# One hour run

The one hour run is an athletics event in which competitors try to cover as much distance as possible within one hour. While officially recognized by World Athletics as a track event, it is rarely contested apart from occasional world record attempts.
The event has a long history, with first recorded races dating back to the late 17th century. The first athlete to run more than 20 kilometers in one hour was Emil Zátopek, in September 1951. Zátopek also set the 20,000 meters world record in the same race. Since that time, most men's 20,000 m world records were also set en route to one hour world records.
The men's world record is 21,330 metres (13.25 mi), set by Mo Farah, while the women's world record is 18,930 metres (11.76 mi), set by Sifan Hassan. Both were set on 4 September 2020 during the 2020 Diamond League Ivo Van Damme Memorial.

## Men's world record progression

| Distance (m) | Athlete | Country | Place | Date |
| 18,742 | Alfred Shrubb | Great Britain | Glasgow | 1904-11-05 |
| 19,021 | Jean Bouin | France | Stockholm | 1913-07-06 |
| 19,210 | Paavo Nurmi | Finland | Berlin | 1928-10-07 |
| 19,339 | Viljo Heino | Finland | Turku | 1945-09-30 |
| 19,558 | Emil Zátopek | Czechoslovakia | Prague | 1951-09-15 |
| 20,052 | Emil Zátopek | Czechoslovakia | Stará Boleslav | 1951-09-29 |
| 20,190 | Bill Baillie | New Zealand | Auckland | 1963-08-24 |
| 20,232 | Ron Clarke | Australia | Geelong | 1965-10-27 |
| 20,664 | Gaston Roelants | Belgium | Leuven | 1966-10-28 |
| 20,784 | Gaston Roelants | Belgium | Brussels | 1972-09-20 |
| 20,907 | Jos Hermens | Netherlands | Papendal | 1975-09-28 |
| 20,944 | Jos Hermens | Netherlands | Papendal | 1976-05-01 |
| 21,101 | Arturo Barrios | Mexico | La Flèche | 1991-03-30 |
| 21,285 | Haile Gebrselassie | Ethiopia | Ostrava | 2007-06-27 |
| 21,330 | Mo Farah | United Kingdom | Brussels | 2020-09-04 |

## Women's world record progression

| Distance (m) | Athlete | Country | Place | Date |
| 18,084 | Silvana Cruciata | Italy | Rome | 1981-05-02 |
| 18,340 | Tegla Loroupe | Kenya | Borgholzhausen | 1998-08-07 |
| 18,517 | Dire Tune | Ethiopia | Ostrava | 2008-06-12 |
| 18,930 | Sifan Hassan | Netherlands | Brussels | 2020-09-04 |

## All-time top 25
### Men

* Updated September 2022.
| Rank | Result (m) | Athlete | Nation | Date | Place |
| 1 | 21,330 | Mo Farah | Great Britain | 4 September 2020 | Brussels |
| 2 | 21,322 | Bashir Abdi | Belgium | 4 September 2020 | Brussels |
| 3 | 21,285 | Haile Gebrselassie | Ethiopia | 27 June 2007 | Ostrava |
| 4 | 21,250 | Sabastian Sawe | Kenya | 2 September 2022 | Brussels |
| 5 | 21,131 | Sondre Nordstad Moen | Norway | 7 August 2020 | Kristiansand |
| 6 | 21,101 | Arturo Barrios | Mexico | 30 March 1991 | La Flèche |
| 7 | 20,944 | Jos Hermens | Netherlands | 1 May 1976 | Papendal |
| 8 | 20,943 | Dionisio Castro | Portugal | 31 March 1990 | La Flèche |
| 9 | 20,940 | Kibiwott Kandie | Kenya | 2 September 2022 | Brussels |
| 10 | 20,855 | Carl Thackery | Great Britain | 31 March 1990 | La Flèche |
| 11 | 20,797 | Kiplimo Kimutai | Kenya | 1 June 2009 | Hengelo |
| 12 | 20,784 | Gaston Roelants | Belgium | 20 September 1972 | Brussels |
| 13 | 20,772 | Morhad Amdouni | France | 19 September 2020 | Lucciana |
| 14 | 20,756 | Wilson Kiprop | Kenya | 1 June 2009 | Hengelo |
| 15 | 20,639 | Samuel Nyangincha | Kenya | 30 March 1991 | La Flèche |
| 16 | 20,620 | Godfrey Kiprotich | Kenya | 30 March 1991 | La Flèche |
| 17 | 20,601 | Bertrand Itsweire | France | 31 March 1990 | La Flèche |
| 18 | 20,593 | Daniel Mateo | Spain | 20 April 2021 | La Nucía |
| 19 | 20,587 | Peter Kiprotich | Kenya | 19 September 2020 | Lucciana |
| 20 | 20,550 | Gerard Tebroke | Netherlands | 28 September 1978 | Groningen |
| 21 | 20,547 | Bill Rodgers | United States | 9 August 1977 | Boston |
| 22 | 20,536 | Werner Schildhauer | Germany | 29 April 1983 | Cottbus |
| 23 | 20,525 | Hansjörg Kunze | Germany | 31 March 1990 | La Flèche |
| 24 | 20,518 | Willy Polleunis | Belgium | 20 September 1972 | Brussels |
| 25 | 20,516 | Rob de Castella | Australia | 17 April 1982 | Rome |

