Ruth Chepngetich Runs Sensational New Marathon World Record In Chicago! 

Ruth Chepngetich has run the most incredible women’s marathon we’ve ever seen, running 2:09:56 in the 2024 Chicago Marathon to take almost two minutes off the women’s world record. 

The Kenyan set out at a remarkable pace, running 15:00 for the first 5km, and ran through halfway in 1:04:16, which is unofficially the fifth-fastest women’s half marathon of all time, and it’s the fastest women’s half marathon ever run in the U.S. – all as the first half of a marathon.

Her splits became a little erratic in the second half, and we wondered whether it had been a self-destructive race. The NBC commentators in Chicago were disbelieving. This is Chepngetich, it’s what she does, they said: she runs hard, she blows up, but she still wins. But today she didn’t blow up. She ran a bold, brave race, shooting for the moon and landing in the stars.

By running a 4:45 for the 25th mile, she became the first woman to run a 2:09 marathon.

Her margin of victory was more than seven minutes, which is barely believable given the quality of women’s marathon running today. Ethiopia’s Sutume Kebede, who was still with Chepngetich through halfway but faded, was second in 2:17:32, and Kenya’s Irine Cheptai was third in 2:17:51.

Chepngetich, a mother of one who is self-coached, clearly likes Chicago, having won the race in 2021, 2022 and now 2024, and finishing second in 2023. She was the fourth-fastest woman of all time coming into the 2024 Chicago Marathon, and she’s now number one in a time that many hadn’t even considered a possibility – until someone did it. 

“I feel so great. I’m proud of myself,” she said after the race. “This is my dream that has come true.” She dedicated the race to Kelvin Kiptum, who set the men’s world record at the 2023 Chicago Marathon, but tragically died in February 2024. Both the men’s and women’s world records are now held in Chicago. 

Ahead of the 2023 Berlin Marathon, the women’s marathon world record was 2:14:04, so we’ve seen an astonishing drop of more than four minutes in 13 months. 

The race for top American woman was won by Susanna Sullivan ahead of Betsy Saina and Emma Bates. 

JOHN KORIR WINS THE MEN’S RACE

Kenya’s John Korir won the men’s race at the 2024 Chicago Marathon in a time of 2:02:44. 

The men’s race kept up a consistent 2:04 pace until into the final 10km of the race, where Korir ran a 4:25 and then a 4:22 in miles 21 and 22 to break apart a field of seven runners and win by a margin of almost two minutes by running a huge negative split. It was a two-minute personal best for Korir, the second-fastest time at the Chicago Marathon, and he became the sixth-fastest man of all time.

Ethiopia’s Mohamed Esa finished second in 2:04:39 and Kenya’s Amos Kipruto was third in 2:04:50. 

CJ Albertson was the first American man in the race, finishing in 2:08:17 for a big personal best. The men looked to be chasing the World Championship marathon qualifying time 2:06:30, with Albertson and Zach Panning both going through halfway on target, but slowed in the second half. Panning finished ninth in 2:09:16, with Reed Fisher third US male in 2:10:14. 

This was the 46th running of the Chicago Marathon and the race started at 7.30am with a minute silence for Kelvin Kiptum. Almost two million spectators were out on the streets supporting the race, and they got to witness one of the most incredible sporting achievements of all time. 

People go to Chicago to run fast. And now it has both the men’s and women’s world record.

Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images