How we verify marathon times
Every runner profile shows a status for each result, and links to the page where we found it.
Result statuses
- Official result — published by the race or a governing body such as World Athletics. A result can only be marked official with a linked source.
- Reported by media — the exact time appears in a reputable news or running publication.
- Unverified — we hold the time but haven't yet found a source that states it.
How we check a source
We open each source page and confirm it states the exact finish time before linking it, and record the date we checked. Paces are calculated from the finish time over 42.195 km. Gun or chip timing is shown only when the source states it.
What counts as an official marathon performance
A time is official when the race organiser's published results show it, from a course measured to the full 42.195 km. Results confirmed by a governing body such as World Athletics also count as official. Exhibition runs, paced time trials and watch or app readings are not official results, even when the time is well documented. Our dataset is not an official record. If anything here disagrees with the organiser's results, the organiser is right.
Limits of historical data
Results from before online timing, roughly the late 1990s, are often hard to confirm, and some only survive in newspaper reports. Older times may be gun times rather than chip times, or rounded to the minute. Where we can't confirm a time, it stays Unverified rather than being removed or guessed.
How updates are made
We check runners in batches. When a time is matched to a source, its label changes and the check date is recorded. New marathon results are added after the organiser publishes them. Lists and counts recalculate automatically. See also data sources, our editorial policy and the dataset page.
What we don't do
We don't invent biographies, statistics or photos. Photos are only shown when they're freely licensed or supplied with permission. Profiles without a sourced time or a proper biography are kept out of search engines until they're reviewed.
Report a correction
Spotted a wrong time or have a better source? Email betiwill@live.com with the runner's name and a link.