At the 2024 Chicago Marathon (13 October), Ruth Chepngetich achieved what many people thought was impossible and became the first woman to break the 2:10 mark for the marathon. Her outstanding new world record of 2:09:56 eclipsed the previous mark of 2:11:53 – set by Tigist Assefa at the 2023 Berlin Marathon – by almost two minutes.
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Here are a few fun facts off the back of Chepngetich’s performance.
- Men’s equivalent marathon performance, according to World Athletics: 1:59:35
- Chepngetich’s average pace per mile: 4:57.4
- Chepngetich’s average time per 5K: 15:24.0
- Chepngetich’s average time for one lap of a standard outdoor track: 73.92 seconds
- Chepngetich’s time at halfway: 64:16
- Number of women besides Chepngetich who have run faster than 64:16 in an open half marathon: 3 (Letensebet Gidey, Yalemzerf Yehualaw and Girmawit Gebrhizair)
- Amount by which Chepngetich broke Tigist Assefa’s previous record of 2:11:53: 1:57
- Place that 2:09:56 would have finished in the men’s race at the 2024 Chicago Marathon: 10th
- Average time of Chepngetich’s three fastest marathons: 2:12:57
- Number of other women who have run one marathon faster than 2:12:57: 1 (Tigist Assefa)
From: Runner's World US
