We could go on for days when it comes to marathon running as there's so much to talk about. For one, it's an incredible feat of endurance to run 42km on the day, not to mention the huge amount of dedication it takes just to train for a marathon.
Marathon runners are particularly special because not only do they manage this incredible feat, but they also do it incredibly quickly, often at paces that most people would struggle to maintain for much shorter distances.
The marathon runners who become household names are more than just quick runners, though, they're also role models for everyone interested in long-distance running and have made the sport more accessible than it's ever been.
In this article, we'll be looking at the world's most famous marathon runners, what they did, and what makes them so special.
Abebe Bikila (1932-1973)
Abebe Bikila was a long-distance runner from Ethiopia who was probably most famous for setting his personal best (PB) and marathon world record at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome.
If you've ever shopped around for running shoes, you'll likely be impressed at all the technology involved, but not Bikila, as he completed his groundbreaking achievement barefoot, which is something that some runners still do today.
Bikila won the marathon at the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games, too, and broke the world record again. He was the first ever Olympic marathon runner to defend his title and his legacy as a runner also likely helped hugely popularise the sport in Ethiopia as well as other countries in East Africa, who happen to have an incredible legacy when it comes to distance running.
Sadly, Bikila died at the age of 41 in a car accident, but will still be fondly remembered as one of the greatest runners. His personal best was a 2:12:11.2, which he achieved at the aforementioned Tokyo 1964 Olympic Games.
Robert de Castella (1957- )
We'd like to give a special mention to one of Australia's greatest marathon runners, Robert de Castella. De Castella was born in Melbourne and won gold medals at the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland, and the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Australia, in 1982, and the 1986 games in Edinburgh, UK.
When he ran the Fukuoka Marathon in 1981, he set the world record with a time of 2:08:18, which remains the Oceania record. However, when Robert de Castella set the record, it wasn't originally recognised as the world record because it was slower than the record set at the 1981 New York marathon by the American runner Alberto Salazar.
Since the New York course was actually 148 metres short, Salazar's record didn't count and de Castella's record was ratified as the official world record at the time. It would later be beaten by Steve Jones of the United Kingdom in 1984 with a time of 2:08:05 at the Chicago Marathon.
Rosa Mota (1958- )
Rose Mota is a marathon runner from Portugal who started out as a cross-country runner. In fact, her first ever marathon was the 1982 European Championships in Athens, Greece, where she comfortably won!
Of the 21 marathons that Mota completed between 1982 and 1992, she won 14 of them. This included gold medals in the aforementioned Athens marathon in the European Championships and two other European Championships gold medals in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1986 and Split, Croatia, in 1990. She also took home the gold in the 1987 World Championships in Rome, Italy, and the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea.
Her personal best was the 2:23:29 that she ran in the 1985 Chicago Marathon, a marathon that she won on two occasions!
Find out how to train for a marathon.
Haile Gebrselassie (1973- )
Haile Gebrselassie is another great Ethiopian long-distance runner. While his preferred distance was likely 10,000m, he also regularly ran in the 5000m events and won many marathons.
In addition to 2 gold medals at the 10,000m events in the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games in Atlanta, USA, and Sydney, Australia, respectively, he also won 4 gold 10,000m medals in the World Finals.
He also won the Berlin Marathon 4 years in a row between 2006 and 2009 and the Dubai Marathon 3 years in a row between 2008 and 2010.
His personal best for a marathon is 2:03:59, a record-breaking time at the time, which he set during the Berlin Marathon in 2008 when he won it.
Paula Radcliffe (1973- )
Paula Radcliffe is a British marathon runner and is practically a household name in her native country. She regularly won the London, Chicago, and New York City Marathons and set a record of 2:15:25 at the 2003 London Marathon, which was both a personal best and a European Record. Her Marathon record would remain until 2017 when Kenya's Brigid Kosgei ran a 2:14:04 at the Chicago Marathon.
It should be noted, however, that when it comes to records, there are records for both mixed-gender events and women-only events. Both of the records listed here are faster than the women-only race records.
The current record is held by Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa who broke the record at the 2023 Berlin Marathon with a time of 2:11:53, becoming the first woman to run a marathon in under 2:12:00.
Outside of running, Radcliffe has won awards and accolades including the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, World Athlete of the Year, and an MCE.
Paul Kibii Tergat (1969- )
Paul Kibii Tergat's marathon career spanned between 2001 and 2008. No matter which race he attended, Tergat was a big name, especially given that he's one of the world's greatest runners at almost any distance.
