In conjunction with the National Black Marathoners’ Association and in recognition of Erika Kemp’s breakout 2:22:56 at the 2025 Houston Marathon, the Theodore Corbitt Institute for Running History Research is proud to reintroduce The List of American-born Black female marathoners who have run sub-3:00.
In 2013, running historian Gary Corbitt undertook this groundbreaking research in response to an inquiry from 16-time sub-three-hour marathoner Shawanna White: how many American-born Black female runners had ever qualified for the US Olympic Trials?
Corbitt expanded upon White’s Olympic Trials question and landed on three hours as the cutoff for his research. A three-hour marathon is not fast enough to qualify for the Trials; however, breaking that threshold – which requires an average pace of less than 6:52 per mile for 26.2 miles – is a high-achievement benchmark for men and women alike. When Corbitt revealed his compilation, it became simply, and alluringly, known as “The List.”
Today, we are proud to reintroduce The List, which now includes 32 women – 14 of whom have earned their place since 2020 – all following the trail blazed by Marilyn Bevans, who, in 1975, became the first American-born Black female marathoner to break three hours.
As The List continues to grow, we are dedicated to extolling these women’s achievements and telling their stories, including these most recent performances:
Kemp besting her own previous PR atop The List by a whopping 11 minutes, running 2:22:56 in Houston to qualify for the 2025 World Championships.
Christi-Anne Beatty’s 2:47:30 debut at the 2024 Columbus Marathon in October, good for 11th on The List and a whole lot of interest in what the 24-year-old might do next.
Dira Hansen improving her previous PR by 34 seconds with a 2:55:09 finish at the 2024 Valencia Marathon in December.
Please join us in celebrating these 32 women on The List who have raised the bar for Black American distance runners and inspired runners everywhere to defy their own perceived limits. Here’s the link to The List https://tedcorbitt.com/black-female-marathon-history/
Sarah Franklin
Project Director: Theodore Corbitt Institute