half-marathon

noun

half-mar·​a·​thon ˈhaf-ˈmer-ə-ˌthän 

-ˈma-rə-

plural half-marathons

: a footrace run on an open course that is half the distance of a marathon (13 miles, 192.5 yards, or 21.1 kilometers)

Then, in late September, … Goucher ran a U.S. best in the half-marathon, beating the women's marathon world-record holder, Britain's Paula Radcliffe, by nearly a minute.

—Alexander Wolff

Having just completed a half-marathon in the UK's Great North Run on Tyneside, I was surprised to find that my legs felt stiffer two days after the event than they were the following day.

—Melanie Trickett

Examples of half-marathon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Williams, who partnered with Lingo, a continuous glucose monitor from Abbott, this fall, revealed that one of her goals for 2025 is to run a half-marathon. —Michelle Lee, People.com, 30 Dec. 2024

Whether your goal is to step up your yoga practice, train for your next half-marathon, or simply feel and look your best while out and about, shop the picks below to kick off 2025 in supreme comfort and effortless style. —Miles Walls, Southern Living, 28 Dec. 2024

And ever since, he’s been running and running – marathons and half-marathons. —Baltimore Sun Staff, Baltimore Sun, 11 Nov. 2024

Would Evenepoel, who ran a half-marathon in 87 minutes as a 16-year-old, and who would have been the best bike rider in the field by a distance, have had an outside shot at a duathlon medal? —Jacob Whitehead, The Athletic, 13 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1932, in the meaning defined above