Kelvin Kiptum smashes Men’s Marathon World Record time at 2023 Chicago Marathon

It was a Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2023 to remember this year, as Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum set a new Men’s Marathon World Record, beating his compatriot Eliud Kipchoge by more than 30 seconds! The 23-year old finished in an incredible time of two hours and 35 seconds.

Meanwhile in the Women’s Marathon, Dutch runner Sifan Hassan set the second fastest women’s time in history, as she won the female event. Her time of 2:13:44 was only 1 minute, 41 seconds behind the world record which was set by Ethiopian Tigst Assefa at the BMW Berlin Marathon last month.

Kiptum’s world-record breaking run also knocked a remarkable three minutes off the Chicago Marathon course record, set ten years ago by Dennis Kimetto. It is Kiptum’s third victory out of three runs in the marathon format, having previously won in Valencia at the end of 2022 and at the London Marathon earlier this year.

Will the 2 hour mark be broken?

Kelvin Kiptum’s record-breaking run of 2:00:35 opens up the serious possibility of a sub-2 hour time being set in the near future, having seen the world record inch closer towards the target in the past year. As running season continues apace, experts have speculated that we could see the 2 hour record time smashed as soon as this year – with pundits claiming that advancements in shoe technology are key to the continued breaking down of the record and seemingly rapid pace towards a below two hour mark.

Eliud Kipchoge has set a sub-2 hour record before, when he completed the INEOS Challenge in 2019, setting a time of 1:59:40. However, this wasn’t classified as a marathon under official conditions, despite proving that it is possible. Looking further in to Kiptum’s incredible achievement, his record-breaking run set a pace of 2:51 minute per kilometre, a second quicker than Kipchoge’s 2:52 min/km at the 2022 Berlin Marathon. To put that in to context, it would require a pace of around 2:49 min/km to post a sub-2-hour time. If these seconds were knocked off over the same time period as existed between Kipchoge and Kiptum’s record attempts, we should expect to see the time broken in 2024. However, it could be even sooner depending on form and conditions!

Chicago offers calm running conditions for Marathoners

A number of runners ran the 2023 Bank of America Chicago Marathon with Marathon Tours & Travel and experienced a fun, rewarding and unique marathon experience. Chicago offers a great opportunity to run around one of the United States’ most iconic cities and the course offers a fast, flat circuit perfect for runners of all abilities.

As well as offering a fast and flat course, the Chicago Marathon course offers a cool, relaxing climate as you run with over a third of the course in view of the beautiful Lake Michigan, making for perfect running conditions in October. If you are looking to expand your marathon horizons and run in the iconic Windy City, take a look at our packages for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2024.

Still need to be persuaded? Read our Chicago destination guide…