The first half of 2026 has given the marathon world plenty to talk about. Because so many top athletes concentrated their efforts in a few select races — a kind of “cluster” of elite entries — the top ten fastest times for the first half of the year came from only three events, one fewer than on the women’s list.

The London Marathon was like NASA watching the moon landing — the sub-two became real. Besides Sawei’s 1:59:30, there was even Kejiecha, running a full marathon for the first time. Kejiecha is now the world’s second runner to break two hours in an official race and only the second person in history, while Jipulimo’s 2:00:28 — a “miracle” in past races — could only just claim a spot on the podium in London.

The first six finishers in London all made the season’s top ten, and the podium trio currently stand as the top three in history. Before the second half of the season begins, the London Marathon temporarily represents the highest peak in marathon history.

Strong winds returned to Boston for the first time in 15 years, producing another wave of breakthrough performances and making the 130th Boston Marathon the fastest edition on record. Several American athletes posted the fastest marathon times ever run by Americans there, but Boston’s non‑ratifiable point‑to‑point course means those marks cannot be certified as new American records.

Kenyan John Korir ran away with the race in 2:01:52. The runner‑up and third‑place also dipped under 2:03 at this Boston; the three of them together reset Boston’s meet record and moved into the season’s top ten. If John Korir had chosen London instead of Boston, who knows whether he might have broken into the 2:01 range?

Tenth on the list is Tokyo Marathon champion Tadese Takele — the Ethiopian at least preserved a spot for Tokyo — but with Tokyo highly likely to see records fall next year, it could well attract even more big names.

Kenya and Ethiopia split the men’s list evenly, 4–4, while Uganda and Tanzania took the other two slots — though they’re also from East Africa. In short, the current global marathon landscape is still defined by East Africa’s elite runners.

In the shoe‑brand battle, adidas, ASICS and Nike appear on the list: adidas is leading, while ASICS and Nike both showed prototype/testing models.

With outstanding marathon results pouring in during the first half, momentum is high and the second half’s traditional fast courses (like Berlin and Chicago) are even more eagerly anticipated. After the “sub‑2” breakthrough, where will attention and ambition for marathon times head next?