Marathons at the World Championships in Athletics

Marathon at the World Championships in Athletics
Women starting the 2013 marathon on the track
Overview
Gender	Men and women
Years held	Men: 1983 – 2015 Women: 1983 – 2015
Championship record
Men	2:06:54 Abel Kirui (2009)
Women	2:20:57 Paula Radcliffe (2005)
Reigning champion
Men	Stephen Kiprotich (UGA)
Women	Edna Kiplagat (KEN)

The marathon at the World Championships in Athletics has been contested by both men and women since the inaugural edition in 1983. It is the second most prestigious global title in the discipline after the marathon at the Olympics. From 1997 to 2011 it hosted the World Marathon Cup team event. It currently forms part of the World Marathon Majors circuit, which includes the six top annual races. The competition format has separate men's and women's races, which both serve as a straight final. Participation typically numbers between sixty and eighty runners per race. The event usually starts and ends in the main stadium, with the rest of the race taking place on the surrounding roads of the host city.

The championship records for the event are 2:06:54 hours for men, set by Abel Kirui in 2009, and 2:20:57 hours for women, set by Paula Radcliffe in 2005. The world record has never been broken or equalled at the competition by either men or women, reflecting the lack of pacemaking and athletes' more tactical approach to championship races.

Catherine Ndereba is the most successful athlete of the event, having won two gold medals and one silver medal in the women's marathon. Four other athletes have won the World Championships marathon twice: Abel Antón, Jaouad Gharib, Abel Kirui and Edna Kiplagat – all of whom had back-to-back victories.

Kenya is the most successful nation in the discipline, having won eight gold medals overall (four in each division). Japan is the next most successful, with three gold medallists, and shares the highest medal total of fourteen with Kenya. Spain has won three gold medals, while Ethiopia has won six medals in the men's race (the second highest after Kenya).