The 20K run (20

kilometre The kilometre ( SI symbol: km; or ), spelt kilometer in American English, is a unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), equal to one thousand metres ( kilo- being the SI prefix for ). It is now the measurement unit used for ...

s, or approximately 12.4

mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 Engli ...

s) is a long distance foot race. It is a rarely held race that is not recognized as an

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event. The event held

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...

world championship status in 2006 only, when the existing

IAAF World Half Marathon Championships The World Athletics Half Marathon Championships is a biennial international half marathon competition organised by World Athletics. The competition was launched as the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 1992 and held annually until 2010. It ...

briefly hosted the shorter distance. The world best for men is held by

Zersenay Tadese Zersenay Tadese ( Tigrinya: ዘርእሰናይ ታደሰ; born 8 February 1982) is an Eritrean long-distance track and road running athlete. He held the men's half marathon world record from 2010 to 2018. His bronze medal in the 10,000 metre ...

of Eritrea who ran a time of 56:01 at the 2006 IAAF World Road Running Championships in

Debrecen Debrecen ( , is Hungary's second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the largest Hungarian city in the 18th century and i ...

, Hungary. The women's world best is held by

Florence Kiplagat Florence Jebet Kiplagat (born 27 February, 1987) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner. She is a two-time world champion, having won at the 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and the 2010 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships. ...

of Kenya who ran a time of 1:01:54 at the 2015 Barcelona Half Marathon in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...

, Spain. IAAF records require the 20 km distance to be run on a course without a significant drop in elevation between the start and finish points and where the birds-eye distance between the start of finish points is less than ten kilometres. The

Association of Road Racing Statisticians The Association of Road Racing Statisticians is an independent, non-profit organization that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics regarding road running races. The primary purpose of the ARRS is to maintain a valid list of world road recor ...

has an additional criteria in that it requires records to be set in competitions of the given distance, thus it does not recognise Kiplagat's run due to it being recorded en route to a longer distance. The ARRS-recognised world record is 1:03:21 by

Lornah Kiplagat Lornah Kiplagat (born 1 May 1974) is a Dutch professional long-distance runner. She was born in Kabiemit, Rift Valley Province, Kenya and came to the Netherlands in 1999. She gained Dutch citizenship in 2003 and has competed for the Netherlan ...

of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, who also recorded her time at the 2006 World Championships.

Road races

There are several annual road running competitions over the 20 km distance, mostly based in Western Europe, the United States, and Japan.Road 20 km Race Histories

. Retrieved 2019-07-06. ;Europe * 20 van Alphen * 20 km of Brussels * 20 Kilomètres de Paris * 20 km of Tours * 20 km of Lausanne * 20 km of Maroilles * Behobia-San Sebastián * Friedeslauf 20 km * Marseille-Cassis Classique Internationale * Zilveren Molenloop ;Japan * Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai * Takashimadaira 20 km ;United States * New Haven Road Race * John F Kennedy Memorial 20 km * Vestal XX * Penn Relays 20 km The Kanaguri Hai Tamana Half Marathon, Dam to Dam Half Marathon and Ogden Newspapers Classic Half Marathon were all previously 20 km races for much of their history.

All-time top 25

*+ = en route to longer performance *Mx = mixed gender race *Wo = women only race

Men

*''Correct as of October 2022'' Tadesse cropped

Notes

Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 55:47: *

Jacob Kiplimo Jacob Kiplimo (born 14 November 2000) is a Ugandan long-distance runner. He is 2020 Tokyo Olympic 10,000 metres bronze medallist and also won bronze in the event at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. Kiplimo earned gold medals in the 5000 m ...

also ran 54:42 (2020), 54:53 (2022). *

Rhonex Kipruto Rhonex Kipruto (born 12 October 1999) is a Kenyan Long-distance running, long-distance runner. He is the 2018 10,000 metres world U20 champion and the 2019 10,000 metres world championships bronze medalist. His 10K run, 10 km road race pers ...

also ran 55:04 (2021). *

Kibiwott Kandie Kibiwott Kandie (born 20 June 1996) is a Kenyan long-distance runner. In December 2020, he won the Valencia Half Marathon finishing in a new world record time of 57:32, chopping off the previous world record by almost 30 seconds. Kandie won the ...

also ran 55:08 (2022). *

Philemon Kiplimo Philemon may refer to: In the Bible * Epistle to Philemon, a book in the New Testament * Philemon (biblical figure), recipient of Saint Paul's Epistle to Philemon Arts and entertainment * ''Philémon'' (comics), a Franco-Belgian comic book se ...

also ran 55:19 (2021). * Alexander Mutiso also ran 55:41 (2022). * Kelvin Kiptum also ran 55:45 (2021). * Abadi Hadis also ran 55:46 (2019).

Women

*''Updated April 2022''Senior Outdoor 20 Kilometres Women
IAAF. Retrieved 2019-07-06. Florence Jebet Kiplagat winning the Berlin Marathon 2011

Notes

Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 1:02:29: * Yalemzerf Yehualaw also ran 1:01:05 (2021), 1:02:04 (2020). *

Hellen Obiri Hellen Onsando Obiri (born 13 December 1989) is a Kenyan middle- and long-distance runner. She is a two-time Olympic 5000 metres silver medallist from the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she also placed fourth over the 10,000 metres. Sh ...

also ran 1:01:18 (2021). *

Sheila Chepkirui Sheila Chepkirui Kiprotich (born 27 December 1990) is a Kenyan middle- and long-distance runner who competed earlier mainly in the 1500 metres and 5000 metres. She won the bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Chepki ...

also ran 1:01:26 (2021). * Joyciline Jepkosgei also ran 1:01.28 (2017), 1:02:27 (2020). *

Brigid Kosgei Brigid Jepchirchir Kosgei (born 20 February 1994) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in the marathon. She won the 2018 and 2019 Chicago Marathons, the 2019 and 2020 London Marathons and the 2021 Tokyo Marathon. Kosgei is the curr ...

also ran 1:01:29 (2020). * Ruth Chepngetich also ran 1:02:10 (2022). *

also ran 1:02:15 (2020). * Ababel Yeshaneh also ran 1:02:17 (2020) and 1:02:24 (2018). * Bosena Mulate also ran 1:02:26 (2021).

Notes

References

{{Athletics events Road running distances Long-distance running distances