Violet Stewart Louisa Piercy was an English long-distance runner who is recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations as having set the first women's world best in the marathon on 3 October 1926 with a time of 3:40:22. Piercy was reported to have run unofficially and her mark was set on the Polytechnic Marathon course between Windsor and London. Violet Piercy (United Kingdom) set the women's marathon world record of 3:40:22 in London on October 3, 1926. It stood 37.2 years, until Merry Lepper's 3:37:07 on December 16, 1963. Wiki link