Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia ran the first sub-2:04:00 marathon in September, 2008 in Berlin, running 2:03:59. It must be noted that this was an unusual situation, since he had no strong competitors in the race and had help from several pacemakers. Nonetheless, it is a fantastic achievement.
In April, 2011, Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya ran 2:03:02 in the Boston Marathon, the fastest marathon run ever. This was not considered as a world record because the Boston course "wasn't hard enough" (it is net downhill, and it is a one-way course rather than a closed loop, so a runner can have a net tailwind). To anyone who has ever run both courses, this is the sheerest absurdity. Berlin, Chicago and London are fast flat courses where record tries are routinely made, whereas Boston and New York are slow courses due to hilly terrain. Also, Boston is extremely competitive and does not allow pacers, so a runner cannot "tuck in" behind teammates as is possible (and was done) in Berlin. There's a very good reason that nobody ever plans to attempt a world record run in Boston or New York any more - they always target Berlin, Chicago or London.
So while Haile still has the world record, many (including me) consider Geoffrey's run to be the greatest marathon run ever.
Read more: Who_is_the_mens_marathon_world_record_holder
The current world record holder for the fastest marathon is Eliud Kipchoge from Kenya, with a time of 2 hours, 1 minute, and 39 seconds, set at the 2018 Berlin Marathon.
In July of 2014, the world record for the marathon was two hours, three minutes, and twenty three seconds. A marathon is 26 miles and 385 yards in length.
The womens Olympic record is held by Naoko Takahashi of Japan at a time of 2hrs 23mins 14secs set in 2000 at Sydney.
There is no such thing as a "5 mile marathon". An official marathon is 26.2 miles and only 26.2 miles. There are many other races of different lengths, but they are not marathons.
(men) Patrick Makau 2:03:38 / Berlin 2011
(women) Paula Radciffe 2:15:25 / London 2003
58:33 by Samuel Wanjiru of Kenya
Usain Bolt is the Olympic champion and world record holder.
Paula Radcliffe is a long-distance runner and a marathon world record holder.
It's Thrust SSC, the holder of the world land speed record of 763 mph
The current (as of 7 January 2010) world record holders are:Men'sHaile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia) - 2:03:59 (Berlin Marathon, 28 September 2008)Women'sPauls Radcliffe (United Kingdom) - 2:15:25 (London Marathon, 13 April 2003)
The IAAF regards Patrick Makau's 2:03:38 (Berlin 2011) to be the official men's World Record. However the fastest marathon ever (2:03:02) was run by Geoffrey Mutai (Boston 2011).
Gebreselassie an Ethiopian marathon runner (World record holder) has refused to run the Marathon at the Beijing Olympics due to bad air quality but will run the 10,000 meters.
1:41.01 by world record holder David Rudisha of Kenya.
Geoffrey Mutai ran 2:03:02 at the 2011 Boston Marathon. The recognized IAAF world record (2:03:38) however was set by Patrick Makau at the 2011 Berlin Marathon.
Wilson Kipketer of Denmark holds seven of the ten fastest 800m times in history, including his world record of 1.41.11 from 1997.
a half marathon
Fastest Time: 2:03:02 (Geoffrey Mutai, 18APR2011 in the Boston Marathon) *World Record: 2:03:38 (Patrick Makau, 25SEP2011 in the Berlin Marathon)* not recognized by the IAAF as a World Record because it was run on a course with a net elevation loss.
As of 2021, the current men's 100m world record holder is Usain Bolt from Jamaica, who set the record of 9.58 seconds in 2009 at the World Championships in Berlin, Germany.