The event has a long history, with first recorded races dating back to the late 17th century.

[1] The first athlete to run more than 20 kilometers in one hour was Emil Zátopek, in September 1951.

Zátopek also set the 20,000 meters world record in the same race.

The men's world record is 21,330 metres (13.25 mi), set by Mo Farah, while the women's world record is 18,930 metres (11.76 mi), set by Sifan Hassan.

Both were set on 4 September 2020 during the 2020 Diamond League Ivo Van Damme Memorial.