The following tables are an overview of all current national records in the marathon, as compiled by the International Association of Athletics Federations and other authoritative sources of road racing statistics.
Contents
Background
The IAAF is the international governing body for the sport of athletics. As of 2009, the national governing bodies of 213 countries and territories are affiliated to the IAAF as National Member Federations. According to the IAAF, their lists of national records "mainly include official records as recognised by various national federations" and notes that in some cases "federations recognise invalid performances". Specifically, the Boston Marathon is listed as hosting two current continental/area records, yet was invalidated for the world record because it is a point-to-point course, with a greater than allowable elevation drop—performance aiding situations.
The IAAF's list includes Palestine, whose Palestine Athletic Federation is the national governing body of athletics affiliated to the IAAF. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is represented in the IAAF by UK Athletics, which in turn is affiliated with the athletic associations of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales (collectively known as the Home Country Athletics Federations). Although the IAAF notes only the fastest performance under the UK umbrella, these associations each compile a list of national records in track and field. The IAAF's list includes some British overseas territories that compete under their own flags (e.g. Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, and Cayman Islands).
Other road racing sources slightly differ regarding which types of political states are included in their national records lists. For example, Athletics Weekly's list includes countries of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, as well as the Crown Dependencies of Guernsey, the Isle of Man, and Jersey which are technically not part of the United Kingdom. Although the World Marathon Major's list does include the major countries within the United Kingdom as well as at least one other British overseas territory not on the IAAF list of (i.e. Falkland Islands), it does not include the Crown Dependencies. The Association of Road Racing Statisticians' list includes all of the above plus the British overseas territory of Saint Helena. Similar list variations occur with other political states or territories affiliated with Denmark, France, and New Zealand.
Marathon records by region
The following table contains marathon records within each world region.
Men's national records
Key:
Performances listed as national records by the International Association of Athletics Federations.
Additional performances listed as national records by other road racing authorities.