The 20K run (20

kilometre The kilometre (SI symbol: km; or ), spelt kilometer in American English, American and Philippine 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 the ...

s, or approximately 12.4

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

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 bet ...

event. The event held

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

world championship status in 2006 only, when the existing

IAAF World Half Marathon Championships The World Athletics Road Running Championships is a biennial international road running competition organised by World Athletics. The competition was launched as the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 1992 and held annually until 2010. It wa ...

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

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

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 fo ...

Debrecen Debrecen ( ; ; ; ) is Hungary's cities of Hungary, second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain Regions of Hungary, region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the large ...

, 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 by Brooks or Barcelona Half Marathon is an annual half marathon arranged in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Organised by RPM Sports and ASO, it is held in February and in 2023 attracted 21,477 runners, with 33% of ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 c ...

, 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 track event, long-distance Running, runner. She was born in Keiyo District, Kabiemit, Rift Valley Province, Kenya and moved to the Netherlands in 1999. She gained Dutch cit ...

of the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, 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 kilometre The kilometre (SI symbol: km; or ), spelt kilometer in American English, A ...

* 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 th ...

* Zilveren Molenloop ;Japan *

Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai is a town in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the town had a population of 10,965, and total area of . Hakone is a notable spa town and a popular tourist destination due to its many hot springs being within view of nearby Mount Fuji, the most vis ...

* 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 February 2025'' Tadesse cropped

Notes

Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 55:39: *

Yomif Kejelcha Yomif Kejelcha Atomsa (born 1 August 1997) is an Ethiopian distance runner. He formerly held world records in the short track mile (3:47.01 from 2019 to 2025) and the half marathon (57:30 from 2024 to 2025). Yomif won the silver medal in the 1 ...

also ran 54:38 (2023), 55:34 (2022). *

Jacob Kiplimo Jacob Kiplimo (born 14 November 2000) is a Ugandan long-distance runner. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and the 2022 World Athletics Championships, Kiplimo won a bronze medal in the 10,000 m events. Kiplimo won gold medals in the 5000 m and 10,000 ...

also ran 54:29 (2021), 54:42 (2020), 54:53 (2022) and 55:13 (2024). *

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 54:43 (2022), 55:08 (2022). *

Rhonex Kipruto Rhonex Kipruto (born 12 October 1999) is a Kenyan Long-distance running, long-distance runner. Kipruto won the bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2019 World Athletics Championships and was the List of world records in athletics, world reco ...

also ran 55:04 (2021). *

Isaia Kipkoech Lasoi Isaia is a Neapolitan tailoring luxury brand founded by Enrico Isaia in Casalnuovo di Napoli in 1920. The brand is recognized by its tiny red coral logo, which is a good-luck charm in Naples. The brand describes its clientele as "passionate, ...

also ran 55:13 (2024). *

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 ser ...

also ran 55:19 (2021). *

Daniel Mateiko Daniel Mateiko (born 4 August 1998) is a Kenyan long-distance runner and member of the NN Running Team. He has raced mainly between 5000m and half marathon and holds a 58:26 half marathon personal best which makes him the 9th fastest of all time ...

also ran 55:17 (2021). *

Sebastian Sawe Sebastian may refer to: People and fictional characters * Sebastian (name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Saint Sebastian, a Christian saint martyred in the 3rd century * Sebastian of Portugal (1554–1578 ...

also ran 55:17 (2023).

Women

*''Updated September 2024''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 1:01:56: *

Yalemzerf Yehualaw Yalemzerf Yehualaw Densa (born 3 August 1999) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. She won the 2022 London Marathon. Yehualaw is the current world record holder in the 10 kilometres road race, sits second on the world all-time list at the h ...

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 the only woman to have won world titles in indoor track, outdoor track and cross country. Obiri is a two-time Olympic 5,000 metres silver med ...

also ran 1:01:18 (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 he ...

also ran 1:01:22 (2023), 1:01:25 (2017), 1:01.28 (2017). *

Sheila Chepkirui Sheila Chepkirui Kiprotich (born 27 December 1990) is a Kenyan middle- and long-distance runner who competed at first in the 1500 metres and 5000 metres. She won the 2024 New York City Marathon and the bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2 ...

also ran 1:01:26 (2021). *

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 was the m ...

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

Margaret Kipkemboi Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi (born 9 February 1993) is a Kenyan long-distance runner. She won the silver medal for the 5000 metres at the 2019 World Championships and a bronze in the 10,000 metres at the 2022 World Championships. Kipkemboi took ...

also ran 1:01:42 (2024).

Notes

References

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