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
Alexander WolffHaving 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
Melanie TrickettExamples of half-marathon in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Born April 20, 1959, in Sittard, Netherlands, Hof has set multiple Guinness World Records for cold endurance including running a barefoot half-marathon above the Arctic Circle, climbing to 7,400 meters on Mount Everest in shorts and swimming under ice.
—Allison Palmer, Miami Herald, 28 May 2026
Erivo once ran a Brooklyn half-marathon before doing two Broadway shows later that day.
—K.j. Yossman, Variety, 27 May 2026
Over two days in late April, the Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, theme park became a path for a 5K, 10K and half-marathon (along with a Kids Fun Run).
—Nathan Diller, USA Today, 28 Apr. 2026
Honor One of the robots that took part in the humanoid half-marathon in Beijing this month managed to break a real person's previous record — as well as that of another robot.
—Lexi Lane, PEOPLE, 25 Apr. 2026
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Allison Palmer, Miami Herald, 28 May 2026
Erivo once ran a Brooklyn half-marathon before doing two Broadway shows later that day.
—K.j. Yossman, Variety, 27 May 2026
Over two days in late April, the Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, theme park became a path for a 5K, 10K and half-marathon (along with a Kids Fun Run).
—Nathan Diller, USA Today, 28 Apr. 2026
Honor One of the robots that took part in the humanoid half-marathon in Beijing this month managed to break a real person's previous record — as well as that of another robot.
—Lexi Lane, PEOPLE, 25 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for half-marathon
Cite this Entry
“Half-marathon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/half-marathon. Accessed 2 Jun. 2026.
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