Criteria For Record Eligibility
In order for a performance to be ratified as a world record by the IAAF, the marathon course on which the performance occurred must be 42.195 kilometers and measured in a defined manner using the calibrated bicycle method and meet other criteria that rule out "artificially fast times" produced on courses aided by downhill slope or tailwind. The criteria include:
- "The start and finish points of a course, measured along a theoretical straight line between them, shall not be further apart than 50% of the race distance."
- "The decrease in elevation between the start and finish shall not exceed an average of one in a thousand, i.e. 1m per km.
Road racing events like the marathon were specifically excepted from IAAF rule 260 18(d) that rejected from consideration those track and field performances set in mixed competition.
The Association of Road Racing Statisticians, an independent organization that compiles data from road running events, also maintains an alternate marathon world best progression but with standards they consider to be more stringent.
Performances claiming world best or world record status on "point-to-point" courses such as the Boston Marathon have historically been rejected by USA Track & Field. Performances on these courses could be aided by slope and/or tailwinds.
Read more about this topic: Marathon World Record Progression
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