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Ruth Chepngetich world record Chicago Marathon 2024

World Record Destroyed In Chicago

Ruthless! Chepngetich breaks 2:10 for an astonishing women's world record...

We are running out of superlatives to describe the current crop of world-record marathon performances. The latest came on Sunday 13 October 2024 in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon – one of the six Abbott World Marathon Majors.

Ruth Chepngetich won in 2021 and 2022, in a personal best 2:14:18, and was runner-up behind Sifan Hassan (Netherlands) last year after blasting off at world record pace in the early stages. That was a dress rehearsal for the self-coached 30-year-old Kenyan as she reached halfway in an unprecedented 1:04:16 in Chicago on Sunday – the fifth fastest half marathon ever if the race had ended there!

With male pacemaking to the finish, Chepngetich ran the second half slightly slower (1:05:40) which saw almost two minutes taken off Tigst Assefa's world record in a mixed-sex marathon (2:11:53) set in Berlin last year. Chepngetich became the first woman ever to run a marathon under two hours and ten minutes as she crossed the finish line in 2:09:56.

It is worth pausing to assimilate the magnitude of this performance. It equates to an average pace of 4:57.4 per mile for more than 26 miles. She improved her previous best by more than four minutes and won by seven and a half minutes from Sutume Kebede (Ethiopia, 2:17:32) and Irene Cheptai (Kenya, 2:17:51).

Last year's Chicago Marathon will be remembered for the astonishing men's world record by the late Kelvin Kiptum (Kenya, 2:00:35) to whom Chepngetich immediately dedicated her feat. There was a moment of silence before the start in tribute to Kiptum who died in a car accident in Kenya, aged 24.

This year's male champion was another Kenyan prospect, John Korir in a PB of 2:02:44 – the second fastest time in the race's history. Ethiopia's Mohamed Esa (2:04:39) was second and Amos Kipruto (Kenya, 2:04:50) was third. The flying women's champion would have placed tenth overall!

Conditions in Chicago were described by race director Carey Pinkowski as ideal for fast times, with cool temperatures, minimal wind, and overcast skies. Chepngetich used the Nike Alphafly 3 and Korir was believed to be wearing a pair of prototype Asics Metaspeed Sky shoes.

If you want to be part of the action on the course that now boasts the men's and women's world records Marathon Tours and Travel UK can get you there with a super travel package. Click here to pre-register your interest for the 2025 event.

Results and previous reports are at the runABC race listing here.

Photo courtesy Chicago Marathon on Facebook

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