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World's Fastest Marathon and 50K Walkers

By Wendy Bumgardner, About.com

Created: December 17, 2004

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Who is the fastest marathon walker in the world? That is subject to some interpolation because the longest official racewalks are 50 kilometers, which exceeds the standard 42 kilometer marathon distance. There are several impressive times which give runners a good chase.

Carlos Mercenario Cabajal

Mercenario's 1997 marathon time was 3:21:54. His personal best at 50K is his 1991 mark of 3:42:03

Andrei Perlov

Andre's 50 kilometer time of 3:37:41 in 1989 is his personal best, beating his 1991 Olympic gold finish in the 50K. Even more impressive is that this is a road race time, not a track time. That means he walked through the marathon in under 3:05.

Thierry Toutain

Set a mark of 3:40:57 in a world record 50 kilometer track time in September 1996. Assuming steady pace, he went through the marathon (42.195 km) in 3:06:28.

Ann Jannson

Finished in 3:38 at the NYC marathon one of the years she competed in that event.

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