Life’s too short to wear high heels. – Eva Green
What about ACTUAL high heels?
The fastest marathon completed by a man in high heels is 5 hours, 13 minutes, and 27 seconds.
Record Details
- Record Holder: Oscar Eriksen (UK).
- Date Achieved: May 1, 2023.
- Location: Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom.
- Official Status: Verified by Guinness World Records.
In October 2024 and 2025, Canadian runner Curtis Hargrove attempted to break this record at the Chicago Marathon to raise awareness for domestic violence.
In 2024, he finished in 7 hours, 5 minutes, and 11 seconds while wearing three-inch red stiletto heels.
For his 2025 attempt, he used a “hybrid stiletto” known as Sneex to help manage the physical toll of the race.
Gesundheit!
Sneex is more than just a sneaker with a heel. It’s been years of innovation and iteration. We broke the mold while creating a new mold, one that addresses all of our major pain points in high heels. I hope Sneex encourage women to reach new heights, to push the envelope and to never settle. Not in life… or in fashion. Sneex are my love letter to every woman who has taken her shoes off at a party, who wears flats to work with heels in her bag, who thought her days of wearing heels were over. I hope Sneex give women that extra inch (or 3 😉) to chase their dreams. After all, it’s hard to change the world when your feet hurt.
The fastest marathon completed by a woman in high heels is 6 hours, 4 minutes, and 7 seconds, achieved by Christelle Doyhambehere at the Paris Marathon on April 14, 2019.
Doyhambehere, a French runner from Pau, broke the previous record by roughly an hour and a half. She completed the 26.2-mile course wearing 3-inch (7.6 cm) heels. Her motivation for the feat was a dare from her partner, and she used the run to raise funds for the children’s charity Koala,
Previously, Irene Sewell (USA) set the record in October 2017 at the 7 Bridges Marathon in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with a time of 7 hours, 27 minutes, and 53 seconds.
Irene started training months in advance. Initially, she’d wanted to do all of her training in heels. However, after seeing a podiatrist to complain about pain, she decided to alternate between her heels and more typical footwear.
“I did most of my runs in tennis shoes,” Sewell explained, “and then I would do a three-to-seven mile run in my heels every once in awhile.”
Half-Marathon Comparison
The female record for the fastest half-marathon in high heels is significantly faster at 2 hours, 47 minutes, and 33 seconds, set by Holly Ferguson (UK) in 2023.
The male record for a half-marathon in heels is 2:01:51 by James Utting (2023), and the female record is 2:47:33 by Holly Ferguson (2023).
So, all things being equal, you can expect to run a half marathon two times faster in the newest Nike Super Shoe as you can in high heels.
Guinness World Record Requirements
To qualify for this specific title, the high heels must meet strict criteria:
- Must be stilettos.
- Minimum height of 2.75 inches (approx. 7 cm).
- No platform soles allowed (maximum toe platform of 1.5 cm).
Not a forensic podiatrist, but I think this eliminates Nike’s Dev 164 for Marathoning In Heels Record consideration.
No bonus for Kiplimo this time.
What Is the Nike Dev 164?
The Alphafly 4, before Nike is ready to call it that. Like, duh.
Nike’s Dev 164 is a development prototype, still being tested and refined, not yet signed off for consumer release. Photos of the 164 look noticeably different from the Alphafly 3. “The midsole is more aggressively sculpted, the upper is minimal to the point of looking almost translucent, and the whole thing has a rawer, more stripped-back feel than its predecessor.”
As for legality, the Dev 164 appeared on the official approved list as of February 2026, and is cleared for competition until 12 February 2027.
Nota bene: Nike’s Dev 164 is not approved for World Athletics Series events or the Olympics. Only road races, cross country, and mountain and trail races. The EDP Lisbon Half Marathon qualifies, so there’s no asterisk on the record.
The shoe was legal, the record stands, move on.
Whatever, it is still a shoe with a FULL-LENGTH HEEL, if you ask me.
https://marathonhandbook.com/the-shoes-on-kiplimos-feet-hasnt-been-released-yet/?