Running USA Annual Half-Marathon Report

Half Marathon Mania

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.  (April, 2011) – If marathon mania exists, then, the half-marathon has reached hyper-mania. Last year, according to Running USA, U.S. half-marathons continued their upward trajectory as the “leader of the pack” repeated its phenomenal 24% growth rate, from approximately 1.1 million finishers in 2009 to nearly 1.4 million finishers in 2010, a record annual increase for the distance. In the same 733 U.S. half-marathons for 2009 vs. 2010, there was a 17.24% finisher increase (975,409 vs. 1,143,551).Since 2003, the half-marathon has been the fastest growing road race distance in the United States, and for five consecutive years (2006–10), the number of 13.1 mile finishers in the U.S. has grown by 10% or more each year. Moreover, since 2000, the number of half-marathon finishers in this country has nearly tripled (482,000 to 1,385,000). In short, no other race distance comes close to this type of growth in recent years.

Other half-marathon “boom” facts include:

• In 2010, there were a record total of 25 U.S. half-marathons with 10,000 or more finishers, compared with 2009 when there were 17 (previous record), and in 2001, there were only two.
• In 2010, there were 38 half-marathons with 8,000 or more finishers vs. 30 in 2009 and 21 in 2008.
• Last year, to make the Top 100 largest U.S. half-marathon list, an event needed at least 3,200 finishers. By comparison, in 2001, it took less than 1,000 to crack the Top 100 list. So this explosive growth reaches beyond just the large or destination half-marathons.
• And over the past 5 years, more than 30 debut half-marathons annually have been popping up across the country.
• Running USA also reports that there were 42 half-marathons that make up the Top 100 U.S. Timed list for 2010. This means that of the largest timed road race events in the United States, 42% of them were half-marathons. Moreover, four of these half-marathons were inaugural events in 2010. Five years ago, there were 26 half-marathons on the Top 100 U.S. Timed list and ten years ago, 13 half-marathons on said barometer list.

As reported in last year’s inaugural Running USA Half-Marathon Report, the popularity of the distance has been fueled mainly by charity and non-charity training programs, destination-type events/series, runners moving up or down from the marathon and women’s participation.

Women lead the charge

Last year in the U.S., women dominated the half-marathon with an astounding 59% of fields or approximately 820,000 female finishers overall. In 2004, females were a slight minority with 49% participation, but each year more and more females have tackled the 13.1 mile distance and now populate this race distance more than any other event. Since 1995, the number of female finishers in the half-marathon has increased six-fold (135,000 females in 1995 to 820,000 in 2010) and 7 of the top 15 “women-only” events in the nation are half-marathons.

Dimity McDowell and Sarah Bowen Shea, co-authors of “Run Like a Mother: How to Get Moving – and Not Lose Your Family, Job, or Sanity” (2010) attribute the female interest in the half-marathon to a number of factors: 1) The training schedule fits nicely into a working woman/busy mom’s life by allowing her to achieve a significant goal without devoting an entire weekend to running or recovering from a long run; 2) The miles and training necessary to finish a half-marathon give a woman an adequate amount of ‘me-time’ (or girlfriend time) which is necessary for both physical and mental health; 3) The pride and satisfaction that comes with crossing the finish line of a long race that requires both focus and commitment; 4) Since many half-marathons are destination events, they are a great way to get in a race, then hang out (and get massages and drink wine) with girlfriends for the rest of the weekend and 5) Lastly, it contains the most coveted word in a runner’s vocabulary: “marathon”.

Year Estimated U.S. Half-Marathon Finisher Total

Rock ‘n’ Roll Series headlines half hype

The Competitor Group’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Series continues to attract more and more race participants each year, thus adding to the surge in U.S. half-marathon participants shown above. New courses are being added each year with fun, destination-style events promising live entertainment, scenic courses and post-race concerts. Seven of the top 10 U.S. half-marathons – plus three inaugural 1/2s in 2010 with more than 9,200 finishers each – are part of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Series, and overall, in 2010, the 14 Rock ‘n’ Roll half-marathons represented just over 15% of all U.S. half-marathon finishers.

National Runner Survey – Half-Marathon #1

In 2009, Running USA surveyed more than 11,000 “core runners” nationwide and found that 73% of them were interested in entering a half-marathon in 2010 and they ranked the half-marathon as their favorite race distance, by a long shot (35% vs. 19% for the 5K). In addition, those runners who had participated in the half-marathon in the last two years ran approximately 4 days per week and trained over 27 miles per week. They also purchased approximately 3 pairs of running shoes each year.

State-by-State Breakdown – Who’s #1?

Which states saw the most half-marathoners cross the finish line last year? California reported approximately 225,000 half-marathon finishers for 2010 representing 16% of the half-marathon finishers nationwide, followed by Florida (7%), Texas (7%), New York (5%), Illinois (4%), Indiana (4%), Ohio (4%), Pennsylvania (3%), Tennessee (3%), Virginia (3%) and Washington (3%). All other states combined represent 41% of half-marathon finishers.

Table 2: 2010 U.S. Half-Marathons (>2,000 finishers) with the…

Bupa Great North Run regains #1 spot; record 9 half-marathons with >19,000 finishers

In 2010, the Bupa Great North Run reestablished itself as the largest half-marathon in the world with 39,507 finishers vs. last year’s leader Göteborg who dropped to #2 with 38,459 finishers. Over the past decade, the Great North Run has held the #1 position 9 out of 10 years.

For the first time, there were nine half-marathons worldwide with more than 19,000 finishers and a record-tying seven with more than 20,000 finishers (also 2009). Last year, the United States had 14 of the top 20 half-marathons in the world.

2010 

World’s Largest Half-Marathons (finishers):

U.S. Largest Half-Marathons (finishers): 

SOURCE: Running USA with Athlinks (2009-10) and Active.com (2005-08)