John Korir is no longer just a promising name in distance running, he’s now a serious contender to break one of the sport’s most daunting barriers.
Following his dominant victory at the 2025 Boston Marathon, Korir has publicly set his sights on running a marathon in under 2 hours and 1 minute, a mark only one man has officially ever surpassed.
“I’m not saying I’m going to attack the world record,” Korir told The Star (Kenya) a month after his Boston win. “But it is a mark that is also in my mind this year.”
That mark, 2:00:35, is still held by the late Kelvin Kiptum, whose stunning performance at the 2023 Chicago Marathon redefined the limits of what is possible in the marathon. Kiptum’s record came in a perfectly executed, largely solo effort that stunned the running world.
His sudden death in a car accident in early 2024 left a deep void in elite marathoning, and also a question of who, if anyone, might one day challenge the record he left behind.
Korir may now be that athlete.
At 28, he’s entering his prime and already sits eighth on the all-time marathon list thanks to his 2:02:44 win in Chicago last October.
That performance placed him ahead of legends like Eliud Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele on the day, but his Boston victory in April confirmed his ability to win in dramatically different conditions.
Boston, unlike Chicago, is not a fast course. It’s hilly, tactical, and unqualified for record attempts. That didn’t stop Korir from dominating the field and finishing in 2:04:45, despite taking a fall early in the race after being clipped from behind.
“After I fell, I hurt myself. But I knew I had to push hard to show the world you can always get back up and succeed,” Korir said. He broke away decisively at 32 kilometers and never looked back, beating Tanzania’s Alphonse Simbu and fellow Kenyan Cybrian Kotut, who both clocked 2:05:04.
The Boston win also carried personal significance: it made the Korirs the first pair of siblings to win the historic race. Wesley Korir, John’s older brother, won back in 2012. “It feels good that the Korir family made history—even though our victories came 13 years apart,” John said.
Now, with Boston behind him and his recovery nearly complete, Korir is easing back into training. He’s been logging light 15K evening runs and doing strength work, with more intense sessions scheduled to begin in the coming weeks.
The real question looming over his 2025 season is where he’ll take his next shot, either at defending his Chicago title in October or representing Kenya at the World Championships marathon in Tokyo this September.
“I was approached recently to represent the country in Tokyo,” he said. “I also want to defend my Chicago title. I’ll have to wait and see what my elder brother and manager advise me to do.”
Both options come with weighty implications.
Tokyo’s flat course offers potential for a fast time and the prestige of a global championship. Chicago, on the other hand, offers familiarity, and the scene of his personal best. It was in Chicago last year that Korir ran the performance that signaled his arrival as a major force, and it’s also the site of Kiptum’s world record.
For fans of the sport, Korir’s plans for the fall are more than just a scheduling decision.
The marathon landscape has been in flux since Kiptum’s passing, and with Kipchoge nearing the twilight of his legendary career, there’s a hunger for the next great leap. Korir’s confidence, form, and proven ability to win on varied terrain position him as a natural heir to that legacy.
“My body feels fine and I am confident I can achieve the target I have set,” Korir said.
The sub-2:01 remains one of the most elusive barriers in running. Breaking it would place Korir in a club of one, alongside Kiptum, and raise inevitable speculation about whether the marathon can be taken under two hours in a record-eligible race.
