The 2 mile (3,520
yard
The yard (symbol: yd) is an English units, English unit of length in both the British imperial units, imperial and US United States customary units, customary systems of measurement equalling 3 foot (unit), feet or 36 inches. Sinc ...
s, 10,560
feet
The foot (: feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is an organ at the terminal part of the leg made up of ...
, or exactly 3,218.688
metres
The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
) is a historic
running
Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion by which humans and other animals move quickly on foot. Running is a gait with an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is in contrast to walkin ...
distance. Like the
mile run, it is still contested at some invitational meets due its historical chronology in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. It has been largely superseded by the
3000 m (approximately 1.864 miles) and
5000 m, and by the
3200 m in
NFHS American high school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
competitions (18.688m short of 2 miles). The
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 ...
no longer keeps official
world records for this distance; they are called world best instead.
The world best for men is 7:54.10 set by
Jakob Ingebrigtsen on 9 June 2023 in Paris. Ingebrigtsen, along with previous world best holder
Daniel Komen, are the only people to have run the distance in under 8 minutes, and thus covered two miles at an average sub-
four-minute mile pace. The women's record is 8:58.58, set by
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 ...
n
Meseret Defar in Brussels, Belgium on 14 September 2007.
Continental Bests
* Correct as of October 2024. Source: World Athletics
Key
* WB = World best
* (i) = Indoor performance
All-time top 25
*Mx = mixed race
Men (outdoor)
*Correct as of June 2023.
Notes
Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 8:07.46:
*
Daniel Komen also ran 7:58.91 (1998), 8:03.54 (1996).
*
Haile Gebrselassie also ran 8:01.72 (1999), 8:01.86 (1999), 8:07.46 (1995).
Women (outdoor)
*Correct as of June 2025.
Notes
Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 9:14.55:
*
Francine Niyonsaba
Francine Niyonsaba (born May 5, 1993) is a Burundian runner who specialized in the 800 metres and shifted to longer distances in 2019. She was the 2016 Rio Olympics silver medalist in the women's 800 metres. Her silver medal was the first Oly ...
also ran 9:00.75 (2021).
*
Meseret Defar also ran 9:10.47 (2007)
*
Mercy Cherono also ran 9:13.27 (2014).
Men (indoor)
* Correct as of February 2024.
Women (indoor)
* Correct as of February 2024.
Notes
Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 9:13.94:
*
Meseret Defar also ran 9:06.26 (2009), 9:10.50 (2008)
World Best Performance Progression
Men
Outdoors
Indoors
Women
Outdoors
Indoors
US high school boys progression
Note: this list only covers boys because the history of 2 mile running largely occurred before
Title IX
Title IX is a landmark federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other education program that receiv ...
, before high school girls were allowed to compete, which occurred about the same time as conversion to metric distances.
See also
*
3000 metres
The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track.
It is debated whether the 3000 m sho ...
*
3200 meters
*
Mile run
Notes
External links
World Record progression in men's running events
* ttp://www.alltime-athletics.com/w2milesok.htm Track and Field all-time Performances Homepage – Women's 2 miles
{{Athletics events
Events in track and field
Middle-distance running disciplines
Long-distance running disciplines