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 ex ...

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 English ...

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

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

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 for ...

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 metres ...

of Eritrea who ran a time of 56:01 at the

2006 IAAF World Road Running Championships The 1st IAAF World Road Running Championships were held in Debrecen, Hungary on 8 October 2006, the women's race starting at 11:00 and the men's race at 13:00. This was the first time the title of World Road Running Champion had been competed for ...

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 eDreams Mitja Marató de Barcelona or Barcelona Half Marathon is an annual half marathon arranged in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Organised by RPM Sports and Amaury Sport Organisation, ASO, it is held at the beginning of April, and in 2022 it attr ...

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 ci ...

, 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 record ...

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 Netherland ...

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 The 20 Kilomètres de Paris (''Paris 20 km'') is an annual road running competition over 20 kilometres which takes place on the streets of Paris, France in October. First held in 1979, the race attracts top level international competitors ...

* 20 km of Tours *

20 km of Lausanne The 20 km of Lausanne (French ''20 km de Lausanne'') is an annual road running event in Lausanne ( Switzerland). It includes races on 20, 10, 4 and 2 kilometres. The 20 km of Lausanne takes place in spring (April) and the Marathon of Lausanne ...

* 20 km of Maroilles * Behobia-San Sebastián * Friedeslauf 20 km *

Marseille-Cassis Classique Internationale The Marseille-Cassis Classique Internationale is an annual half marathon which follows a course from Marseille to Cassis in France during the last weekend in October. It has the silver label of the IAAF Road Race Label Events and is thus among the ...

* Zilveren Molenloop ;Japan *

Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai is a town in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the town had a population of 11,293 and a population density of 122 persons per km². The total area of the town is . The town is a popular tourist destination due to its many hot springs and views o ...

* Takashimadaira 20 km ;United States *

New Haven Road Race The New Haven Road Race is a 20 kilometer road race held in New Haven, Connecticut which was started in 1978. The race is held during the Labor Day weekend. History The first year the race was contested was in 1978, when nearly 1,200 runners s ...

* 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 ''En route'' may refer to: * ''En Route'' (novel), an 1895 novel by Joris-Karl Huysmans * ''En Route'' (film), a 2004 German movie directed by Jan Krüger * En-route chart, in aeronautics * enRoute (credit card), Air Canada's credit card divisi ...

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 Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics, 2020 Tokyo Olympic 10,000 metres bronze medallist and also won bronze in the event at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. Ki ...

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

Rhonex Kipruto Rhonex Kipruto (born 12 October 1999) is a Kenyan long-distance runner. He is the 2018 10,000 metres world U20 champion and the 2019 10,000 metres world championships bronze medalist. His 10 km road race personal best of 26:24, set Januar ...

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 s ...

also ran 55:08 (2022). * Philemon Kiplimo 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. S ...

also ran 1:01:18 (2021). * Sheila Chepkirui also ran 1:01:26 (2021). *

Joyciline Jepkosgei Joyciline Jepkosgei (born 8 December 1993) is a Kenyan female long-distance runner who competes over distances from 10,000 metres to the marathon. She is the former half marathon world record holder in contests with mixed-gender fields with h ...

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 c ...

also ran 1:01:29 (2020). *

Ruth Chepngetich Ruth Chepng'etich, often spelt Ruth Chepngetich, (born 8 August 1994) is a Kenyan road racing athlete, who competes in the marathon and other long distance events. She was the 2019 Marathon World champion in hot and humid conditions. Chepng'et ...

also ran 1:02:10 (2022). * Sheila Chepkirui also ran 1:02:15 (2020). *

Ababel Yeshaneh Ababel Yeshaneh Birhane (born 22 July 1991) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes in track, road and cross country events. She represented her country in the 10,000 metres at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics, coming ninth, ...

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