Two-hour marathon

The two-hour marathon, also referred to as the sub-two-hour marathon, is the physical and psychological barrier of completing the marathon, a distance of 42.195 kilometres (26.219 mi), in under two hours.

Originally thought to be impossible, various attempts were made to break the mark after the marathon distance was defined in the early 20th century. Counting all conditions, the barrier was first broken by Eliud Kipchoge in 2019 during the Ineos 1:59 Challenge, an exhibition race where Kipchoge used pacing and fueling techniques that made the attempt ineligible for ratification by World Athletics. It was first broken in record-eligible conditions by both Sabastian Sawe and Yomif Kejelcha at the 2026 London Marathon, who ran times of 1:59:30 and 1:59:41 respectively.