly in terms of their level: elevation, type of surface, and so on.
Usually, the fastest results are achieved on relatively flat sections located on a plain. And in good weather. They must be certified by the International Organization…
Let’s return to the results. It took runners only 17 years to shave off half an hour and break the 2:30 mark. In May 1925, another American, Albert Michelsen, clocked 2:29:01.8 in New York.
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The threat from Africa
By the 1960s, 2:15 had become the standard for the elite. And in 1967, Australian Derek Clayton broke the 2:10 barrier for the first time, clocking 2:09:36. This record stood for 12 years!
But the real revolution came in the 2000s with the emergence of a number of Kenyan and Ethiopian athletes in the elite ranks, who trained in mid-mountain or high-mountain conditions in their home countries.
In 2003, Paul Tergat (Kenya) was the first to break 2:05 (2:04:55), and five years later, Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia) broke 2:04 (2:03:59).
The current Russian record (as of October 2025) was also set by an African athlete. The best time in the Moscow Marathon for men belongs to Kenyan Kigen Alfonce Kibiwott, who finished in 2025 with a time of 2:09:31. He ran at an average pace of 3.05, and the route in our capital (as all participants are well aware) is very hilly, and some open sections can be quite windy.
Nowadays, many Russian marathon runners even travel to Kenya for training camps to train in the same conditions as African athletes.
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The Kipchoge era
The coveted two-hour barrier has almost been broken. Eliud Kipchoge ran the marathon distance in 1:59:40.2 at the Ineos 1:59 Challenge in Vienna on October 12, 2019.
However, no other athletes participated in this race, and food and water were provided at any time at the runner’s request, as were pacemakers. Therefore, the result was not officially ratified.
