Half marathon

History

With the steady growth of recreational running in the 1950s, race organisers looked to offer an alternative to the standard marathon distance, and so the half marathon was born.

The first world best, as listed by the IAAF, was Ron Hill’s 1:05:44 clocking in Freckleton in 1965, although it should be noted that Abebe Bikila’s half-way split from the 1964 Tokyo Olympics was quicker, 1:04:28.

The half marathon is not part of the World Championships or Olympic programmes, but the event gained its own championships in 1992 in the form of the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships.

The popularity of the distance has continued to grow and it is now one of the most popular road events.

Did you know

The largest half marathon ever held was the Broloppet between Copenhagen and Malmo with 79,719 finishers, held in connection with the Oresund Bridge inauguration in 2000.

Gold standard

Kenya's 1991 world 10,000m champion Moses Tanui was the first man to cover the distance within one hour, clocking 59:47 in Milan in 1993. Legendary Norwegian runner Grete Waitz was the first woman to run faster than 70 minutes for the half marathon, running 1:09:57 in Gothenburg in 1982.

Kenyan athletes dominate this event almost as much as they do the steeplechase. But, as with most distance events, Ethiopian athletes are similarly strong. There are also some European and North American athletes capable of challenging the best in the world.