Hour Run

Hour Run

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The hour run is a track event in which competitors try to cover as much distance as possible within one hour. While officially recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations as a track event, it is infrequently held.

The event has a long history, with first recorded races dating back to the late 17th century,[1] and the first widely recognized world record set by Alfred Shrubb in 1904.

As of June 2009, the men's world record is 21,285 m, set by Haile Gebrselassie on June 27, 2007,[2] while the women's world record is 18,517 m, set by Dire Tune on June 12, 2008.[3] On June 1, 2009 in Hengelo, Netherlands, Gebrselassie attempted to better his world record, but came up 463m short due in part to an unexpected 10 minute rain storm.[4]

USATF Rule of Competition 267 no longer recognizes official American Records in the one hour run. However, the USATF website lists the American records as:[5]

American One Hour Run Records
Gender Distance Athlete Place Date
Men 20,547 m Bill Rodgers (29) Boston, MA 1977-Aug-09
Women 13,792 m (f) Kay Capozzi (23) St. Petersburg, FL 1985-May-21

The hour run is held at the club level. In Germany every running club seems to hold an hour race a year, with half hour events for younger or more senior runners. Some German clubs hold regular hour competitions adding the cumulative distances together to decide the overall winner for the year.

In France, the progression of the event seems to be the half hour for the youngest runners, then the 45 minute race and finally the Hour event. So the event still has a role at the club level.

In Italy, there is another variation on the event with 12x1 hour or 24x1 hour races being held regularly, with club teams competing against each other. The distances achieved by the individual runners are published at the finish of the event along with the total distance covered by each team.

In the United States, running clubs also include the Hour Run in their yearly schedules.[6][7] The Hudson Mohawk Road Runners Club in Albany, New York, for example have had an annual Hour race since 1972, with only one break during that period.[8] The DC Road Runners Club also holds it annually.[9]

Some British clubs have a similar history with Hour Runs going back twenty or more years. There is an Australian club event held on a one kilometre grass loop.[1]


  1. 1.0 1.1 Milroy, Andy (2005). History of the Hour Run. Retrieved on 2009-06-07.
  2. World Outdoor Records - Men. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-06-07.
  3. World Outdoor Records - Women. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-06-07.
  4. Gebrselassie comes up short in one-hour run record attempt. CBS Sports (June 1, 2009). Retrieved on 2009-06-07.
  5. http://www.usatf.org/statistics/records/view.asp?division=american&location=outdoor%20track%20%26%20field&age=open&sport=LDR Retrieved 2009-06-07.
  6. http://www.trackpages.us/kwsr/080112-OHR/OHR_entry_080112.pdf Retrieved 2009-06-07.
  7. http://www.arkrrca.com/index.php?main=hour Retrieved 2009-06-07.
  8. http://www.hmrrc.com/index.cfm?method=Race.Schedule Retrieved 2009-06-07
  9. http://www.racepacket.com/result08/may08/onehr.htm Retrieved 2009-06-07.
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