Paula Radcliffe and the world record.

Quick answer. No. Paula Radcliffe's 2:15:25, run at the London Marathon on 13 April 2003, was the women's marathon world record until Brigid Kosgei ran 2:14:04 in Chicago on 13 October 2019. World Athletics now keeps two women's marathon records: one for mixed races, currently 2:09:56, and one for women-only races, currently Tigst Assefa's 2:15:41 from London on 26 April 2026. Paula's 2:15:25 is still the British record and the fastest time a woman has run at the London Marathon.

Does Paula Radcliffe still hold the world record?

Not any more. She held it for 16 years, from 13 April 2003 to 13 October 2019. On that day in Chicago, Kosgei finished in 2:14:04 and, in the words of World Athletics' race report, took "81 seconds off the longest-standing marathon world record" of the post-war era.

Paula was in Chicago and congratulated Kosgei at the finish. "We always knew the time would come when the record would be broken," she said. She also pointed out the date: "I've always said 17 is my lucky number and it was exactly 17 years ago to the day that I set my first world record here in Chicago." That first record was 2:17:18, run in Chicago on 13 October 2002. Looking back in 2020, World Athletics wrote of the 2:15:25: "Lasting more than 16 years, it became the longest-standing marathon world record in the professional era."

What happened at the 2003 London Marathon?

The race was on Sunday 13 April 2003. According to World Athletics' report from the day, Paula "led every step of the way and was almost a mile clear" of Catherine Ndereba by the finish. Ndereba was second in 2:19:55 and Deena Drossin of the USA third in 2:21:16. The calculated margin of victory was 4 minutes 30 seconds.

Three details from that report explain the time:

• Male pacemakers. The organisers used eight Kenyan men in four pairs, with target times of 2:16, 2:18, 2:20 and 2:22. Only one of the two 2:16 pacemakers, Simon Loywapet, went the full distance with her.
• A faster second half. She passed halfway in 68:02 and covered the second half in 67:23.
• A first. She became, in the report's words, "the first woman to break 2:16 for the distance", taking 1 minute 53 seconds off her own Chicago time.

She credited the people on the route: "the crowd were fantastic." It was her second London win in a row. The full story of all three is in our article on Paula's London Marathon wins.

Why are there two women's marathon world records?

Because the rules changed after Paula's run. In 2011 the IAAF, now World Athletics, decided that a women's road record could no longer be set in a race where the record setter runs against men. On 9 November 2011 its Council kept the existing records "regardless of the type of race in which they were achieved (mixed or women-only)", and ruled that "new records will be officially recognised and ratified only if achieved in women-only races" (World Athletics, 9 November 2011).

Today World Athletics publishes two progressions for the women's marathon, one for mixed races and one for women-only races. Paula's name opens both.

Paula's women-only mark came at her third London win, in 2005. World Athletics said Keitany's 2:17:01 in 2017 took "a sizeable chunk off Radcliffe's 12-year-old women's-only world record". Assefa's 2:15:41 was ratified by World Athletics in July 2026.

What records does Paula Radcliffe still hold?

Her World Athletics profile still marks four of her personal bests as national records:

• Marathon: 2:15:25, London, 13 April 2003.
• 10,000m: 30:01.09, Munich, 6 August 2002, when she won the European title.
• 5000m: 14:29.11, Bydgoszcz, 20 June 2004.
• 3000m: 8:22.20, Monaco, 19 July 2002.

London has its own record book too. London Marathon Events lists the women's course records as 2:15:25 by Paula in 2003 for a mixed race, and 2:15:41 by Assefa in 2026 for a women-only race. So no woman has run London faster than Paula did in 2003. In January 2026 England Athletics also noted that she "still stands as the last British woman to win the London Marathon".

Where Immufix fits.

Paula is a co-owner of the company that makes Immufix, and she has taken it every morning since 1998. Her own account is on her journey page. Immufix is one 25g scoop in around 200ml of water, once a day, alongside a varied diet. For people who train, magnesium and vitamin D contribute to normal muscle function, and vitamin C, riboflavin, niacin and vitamin B6 contribute to normal energy-yielding metabolism. Every ingredient and amount is on the science page.

The short version.

• Paula ran 2:15:25 at the London Marathon on 13 April 2003, the first woman under 2:16.
• It was the women's world record for 16 years, until Brigid Kosgei ran 2:14:04 in Chicago on 13 October 2019.
• Since 2011 World Athletics has kept separate records for mixed and women-only races. The current marks are 2:09:56 and 2:15:41.
• 2:15:25 is still the British record and the fastest time a woman has run at the London Marathon.

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