He finished second in his first three marathons in London and Chicago but set the world record at the 2003 Berlin Marathon with a time of 2:04:55. Haile Gebrselassie would break this record in 2007, but it should be mentioned that while setting the record, Tergat managed this incredible time even though he took a wrong turn towards the end of the race, costing him some time!
Tergat won silver medals in the Olympic Games at the 10,000 m events in 1996 in Atlanta, USA, and 2000 in Sydney, Australia, and silver medals at the World Championships in 1997 in Athens, Greece, and in 1999 in Seville, Spain.
He also won a slew of gold medals at the World Cross Country Championships between 1995 and 1999 and two World Half Marathon Championships in 1999 and 2000.
His marathon running technically only came towards the end of his career, when he was still incredibly competitive and fast.
See how you can plan for a marathon.
Irina Mikitenko (1972- )
Irina Mikitenko is a German long-distance runner who first made a name for herself when she came second in her first-ever marathon, the 2007 Berlin Marathon. The following year, she won the 2008 London Marathon.
Despite her limited experience running marathons, she qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics running her first marathon and achieved incredible results compared to other runners with far more experience than her.
Prior to running marathons, she was also an Olympic athlete who ran the 5,000 metres at the 1996 Olympic Games representing Kazakhstan, where she was born. In the late 90s, she emigrated with her husband to Germany
Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich (1982- )
Despite the incredible running heritage of Kenya, we're only just getting to our first Kenyan long-distance runner. Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich is a prolific marathon runner and a former record holder. His world record time was set at the Berlin Marathon in 2013 when he ran it in 2:03:23.
He won the bronze medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, UK, as well as a number of World Marathon Majors gold medals between 2012 and 2017 in London, Berlin, New York, and Tokyo.
In 2018, Kiprotich was looking to reclaim the world record. Aiming for a 2:02:50, he had to abandon the race after 15km following stomach problems.
Dennis Kipruto Kimetto (1984- )
Dennis Kipruto Kimetto is another incredible Kenyan long-distance runner and one of Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich's rivals. His time of 2:02:57 at the 2014 Berlin Marathon broke the record that Kiprotich had set the year previous.
His time of 2:04:16 at the Berlin Marathon in 2012 was quick enough for second place, but the fastest time ever set for a marathon debut!
The 2014 victory in Berlin was his most recent marathon victory and injury started to cause him problems in 2015. He'd opted to run the Chicago marathon in 2016 rather than participate in the Rio Olympics but had to pull out because of a stress fracture.
In 2017, a knee injury stopped him from running the Boston Marathon and he was unable to finish the Chicago Marathon and Honolulu Marathons that year, too. In 2018, he was unable to finish the Vienna City Marathon and had to drop out after around 25km.
That said, none of this takes away from the incredible career he'd had before then and it just goes to show that even these incredible athletes aren't indestructible.
Mo Farah (1983- )
Mo Farah is another British long-distance runner. Farah was actually born in Somalia but fled the country as a refugee at the age of 8. The fact that he went from being unable to speak English when he arrived to one of the country's most famous athletes is an incredible story.
He was thrust into the limelight following the 2012 Olympic Games in London, UK, when he became a double gold medallist winning the 10km and 5km events. He repeated the feat at the following Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2016, winning both the 5k and 10k events again.
His marathon career started in 2018 when he finished 3rd at the London Marathon with a British record time. His first marathon victory came at the Chicago Marathon that year with a time of 2:05:11.
A humble runner, Mo Farah became famous for his "Mobot" celebration and was awarded the CBE for his services to athletics, making him Sir Mo Farah.
Eliud Kipchoge (1984- )
Last but certainly not least, Eliud Kipchoge is another incredibly successful Kenyan long-distance runner. He's the current marathon world record holder, first with a time of 2:01:39 which he ran at the 2018 Berlin Marathon before beating his own record at the same race in 2022 with a time of 2:01:09.
Before claiming the record and improving on it, he was already a hugely successful marathon runner with 1st-place finishes in a number of marathons including London, Chicago, Berlin, Rotterdam, and Hamburg. His 2013 debut in Hamburg included a victory but also a course record!
Kipchoge famously also ran a marathon under 2 hours. However, this wasn't considered a world record as it was a special event that had been created specifically for Kipchoge to attempt the feat. He ran the distance in 1 hour 59 minutes 40.2 seconds with a team of top-level runners in a formation to decrease wind resistance!
If you'd like to run a marathon, consider getting help from a personal marathon trainer to get you in shape for your first marathon!
Enjoyed this article? Leave a rating!
Loading...
