World record criteria for road races

World Athletics World Road Records

World Athletics Rule 260.28

World Athletics now recognises World Records in road races for the following distances: 10km; 15km; 20km; Half Marathon; 25km; 30km; Marathon (42.195km); 100km; Road Relay (Marathon distance only). World Athletics Rule 260 states that the following criteria with regard to the course must be complied with in order for a World Road Record to be ratified:

1. The course must be measured by one or more “A” or “B” grade AIMS/World Athletics approved measurers.
2. 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.
3. The overall decrease in elevation between the start and finish shall not exceed 1:1000, i.e. 1m per km (0.1%).
4. Any course measurer who originally measured the course or another “A” or “B” grade measurer in possession of the complete measurement data and maps must validate that the course measured was the course run, normally by riding in the lead vehicle.
5. The course must be verified (i.e. re-measured) as late as possible before the race, on the day of the race or as soon as practical after the race, preferably by a different “A” grade measurer from any of those who did the original measurement.
   Note: If the course was originally measured by at least two “A” grade or one “A” and one “B” grade measurers, and at least one of them is present at the race to validate the course as per Rule 260.28(d), no verification (re-measurement) under this Rule 260.28(e) will be required.
6. World Records in Road Running Events set at intermediate distances within a race must comply with the conditions set under Rule 260. The intermediate distances must have been measured and marked during the course measurement and must have been verified in accordance with Rule 260.28(e).
7. For the Road Relay, the race shall be run in stages of 5km, 10km, 5km, 10km, 5km, 7.195km. The stages must have been measured and marked during the course measurement with a tolerance of ± 1% of the stage distance and must have been verified in accordance with Rule 260.28(e).