Tergat set several world records and won many titles on the track, in cross country, and on the road.

Paul Tergat was born on 17 June 1969 in Riwo, Baringo District, in Kenya's Rift Valley Province.

Tergat won five straight IAAF World Cross Country Championships titles, 1995 to 1999, which was a record.

[10] On the road, Tergat broke the half marathon world record on 4 April 1998 in Milan by running in 59:17 minutes.

(Tergat had run 58:51 minutes at the Stramilano half marathon in 1996, but a misplaced cone made the course slightly too short and no record was allowed.)

Tergat's time remained the Kenyan record until 2009, when winner Duncan Kibet and 2nd placed James Kwambai both timed 2:04:27 at the Rotterdam Marathon[16] Tergat won the New York City Marathon 6 November 2005, in a thrilling sprint finish through New York's Central Park, prevailing over defending champion Hendrick Ramaala 2:09:29.90 to 2:09:30.22.

[17] That year, Tergat inaugurated the Baringo Half Marathon, setting up the professional race on a course near his home town.

Calling the injury "cruel," he was forced to withdraw from the star-studded race, which would have featured a long-awaited showdown with Haile Gebrselassie.

Marílson Gomes dos Santos won the 2006 New York City Marathon; Tergat finished third.

The entry list was competitive, including Ethiopian legend Haile Gebrselassie, who dropped out just past the 30-K mark.

Moments after finishing the race, Gebrselassie apologised to his friend Tergat for breaking the record, during a congratulatory phone call.

He stated his desire to close his career at the race and praised the way it promoted Serbia's cultural heritage.

[21] He was named by New York Road Runners as the recipient of the 2010 Abebe Bikila Award in recognition of his long-distance achievements, becoming the first Kenyan male winner.

In his acceptance he said "The history of marathon running is incomplete without the solid and indelible mark of the late Abebe Bikila's contribution, and I am so proud to be associated [with this]".

[22] "+" indicates mark set en route during a longer race "a" indicates course slightly downhill In January 2004 Tergat was named a UN World Food Programme (WFP) "Ambassador Against Hunger".