### Women

* Updated September 2020.
* Mx = Mixed race
| Rank | Result (m) | Athlete | Nation | Date | Place |
| 1 | 18,930 | Sifan Hassan | Netherlands | 4 September 2020 | Brussels |
| 2 | 18,571 | Lonah Chemtai Salpeter | Israel | 4 September 2020 | Brussels |
| 3 | 18,517 | Dire Tune | Ethiopia | 12 June 2008 | Ostrava |
| 4 | 18,341 | Eva Cherono | Kenya | 4 September 2020 | Brussels |
| 5 | 18,340 | Tegla Loroupe | Kenya | 7 August 1998 | Borgholzhausen |
| 6 | 18,084 | Silvana Cruciata | Italy | 4 May 1981 | Rome |
| 7 | 18,027 | Rosa Mota | Portugal | 14 May 1983 | Lisbon |
| 8 | 17,974 | Helen Bekele | Ethiopia | 4 September 2020 | Brussels |
| 9 | 17,955 | Sarah Lahti | Sweden | 4 September 2020 | Brussels |
| 10 | 17,952 | Junko Kataoka | Japan | 1 October 1994 | Tokyo |
| 11 | 17,930 | Molly Huddle | United States | 1 November 2020 | Attleboro |
| 12 | 17,871 | Naomi Sakashita | Japan | 10 October 1995 | Amagasaki |
| 13 | 17,776 | Jeļena Prokopčuka | Latvia | 8 August 2003 | Riga |
| 14 | 17,709 | Katrin Dörre-Heinig | East Germany | 7 July 1988 | Leipzig |
| 15 | 17,693 | Izumi Maki | Japan | 1 October 1994 | Tokyo |
| 16 | 17,692 | Midori Fumoto | Japan | 1 October 1994 | Tokyo |
| 17 | 17,569 | Annmarie Tuxbury | United States | 1 November 2020 | Attleboro |
| 18 | 17,546 | Marta Galimany | Spain | 4 September 2020 | Brussels |
| 19 | 17,545 | Alice Jepkemboi Kimutai | Kenya | 17 June 2014 | Ostrava |
| 20 | 17,544 | Muluhabt Tsega | Ethiopia | 17 June 2014 | Ostrava |
| 21 | 17,343 | Leah Malot | Kenya | 16 June 2009 | Ostrava |
| 22 | 17,335 | Elena Loyo | Spain | 4 September 2020 | Brussels |
| 23 | 17,332 Mx | Valerie Duvialard | France | 23 March 1996 | Rouen |
| 24 | 17,330 | Julia Mombi Muraga | Kenya | 17 June 2014 | Ostrava |
| 25 | 17,323 | Likina Amebaw | Ethiopia | 4 September 2020 | Brussels |