half-marathon

noun

half-mar·​a·​thon ˈhaf-ˈmer-ə-ˌthän How to pronounce half-marathon (audio)
-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
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Men can score plenty of deals as well, including these Brooks Men’s Glycerin 21 Road-Running Shoes for 30 percent off, which are ideal for training for that summer half-marathon. Anne Taylor, Travel + Leisure, 28 Mar. 2025 Despite road closures nearer to the city centre owing to the Liverpool half-marathon earlier in the morning, traffic nearer to the stadium appeared to flow steadily. Greg O'Keeffe, The Athletic, 24 Mar. 2025 The attack came a few hours before the first NYC half-marathon runners crossed through Times Square. Stepheny Price, Fox News, 17 Mar. 2025 And Musselman, a few months short of 60, looks prepared to run a half-marathon. Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for half-marathon

Word History

First Known Use

1932, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of half-marathon was in 1932

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Cite this Entry

“Half-marathon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/half-marathon. Accessed 5 Apr. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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