Marathon Statistics: Finishing Times, Demographics & Records

The average US marathon finish time in 2024 was 4:24 for men and 4:51 for women (4:28 and 4:54 in 2019)

From about 10.5 million US race results across 6,352 events, roughly 97% of US marathon results. Average times got slightly faster between 2019 and 2024.

The men's marathon world record is 1:59:30 (Sabastian Sawe, London, April 2026), the first sub-2-hour time in a record-eligible race

About 2:50 per km (4:34 per mile). It took the record from Kelvin Kiptum's 2:00:35, set in Chicago in October 2023.

The women's marathon world record is 2:09:56 (Ruth Chepngetich, Chicago, October 2024), set in a mixed race

The first women's marathon under 2:10. The women-only record is 2:15:41 (Tigst Assefa, London, April 2026). Chepngetich was later banned after a March 2025 test; results before that sample stand.

About 1-2% of marathon starters drop out before the finish

Reported for major marathons; dropout rates rise in hot conditions.

Qualifiers for the 2004 US Olympic Marathon Trials ran 145 km a week (men) and 116 km a week (women), 75% and 68% of it slower than marathon pace

Survey of 93 qualifiers. Men ran 8.7 sessions a week on average and women 7.1; elite women ran more than national-class women (136 vs 111 km a week).

Elite marathon times are fastest at about age 27 for men and 29 for women

From the top ten finishers at each age in the 2010 and 2011 New York City Marathons. Times rise on both sides of that age, giving a U-shaped curve.

More than two-fifths of marathon runners hit 'the wall', a severe depletion of carbohydrate reserves that limits performance

The model ties it to glycogen stores, running speed and fuelling, so it is not inevitable: carbohydrate during the race and a realistic target pace both delay it.

Marathon participation worldwide grew 49% from 2008 to 2018

From 19.6 million marathon results between 2008 and 2018.

Runners had 30% lower all-cause and 45% lower cardiovascular mortality than non-runners, about 3 years more life expectancy

55,137 adults followed for a mean of 15 years. The benefit was similar across running doses, including small amounts of running each week; this is leisure-time running, not marathon racing.

During endurance events, 30-60 g of carbohydrate an hour is an appropriate target, and events longer than 2.5 hours may benefit from up to 90 g an hour

Blends of different carbohydrates can raise how much the gut absorbs at the higher rates.

82% of runners met the criteria for stage 1 or 2 acute kidney injury right after a marathon, and 73% showed tubular injury on urine microscopy

22 runners at the 2015 Hartford Marathon. Markers peaked immediately after the race and had fallen a day later; the authors call for larger studies with longer follow-up.

Cardiac arrest during US marathons occurred at about 1 per 100,000 participants (1.01)

From 10.9 million runners in US marathons and half-marathons from 2000 to 2010; across both race types the rate was 0.54 per 100,000. Cardiovascular disease accounted for most arrests.

Air temperature is the environmental factor that most affects marathon performance; above an optimum, speed falls and withdrawals rise

1.79 million finishes at six major marathons from 2001 to 2010. The optimal temperature depends on performance level; ozone also mattered, possibly through its link with temperature.

Carbon-plated prototype racing shoes lowered the energetic cost of running by 4% compared with established marathon shoes

Measured in 18 high-caliber runners at 14-18 km/h, with shoe mass matched; every runner improved. The effect on race time is smaller than the economy gain.

In Olympic and World Championship marathons, medallists ran at an even pace from 10 km onward, and athletes who stayed with the same pack slowed least

673 men and 549 women across nine championships. Women slowed less than men and were more likely to run a negative split.