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World Zersenay Tadese 58.23 (2010) World Peres Jepchirchir 1:05:06 (2017) | ||
A half marathon is a road running event of 21.0975 kilometres (13.1094 mi) – half the distance of a marathon. Participation in half marathons has grown steadily since 2003, partly due to the fact that it is a challenging distance, but does not require the same level of training that a marathon does. In 2008, Running USA reported that the half marathon is the fastest growing type of race. A 2010 article by Universal Sports mentioned the growing popularity of the distance. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcuts. The half marathon is also known as a 21K, 21.1K or 13.1 miles, although these values are rounded and not formally correct. In many races finisher medals are awarded but they may differ from concurrent full marathons by color, wording, or some other attribute. In other events both races are put on the same medal although their ribbons may vary.
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A half marathon world record is officially recognised by the International Association of Athletics Federations. The official IAAF world record for men is 58:23, set by Zersenay Tadese of Eritrea on March 21, 2010 at the Lisbon half marathon in Portugal, and for women is 1:05:06, set by Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya on February 10, 2017, in Ras Al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates.
All-time top 25
Season's bests
This table lists the best half marathon performances per year since 1970, as recorded by the ARRS.
Largest number of participants
In 2014, the largest half marathon in the world was the Göteborgsvarvet, also known as the Gothenburg half marathon, in Sweden with 64,288 announced runners and 47,491 finishers.
The largest half marathon ever held was Broloppet (the Bridge race) between Copenhagen in Denmark and Malmö in Sweden with 79,719 finishers, held in connection with the Öresund Bridge inauguration in 2000.