News
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January 2nd, 2026
Fastest Road Runners of 2025
In the year that the average time of ten fastest men’s marathon times was 2:03:09, African athletes topped all the season lists.
2025 was a historic year in road running with fast performances across all distances, alongside a record number of 59,226 finishers at the New York City Marathon on 2 November. Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa smashed the women-only world record by 26 seconds at the London Marathon, running 2:15:50 to win her first London Marathon title. Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo ran 56:42 at the Barcelona Half Marathon, becoming the first athlete to break 57 minutes and improving the previous record by 48 seconds.
The average time of the ten fastest men’s marathon times during the year was 2:03:09 while the women’s average was 2:16:07. In the half marathon, men’s ten fastest performances averaged to an incredible 58:19 while top ten women’s average was 1:04:39.
Athletes from the continent of Africa led the top lists once again in marathon, half marathon and the 10km. Fastest three athletes in each event in the world in 2025 as well as the fastest three Turkish athletes, in only the races with official course measurements and entered in the Global Calendar, are as follows:
Men’s Marathon World List:
2:02:16 Sabastian Kimaru Sawe (KEN) - Berlin, 21 September
2:02:23 Jacob Kiplimo (UGA) - Chicago, 12 October
2:02:24 John Korir (KEN) - Valencia, 7 DecemberMen’s Marathon Turkish List:
2:07:26 Sezgin Ataç – Daegu, 23 February
2:07:27 Kaan Kigen Özbilen – Abu Dhabi, 13 December
2:10:26 İlham Tanui Özbilen - Brussels-Leuven, 13 AprilWomen's Marathon World List:
2:14:00 Joyciline Jepkosgei (KEN) - Valencia, 7 December
2:14:43 Peres Chepchirchir (KEN) - Valencia, 7 December
2:14:57 Hawi Geysa (ETH) - Chicago, 12 OctoberWomen's Marathon Turkish List:
No statistically significant performancesMen’s Half Marathon World List:
56:42 Jacob Kiplimo (UGA) - Barcelona, 16 February
58:02 Yomif Kejelcha (ETH) - Valencia, 26 October
58:23 Nicholas Kipkorir (KEN) - Copenhagen, 14 SeptemberMen’s Half Marathon Turkish List:
1:01:49 Sezgin Ataç - Istanbul, 27 April
1:02:35 Ramazan Baştuğ - Bochum, 26 July
1:04:52 Ali Kaya - Istanbul, 27 AprilWomen's Half Marathon World List:
1:03:08 Agnes Jebet Ngetich (KEN) - Valencia, 26 October
1:03:35 Fotyen Tesfay (ETH) - Berlin, 6 April
1:04:13 Joyciline Jepkosgei (KEN) - Barcelona, 16 FebruaryWomen's Half Marathon Turkish List:
1:12:51 Bahar Yıldırım - Leuven, 12 April
1:13:09 Nursena Çeto - Leuven, 12 April
1:14:06 Sümeyye Erol - Trabzon, 23 FebruaryMen's 10km World List:
26:31 Yomif Kejelcha (ETH) - Castellon, 16 February
26:53 Andreas Almgren (SWE) - Valencia, 12 January
26:54 Dominic Lokinyomo Lobalu (SUI) - Valencia, 12 January
26:54 Birhanu Balew (BRN) - Herzogenaurach, 26 April
26:54 Gemechu Dida (ETH) - Herzogenaurach, 26 April
26:54 Rodrigue Kwizera (BDI) - Herzogenaurach, 26 April
26:54 Khairi Bejiga (ETH) - Brasov, 5 OctoberMen's 10km Turkish List:
28:11 Sezgin Ataç - Leuven, 13 April
29:07 Ramazan Baştuğ - Leuven, 13 April
29:45 Mert Selek - Mersin, 14 DecemberWomen’s 10km World List:
29:25 Medina Eisa (ETH) - Castellon, 16 February
29:27 Agnes Jebet Ng’etich (KEN) - Herzogenaurach, 26 April
29:30 Hellen Ekalale Lobun (KEN) - Valencia, 12 JanuaryWomen’s 10km Turkish List:
30:36 Yasemin Can - Brasov, 5 October
33:24 Derya Kunur - Ankara, 5 October
33:38 Ruken Tek - Ankara, 5 October -
January 1st, 2026
2025 Road Races Performance Rankings
London and Valencia topped the 2025 marathon and half marathon rankings respectively. Istanbul Half finished the year fifteenth.
