The 20,000 metres (approximately 12.43 mi or 65,617 ft) is a rarely contested
long-distance running
Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength.
Within endurance running comes two d ...
event in
track and field competitions; most world records in the event have been set during
half marathons
One half ( : halves) is the irreducible fraction resulting from dividing one by two or the fraction resulting from dividing any number by its double. Multiplication by one half is equivalent to division by two, or "halving"; conversely, d ...
and
one-hour races, as a half marathon is roughly 21,000 meters.
World Records
+ = indicates a time was taken at an intermediate distance in a longer race
Men
*Updated February 2021.
Women
* Correct as of August 2018.
All-time top 25
*+ =
en route to longer performance
*h = hand timed
Men
*Updated September 2022.
Women
*Updated September 2022.
In popular culture
Tegla Loroupe's 20,000 meter world record was mentioned in Chapter 1, problem 64P of ''Chemistry
(Seventh Edition)'' by
John E. McMurry
John E. McMurry (born July 27, 1942, in New York City) is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Cornell University. He received an A.B. from Harvard University in 1964 and his Ph.D. from Columbia University in ...
,
Robert C. Fay, and
Jill Kirsten Robinson
Jill is an English feminine given name, a short form of the name Jillian (Gillian), which in turn originates as a Middle English variant of Juliana, the feminine form of the name Julian.
People with the given name
*Jill Astbury, Australian res ...
.
References
{{Athletics events
Events in track and field
Long-distance running distances