The men's marathon record, decade by decade: 118 years, 31.83% faster
Our own calculation, 2026-10-30, on Wikipedia's "Marathon world record progression" (men), read the same day (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon_world_record_progression). The table lists marks recognised by IAAF/World Athletics and by ARRS; we left out the one mark it calls disputed (a 1969 short course) and took the record on a date as the fastest listed mark up to that date. Pace is the record time divided by 42.195 km.
Key results:
- 2:55:18.4 in 1908, 1:59:30 on 26 April 2026: 3,348.4 seconds faster, 31.83%. The record pace went from 4:09 per km to 2:49.9.
- The 1950s moved most: on 1 January 1950 the record was 2:26:14; on 1 January 1960, 2:15:17, 657 seconds (7.49%) faster.
- The 1940s moved not at all: 2:26:14 on both 1 January 1940 and 1 January 1950. The longest wait between new records ran from 21 March 1935 to 14 June 1952, 6,295 days.
- Since 1 January 2000 the record has fallen 11 times, by 372 seconds in all (2:05:42 to 1:59:30).
- The 2020s have already taken 129 seconds (1.77%) off the 2:01:39 of 1 January 2020, nearly the 140 seconds of the whole 2010s.
| On | Record | Pace per km | Faster than 10 years before |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910-01-01 | 2:40:34.2 | 3:48.3 | - |
| 1920-01-01 | 2:36:06.6 | 3:42.0 | 267.6 s (2.78%) |
| 1930-01-01 | 2:29:01.8 | 3:31.9 | 424.8 s (4.54%) |
| 1940-01-01 | 2:26:14 | 3:27.9 | 167.8 s (1.88%) |
| 1950-01-01 | 2:26:14 | 3:27.9 | 0 s |
| 1960-01-01 | 2:15:17 | 3:12.4 | 657 s (7.49%) |
| 1970-01-01 | 2:09:36.4 | 3:04.3 | 340.6 s (4.2%) |
| 1980-01-01 | 2:09:05.6 | 3:03.6 | 30.8 s (0.4%) |
| 1990-01-01 | 2:06:50 | 3:00.4 | 135.6 s (1.75%) |
| 2000-01-01 | 2:05:42 | 2:58.7 | 68 s (0.89%) |
| 2010-01-01 | 2:03:59 | 2:56.3 | 103 s (1.37%) |
| 2020-01-01 | 2:01:39 | 2:53.0 | 140 s (1.88%) |
| 2026-10-30 | 1:59:30 | 2:49.9 | 129 s (1.77%, in under 7 years) |
What this cannot tell you: why each drop happened (shoes, pacing, courses, training, eligibility rules all changed); the women's record, whose table mixes women-only and mixed races; whether the trend continues.