World Athletics 2025 Competition Rankings are finalised following the races held in the new year’s eve. Thanks to the women-only world record, TCS London Marathon ranked first once again in the marathons top list. London Marathon, now the 20-time winner of the past 25 years, is followed by the Bank of America Chicago Marathon and the Tokyo Marathon. Mersin secured its leadership among the marathons held in Turkey. Ranked 30th in the world rankings, Mersin Marathon, where the Turkish all-comers record in men’s marathon was improved, finished the year 135 points ahead of Türkiye İş Bankası Istanbul Marathon.
Trinidad Alfonso Valencia Half Marathon is ranked number one for a second consecutive year among the half marathons. Türkiye İş Bankası Istanbul Half Marathon was again the top-ranked Turkish road race in any category.
World Road Races Performance Rankings are based on the aggregate points of the fastest eight performances and the participation score of the competitors in a race. Top five events in 2025 and the rankings of the Turkish races are as follows:
Marathons:
1. TCS London Marathon, 10648 points
2. Bank of America Chicago Marathon, 10448 points
3. Tokyo Marathon, 10398 points
4. Boston Marathon, 10180 points
5. TCS Amsterdam Marathon, 9937 points
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30. Mersin Marathon, 9231 points
51. Türkiye İş Bankası Istanbul Marathon, 9096 points
Half marathons:
1. Trinidad Alfonso Valencia Half Marathon, 10532 points
2. Copenhagen Half Marathon, 10384 points
3. Barcelona Half Marathon by Brooks, 10139 points
4. Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon, 9985 points
5. Berlin Half Marathon, 9901 points
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15. Türkiye İş Bankası Istanbul Half Marathon, 9671 points
135. Trabzon Half Marathon, 8188 points
245. Runkara Half Marathon, 7418 points
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December 31th, 2025
Have a Wonderful Year!
Depar Timing wishes you a prosperous 2026, full of personal bests and medals. May you achieve all your goals in life!
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August 9th, 2025
A New Era in Sports Technology
Garmin, the leader in GPS and sports technology, acquired MyLaps, renowned for its sports timing and performance analysis systems.
Founded in 1982, the Netherlands-based company MyLaps has built a strong reputation with its automatic timing solutions across disciplines such as running, cycling, motorsports, car racing, and swimming. Its transponder-based system was first officially used in major road races at the 1994 Berlin Marathon, and has been available in Turkey since 2006 through Depar Timing.
With this strategic move, Garmin aims to deliver more integrated and innovative solutions to race organisers and athletes. By combining MyLaps’ technical expertise and global presence with Garmin’s advanced technologies, the company seeks to set a new benchmark in performance-driven training and race management.
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January 20th, 2025
Increase In Road Race Finishers
A detailed survey of finishers data from 603 road races in 44 countries revealed a 17.1% increase in finishers in the year 2024.
The survey, conducted by Race Results Weekly, covered 4,668,261 race finishers competing at distances from 5km to 86km with a 17.1% increase compared to the 3,985,473 finishers in 2023. While the growth was significantly higher climbing to 20,9% in the 190 half marathons surveyed, the biggest leap was achieved by the Lisbon Half Marathon where the finisher figures were up by 212,3 based on the increase of finishers from 4,230 to 13,210. Istanbul Half Marathon, from 2023 to 2024, saw an increase of 36,1%.
According to the survey, which can be reached at https://shorturl.at/xJKwq, races with over 30 thousand finishers increased from 13 to 16 in 2024. The largest race was once again the “City2Surf” 14km race with a record number of nearly 85 thousand entrants. The fun race staged in Sydney since 1971 saw 77,436 from 40 minutes to 5 hours last year.
