Honolulu, HI—Except for this weekend’s 51st Honolulu Marathon, which has rarely seen sub-2:10 men’s performances due to the warm conditions and double climb over Diamond Head at eight miles (13km) and again at 25 (40km), the major marathon season wrapped up in Valencia, Spain and Fukuoka, Japan in the first week of December. 

In Valencia, Ethiopia’s veteran campaigner Sisay Lemma, 32, produced a course record and third fastest time of 2023, with his 2:01:48 win. He led a year’s best 39 other men through the line in less than 2:10:00, including his venerable and venerated countryman Kenenisa Bekele, 41, who finished fourth with a new master’s (over 40) world record 2:04:19.

In Fukuoka, Japan, the onetime unofficial marathon world championship, Kenyan Michael Githae broke free at 41km to edge out China’s Yang Shaohui, 2:07:08 to 2:07:09, to win the 76th edition of Fukuoka. It was Githae’s second win there in three years. Norway’s Sondre Nordstad Moen took third in 2:07:16.

It has been a long year featuring what appears to be a changing of the guard at the pinnacle of the sport. As always, I like to do a deeper dive into the marathon year to see what the numbers may say.

As has been the trend in the ongoing Super Shoe era, there were more sub-2:10 men’s marathons run this year than ever, a record 434 (to date) compared to the previous record 395 in 2022 and 293 in 2019 (both 2020 & 2021 saw fewer top performances due to Covid-19 restrictions). Or, using the 2024 Paris Olympic Marathon qualifying standard of 2:08:10, in 2023 we saw 230 such performances compared to 204 in 2022, an 11.3% increase.

Leading the charge in 2023 was Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum (he turned 24 on Saturday, 2 December) with his new world record in Chicago, 2:00:35. He also had the second fastest time of the year with his 2:01:25 victory in London in April. The king is dead, Long live the king!

Ethiopia’s Sisay Lemma produced the sixth best time in history in Valencia, Spain, clocking a course record 2:01:48. Former world record holder and marathon goat Eliud Kipchoge, 39, ran the fourth best time of the year with his 2:02:42 victory in Berlin in September.

Top non-East African born times of the year:

#54 – 2:05:36 – Cam Levins (CAN) – 5th, Tokyo
#64 – 2:05:43 – Mehdi Frère (FRA) – 9th, Valencia
#72 – 2:05:51  – Ichitaka Yamashita (JPN) – 7th, Tokyo

Conner Mantz ran the fastest USA time of 2023 (#195 on world list), finishing sixth in Chicago in 2:07:47.

*

Let’s further break down the year via nations and marathon events.

434 sub-2:10s in 2023 (as of 3 December) vs. 395 in 2022, a 9.7% increase.

Nations with the most sub-2:10s

Kenya      142 (32.7% of total)  136 in 2022

Ethiopia   97  (22.3%) 99 in 2022

Japan        57 (13.1.%) 61 in 2022

Morocco   17 (3.9%)

Eritrea      11 (2.5%)

Germany 10 (2.3%)

France     10 (2.3%)

Uganda     8 (1.8%)

USA           8 (1.8%)

Belgium   7 (1.6%)

National affiliation changes can skew these numbers as East African born athletes get folded into other nations’ results. 

Marathons with most Sub-2:10s

Valencia      40

Osaka           35

Seville          24

Berlin           23

Tokyo           20

Amsterdam 14

Barcelona & Beppu 13

Daegu & Rotterdam 12

Chicago         11

Paris & Seoul 9

Boston, Hamburg, Doha & Fukuoka 8

Sydney (next AWMM?) 2

A decade ago:

2013 sub-2:10s – 189
Kenya –   99 (52.4%)
Ethiopia- 61 (32.2%)
USA –        1 (Dathan Ritzenhein, 2:09:45, 5th in Chicago)

I broke down the women’s 2023 year in review earlier.  The one glaring difference being how Kenyan runners continue to dominate the top ranks of the men’s list, while Ethiopians do the same for women. Stay well, run safe.

END