Running USA issue annual Half-Marathon report

Running USA have just announced their annual Half-Marathon report and it finds that yet again, the Half-Marathon is still the most popular distance for a race. In 2011, there were an estimated 1.6 million finishers which was 16% up on the 2010 figure. In a 2011 National Runner Survey, the half-marathon was also the favorite distance to run for 35% of men and 39% of women. It is also the fastest growing road race distance in the United States with finishing numbers having tripled from 2000 to 2011 (482,000 to 1,610,000), an increase of 234%.

Interestingly enough, the Half-Marathon has proved to be more popular with women as they made up 59% of the total. This is the exact opposite to the Marathon numbers in the USA where men make up 59%.

How does that compare to the gender balance in Ireland? In the 2011 Bay Run Half-Marathon in west Cork, women accounted for 40% of all the runners. In the June 2011 Cork City Half-Marathon, women made up 47.6% of the field. If the trend here follows that in the USA then perhaps in future years, women might be the majority in local Half-Marathons? Only time will tell.

Back to the Half-Marathon stats.....
1) The average age was 38.2 for a male and 35.3 for a female.
2) The average finishing times were 2:01 for males and 2:20 for females.

World's Largest Half-Marathons.....
In 2011, Göteborg in Sweden regained the #1 ranking as the world’s largest half-marathon with 42,904 finishers vs. 2010’s top half the Bupa Great North Run who slipped to #2 with 37,512 finishers. Over the past decade, the Great North Run has held the #1 position 8 out of 10 years. Göteborg 2011 also became the largest annual half-marathon ever (previous record, 40,523, Göteborg 2009).

2011 World’s Largest Half-Marathons (finishers):
1)    Göteborg, Sweden    42,904 (largest annual half-marathon all-time)
2)    Bupa Great North Run, Great Britain    37,512
3)    Zappos.com Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas, NV    33,257
4)    OneAmerica 500 Festival, IN    30,659
5)    Paris, France    23,673
6)    Country Music, TN    22,015
7)    Walt Disney World, FL    21,991
8)    Vattenfall, Germany    20,250
9)    Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio, TX    19,546
10)    P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona, AZ    19,343
11)    Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego, CA    17,194
12)    Rock ‘n’ Roll Seattle, WA    17,101
13)    Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia, PA    16,519
14)    Nike Women’s, CA    16,126
15)    Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicago, IL    15,320
16)    Standard Chartered Singapore, SIN    14,655
17)    Solutia Rock ‘n’ Roll St. Louis, MO    14,611
18)    Fubon Taipei Int’l, TPE    14,325
19)    Rock ‘n’ Roll Savannah, GA (inaugural)    14,163
20)    Disney Princess, FL    13,799