In the first half of 2026 there has been so much to say about the world marathon scene. Because elite marathoners concentrated their efforts at a few events, the top ten fastest times of the first half came from only three races — one fewer than the women's top ten. The London Marathon was like NASA watching a moon landing: sub‑2 became real. Besides Sawei's 1:59:30, there was even Kejiecha, running his first-ever full marathon and breaking two hours in an official race. Kejiecha is now the second person worldwide to run under two hours in an official competition, the second in history. And Jacob Kiplimo's 2:00:28 — a "miracle" in previous races — could only just make the podium in London. The top six finishers in London are all inside the year's top ten, and the top three are currently the three fastest times in history. Until the second half of the season begins, the London Marathon temporarily represents the peak of human marathon history. Strong winds returned to Boston after 15 years, once again producing many breakthrough performances and making the 130th Boston Marathon the fastest edition ever. Several American runners posted their fastest marathon finishes there, but because the Boston course is not eligible for record ratification, new American records could not be certified. Kenyan John Korir broke away with a 2:01:52. The runner‑up and third also dipped under 2:03; the three of them together reset the Boston event record and entered the year’s top‑ten list. If John Korir had chosen London instead of Boston, who knows whether he might have run into the 2:01 range? Tenth on the list is Tokyo Marathon champion Tadese Takele — at least an Ethiopian athlete kept a spot for Tokyo. With next year’s Tokyo likely to see records fall, it might attract even more big names. Kenya and Ethiopia split the men's list evenly, 4–4, with Uganda and Tanzania taking the other two spots — though they are also East African. In short, the global marathon landscape is still ruled by East African elite runners. In the shoe wars, adidas, ASICS and Nike appear on the list — adidas leads, while ASICS and Nike both showed prototype/test models. With outstanding marathon results emerging throughout the first half of the year, the traditional fast courses in the second half (such as Berlin and the Chicago Marathon) are even more anticipated. After the "sub‑2" breakthrough, where will the focus and pursuit of marathon performance go next? #marathon#world top ten#sub-2#running shoes#trail-running boom