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Some marathons are faster than others. This post will introduce the fastest marathons in Europe in the last years. A lot of the world's fastest can be found in the US, where elites break records in Boston, New York and Chicago.
The BWM Berlin Marathon proudly advertises itself as “[t]he marathon party on the fastest course in the world”. Indeed, out of the top 10 all-time marathon records, five have been made in the Berlin Marathon. In addition, the fifth and sixth fastest female marathon performances have taken place in Berlin. According to the statistics presented in an article in the Runner’s World website, the men's average of top 10 performances in the history of the Berlin Marathon is an impressive 2:04:18. Moreover, the latest confirmed men's world record time from 2014, 2:02:57, was run in Berlin by the Kenyan Dennis Kimetto, breaking the record of his countryman Wilson Kipsang of 2013. The women’s record in Berlin is 2:19:19 by Irina Mikitenko, a German runner. This makes Berlin the third fastest marathon in the world and the second fastest in Europe, when it comes to women’s races.
Advertising itself as “the biggest one-day sporting event in the Netherlands for 14 years in a row”, the ABN AMRO Marathon Rotterdam is found at the second rank of this list. The men's average of top 10 performance times, 2:04:54 is less than 40 seconds more than in the Berlin Marathon. Rotterdam is where Duncan Kibet Kirong and James Kipsang Kwambai – both Kenyans as well - ran their record times, sharing the ninth rank in the top 10 list of world’s fastest marathon runners with a time of 2:04:27. In addition, the Ethiopian Erba Tiki Gelana ran her record time, 2:18:58 – the fourth fastest female performance in the world – in Rotterdam in 2012.
Almost a million runners have competed in the Virgin London Marathon since the first race in 1981. Among those is the English Paula Jane Radcliffe, who currently holds the women’s world record with her time of 2:15:25 from 2003. Two other personal records that are found among the world’s top 10 female performances have been made in London; the rank three time 2:18:37 in 2012 by the Kenyan Mary Jepkosgei Keitany and the 10th best time 2:19:36 by the American Deena Michelle Kastor from 2006. In fact, with the average of top 10 female performances at 2:18:59, the London Marathon is the fastest of women’s races in Europe and in the world.
Although the oldest city marathon in Germany, you honestly can’t say that you’d feel the age when it comes to the BMW Frankfurt Marathon. With its average of top 10 performances at 2:05:43, the competition is the fourth fastest race of its type in Europe. The top 10 average for women is 2:23:13, making the marathon the fifth fastest women’s race in Europe. The men's course record – by Kenya's Wilson Kipsang – is at 2:03:42.
With an average of top 10 performances of 2:06:06 and a course record of 2:05:36 from 2013 by Wilson Kwambai Chebet (another record maker from Kenya), the TCS Amsterdam Marathon is the fifth fastest race in Europe. The route meanders through the center of Amsterdam, giving the race a sightseeing aspect as there are some notable sights along the way, such as Rijksmuseum and Vondelpark.
One of the biggest marathons in the world, the Schneider Electric Paris Marathon is found on the sixth rank in the fastest marathons list. The average time for top 10 performances for male is 2:06:10 and for women 2:23:01. The men's course record by Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele is 2:05:04. The women's record stands at 2:21:06 from 2013, made by Ethiopian Boru Tadese. Similarly to the race in Amsterdam, the Paris Marathon basically encompasses a city tour since during the competition “the runners hit the streets in the most prestigious of thoroughfares and squares”, as is written in the race website.
The last marathon in our list is hardly much slower than the first: De Lage Landen Marathon Eindhoven has an average of men's top 10 performances that is less than two and a half minutes more than that of the Berlin Marathon, namely, 2:06:41. The men's course record, 2:05:46, is held by Dickson Kiptolo Chumba from – this should not come as a surprise by now – Kenya. His countrywoman Georgina Rono has held the women's record since the preceding year 2011 with 2:24:33. Held in the fifth largest city in the Netherlands, the Eindhoven Marathon also includes a Marathon Festival that includes live performances by bands and DJs, who, according to the event website, work “hard to motivate and entertain participants and spectators alike”.
Sources for statistics: Runner's World, IAAF, AIMS
