Half-Marathons Continue to Be the Fastest Growing Road Race Distance in the U.S. (Since 2003)

Half Marathon Statistics

The following statistics are gleaned from Running USA’s Annual Half-Marathon Report, 2013. Running USA is the national trade organization for the sport of running. For more information on Half Marathon statistics, contact Tracy Yoder, [email protected]. Half-Marathons = HM

 Half-marathons continue to be the fastest growing road race distance in the U.S. (since 2003).

 Since 2010, the HM has been the second most popular distance by finishers behind the 5K.

 In 2013, there were more than 2,100 active U.S. half-marathons

 For eight consecutive years (2006-13), the number of finishers has grown by 10% or more each year.

 Since 2000, the number of half-marathon finishers in the U.S. has quadrupled from 482,000 to 1,960,000), an increase of 307%.

 In 2013 there were a total of 34 U.S. HMs with 10,000 or more finishers (This number has doubled since 2009 when there were 17 with 10,000-plus finishers; in 2000 there was only one.)

 Half marathon continues to be the favorite distance to run for both genders (38% for men and 43% for women)

 For the first time in history, 61% of U.S. HM finishers were females (approximately 1,196,000, a record), the highest proportion of any race distance. The Half Marathon on Monterey Bay exceeds that with 67% female field.

 Average age (in 2013)

o Male - 38.6

o Female - 35.6

 Median Times (in 2013)

o Male - 2:01:37

o Female - 2:19:48

 California ranked 1st in HM finishers (280,000) in 2012, representing 15% of HM finishers nationwide.

 World’s largest HM (finishers) - Göteborg, Sweden – 45,126 (largest all-time)

 U.S. largest HM (finishers) - OneAmerica 500 Festival, IN (30,059) o Followed by Nike Women’s, CA (26,406), Walt Disney World, FL (23,148), Disney Princess, FL (22,739) and New York Road Runners Brooklyn HM (21,247)

 Half Marathon Records

o World

. Male: 58:23 Zersenay Tadese (ERI) at Lisbon, Portugal, March 2010

. Female: 1:05:50 Mary Keitany (KEN), at RAK, United Arab Emirates, Feb 2011

o U.S.

. Male: 59:43 Ryan Hall (CA) at Aramco Houston, January 2007

. Female: 1:07:34 Deena Kastor (CA) at Berlin, April 2006

o California

. Male: 1:00:22 Duncan Kibet (KEN) at Rock ‘n’ Roll San Jose, October 2006

. Female: 1:09:17 Silvia Skortsova (RUS) at Rock ‘n’ Roll San Jose, October 2006

o Big Sur Half Marathon on Monterey Bay

. Male: 1:02:33 Ian Dobson (USA), November, 2006

. Female: 1:09:43 Belainish Gebre (Ethiopia), November 2010