Patrick Makau Musyoki (born 2 March 1985) is a runner from

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. He is a former world record holder in the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

—His time of 2:03:38, run at the 2011

Berlin Marathon The Berlin Marathon (, ) is a marathon event held annually on the streets of Berlin, Germany on the last weekend of September. Held annually since 1974, the event includes multiple races over the marathon distance of , including elite level road r ...

, was the world record for two years, until it was beaten by

Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich (born 15 March 1982) is a Kenyan professional athlete who specialises in long-distance running, competing in events ranging from 10 km to the marathon. He was the bronze medallist in the marathon at the 2012 Summer O ...

at the 2013 Berlin Marathon. He is also notable for his

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish, or shortcu ...

performances, having won a number of prominent competitions in Europe in sub-1-hour performances.

Career

Makau attended Unyuani School until 1999, after which he joined Kyeni Academy, Misiani. He started running in 2001. He competed at the 2006 IAAF World Road Running Championships and finished in 26th place. He finished second at the 2007 Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon by running 59:13 minutes, being beaten only by Samuel Wanjiru who set the world record (58:53) at the same race. He won silver at the 2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships and 2008 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships. He was also part of the Kenyan team that won the team race both times. He won at the City-Pier-City Loop in 2008. Makau won the 2009 Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon setting the second best ever half marathon time 58:52. The world record at the time, 58:33, was held by Samuel Wanjiru. He made his marathon debut at the 2009 Rotterdam Marathon, finishing fourth and setting a fast time (2:06:14 hours), short of the fastest marathon debut, set by

Evans Rutto Evans Rutto (born 8 April 1978 in Marakwet District) is a Kenyan long-distance runner, who specialises in road running events. He made the fastest-ever marathon debut by winning the 2003 Chicago Marathon in a time of 2:05:50. He won the London Ma ...

at the 2003

Chicago Marathon The Chicago Marathon is a road marathon held in October in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the seven World Marathon Majors. Thus, it is also a World Athletics Label Road Race. The Chicago Marathon is one of the largest races by number of fini ...

(2:05:50 hours). Makau returned to the Hague for the City-Pier-City Loop in 2010 and won for a second time, clocking another sub-one hour time of 59:52. After this he significantly improved his marathon best to 2:04:48 to win the Rotterdam Marathon, becoming the fourth fastest runner over the history of the distance. He opted to stay away from the circuit and focus himself entirely on preparations for the

. A rematch with Rotterdam runner-up

Geoffrey Mutai Geoffrey Kiprono Mutai (born 7 October 1981) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in road running competitions. On 18 April 2011 at the Boston Marathon, Mutai ran the fastest marathon ever at the time in a time of 2 hours 3 minutes ...

saw the two take the same positions again. Rain dampened the prospect of a record but Makau out-sprinted Mutai at the finish to clock 2:05:08 and win his first World Marathon Major. In recognition of his performances that year, he was selected as the AIMS World Athlete of the Year in a poll of race organisers. Makau ran in the

2011 London Marathon The 2011 London Marathon was the 31st running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 17 April. The elite men's race was won by Kenya's Emmanuel Kipchirchir Mutai in a course record time of 2:04:40 hours and ...

and, in spite of a fall at the halfway point, he continued and was narrowly beaten into third at the line by

Martin Lel Martin Kiptolo Lel (born 29 October 1978) is a Kenyan professional long distance and marathon runner. He won the London Marathon in 2005, 2007, and 2008, the New York City Marathon in 2003 and 2007 and the Great North Run in 2007 and 2009. His ...

, finishing with a time of 2:05:45.

World record

At the

on 25 September 2011, Makau was set to duel against Haile Gebrselassie, the world record holder from

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

. The Kenyan dropped his more experienced rival after the halfway point and went on to finish in a world record time of 2:03:38 (an average pace of 4:42.9 per mile), beating the existing record by 21 seconds. Prior to the race, he stated that he wanted to bring the marathon world record back to Kenya, following on from a former record holder

Paul Tergat Paul Kibii Tergat (born 17 June 1969) is a Kenyan former professional long-distance runner. He became the first Kenyan man to set the world record in the marathon in 2003, with a time of 2:04:55, and is regarded as one of the most accomplished l ...

. Speaking after the race, Makau said "In the morning my body was not good but after I started the race, it started reacting very well. I started thinking about the record" and "At 32 km I thought I could win the race and even break the world record. It was hard verthe last 10 kilometres". His world record performance remained for 2 years before falling to fellow Kenyan,

, at the 2013 Berlin Marathon, when the record was lowered another 15 seconds to the time of 2:03:23.

2012 season

He was the pre-race favourite for the Granollers Half Marathon in February, but lost in a sprint finish to Carles Castillejo under cold weather conditions. He ran at the 2012 London Marathon but dropped out mid-race due to injury and was not selected for the Olympic team. He entered the Great Manchester Run in May and came fifth in a time of 28:21 minutes. In the

Frankfurt Marathon The Frankfurt Marathon (official name as of 2016: Mainova Frankfurt Marathon, until 2015: BMW Frankfurt Marathon, until 2010: Commerzbank Frankfurt Marathon) is a marathon which has taken place every year in Frankfurt am Main since its inception i ...

in October, despite feeling uncomfortable and running most of the time at the back of the leading group, Makau managed to take back the lead from Deressa Chimsa and holding on for the victory, with a time of 2:06:08.

2013 season

Makau raced in the 2013 London Marathon. He showed to be in poor form, having been outside the lead pack already by the first time point at 5 km, falling farther and farther behind with every time point until 40 km. By halfway, he was nearly 3 minutes behind the leaders, but he slowed further and eventually finished the race in 2:14:10, outside the top 10, more than 8 minutes back from the winner, and more than 10 minutes back from his own world record.

Road race wins

;10K *London 10K – 2006 *Lahore 10K – 2007 * Vidovdan Road Race Brcko BH 10K – 2007 ;Half marathon & 25K *Zanzibar Half Marathon – 2005 * Tarsus International Half Marathon – 2006 * Bristol Half Marathon – 2006 * BIG 25 Berlin – 2006, 2007 * Berlin Half Marathon – 2007, 2008 * Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon – 2008, 2009 * Reading Half Marathon – 2008 * City-Pier-City Loop – 2008, 2010 * Rotterdam Half Marathon – 2008 ;Marathons * Rotterdam Marathon – 2010 *

– 2010, 2011 *

– 2012 *

Fukuoka Marathon The is an IAAF Gold Label international men's marathon race held in Fukuoka, Japan. It was previously known as the Fukuoka International Open Marathon Championship between 1947 and 2021, when it was announced the race would be discontinued on i ...

– 2014, 2015

Achievements

*All results regarding marathon and half marathon

Personal bests

*All information taken from IAAF profile, including the 2011 marathon record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Makau Musyoki, Patrick 1985 births Living people Kenyan male long-distance runners Kenyan male marathon runners Berlin Marathon male winners Frankfurt Marathon male winners Recipients of the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races Best Marathon Runner Award Sportspeople from Nyeri County 21st-century Kenyan sportsmen