10 km (road), men

What to remember

On the road the distance is called 10K rather than 10,000 m, to tell it apart from the track event. On February 16, 2025, at the 10K Facsa Castellón in Castellón de la Plana, Spain, Yomif Kejelcha ran it in 26 min 31.00 s, an average of 22.63 km/h.

The Ethiopian already had a wide range. He was World Youth 3000 m champion in 2013 and World Junior 5000 m gold medallist in 2014, won the 3000 m at the World Indoor Championships in 2016 and 2018, and took 10,000 m silver at the 2019 World Championships. On October 27, 2024 he had taken the half marathon world record from Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo. In 2026 he ran his first marathon in London in 1:59:41, becoming the second athlete after Sabastian Sawe to break two hours in a record-eligible race.

The 10K is one of the most common road races, alongside the 5K, the half marathon and the marathon, though it is not part of the Olympics or the World Championships. It draws large fields of amateurs: the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta had over 55,000 participants in 2011.