Kirk Pfeffer (born July 30, 1956, in California[1]) is a retired American long-distance runner, who competed in marathons.

On December 7, 1979, he set a new world record in the half marathon at 1:02:32 in Las Vegas.

[3] Five years before that, he set a world junior record of 2:17:44 in the old Mission Bay Marathon in San Diego.

[4] In the 1979 New York City Marathon, Pfeffer led the field until 23 1/2 miles when he was passed by Bill Rodgers in Central Park.

Rodgers won in 2:11:42, and Pfeffer held on for second place, finishing about 500 yards behind with a time of 2:13:08.