A half marathon is a road running event of 21.0975 kilometres —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcuts. If finisher medals are awarded, the medal or ribbon may differ from those for the full marathon. The half marathon is also known as a 21K, 21.1K, or 13.1 miles, although these values are rounded and not formally correct.
The athletics at the 1997 Summer Universiade took place in the Stadio Cibali in Catania, Sicily (Italy) at the end of August 1997, shortly after the World Championships in Athens, Greece. New events were the women's hammer throw, pole vault and half marathon competition. The marathon was dropped from the programme in favour of the half distance. A total of 23 men's and 22 women's events were contested.
The 6th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held on October 4, 1997, in the city of Košice, Slovakia. A total of 228 athletes, 144 men and 84 women, from 45 countries took part. Detailed reports on the event and an appraisal of the results was given.
The European Marathon Cup is a quadrennial team marathon competition between European countries. Initially a stand-alone championship race inaugurated in 1981, the race has been held in conjunction with the European Athletics Championships since 1994. Individual medallists are now included in the European Championships medal table, while team medals are awarded separately from the main championships.
The 1997 World Marathon Cup was the seventh edition of the World Marathon Cup of athletics and were held in Athens, Greece, inside of the 1997 World Championships.
The 2009 World Marathon Cup was the 13th edition of the World Marathon Cup of athletics and were held in Berlin, Germany, inside of the 2009 World Championships.
The 2011 World Marathon Cup was the 14th edition of the World Marathon Cup of athletics and were held in Daegu, South Korea, inside of the 2011 World Championships.
The marathon at the Summer Olympics is the only road running event held at the multi-sport event. The men's marathon has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1896. Nearly ninety years later, the women's event was added to the programme at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
In 2015, the foremost athletics event was the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing. The two other major global level competitions in 2015 are the World Cross Country Championships and the IAAF World Relays.
The 15K run is a long distance foot race. It is a rarely held race that is not recognized as an Olympic event. The overall world best time for men was set by Jacob Kiplimo en route the Lisbon Half Marathon. Excluding en route times both the world best for men and women were set at the Zevenheuvelenloop in Nijmegen, Netherlands. The world best for men is held by Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda who ran a time of 41:05. The women's world best is held by Letesenbet Gidey of Ethiopia who ran a time of 44:20.
The 20K run is a long distance foot race. It is a rarely held race that is not recognized as an Olympic event. The event held IAAF world championship status in 2006 only, when the existing IAAF World Half Marathon Championships briefly hosted the shorter distance.
Namibia competed at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, from 27 September to 6 October 2019. The country's participation there marked its fifteenth appearance in the World Championships since its debut at the 1991 World Championships in Athletics. Namibia sent two athletes to the Championships, both of whom competed in the marathon events. Helalia Johannes became Namibia's first female medallist, and their first medallist in 26 years, when she won a bronze medal in the women's marathon. Tomas Hilifa Rainhold finished in 17th in the men's marathon.
Aruba has competed at the World Athletics Championships on eleven occasions. It did not send a delegation for the 1983 championships or the editions from 2001 to 2009. Its competing country code is ARU. The country has not won any medals at the competition and as of 2019 no Aruban athlete has reached the top eight of an event. Its best performance is by Cornelia Melis, who placed 21st in the 1991 women's marathon.
Malcolm Hicks is a New Zealand long-distance runner. In 2019, he competed in the men's marathon at the 2019 World Athletics Championships held in Doha, Qatar. He finished in 27th place.
