Zersenay Tadese Habtesilase is a retired Eritrean long-distance track and road running athlete. He held the men's half marathon world record from 2010 to 2018. His bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2004 Athens Olympics made him the first ever Eritrean Olympic medallist, and his 20-km title at the 2006 IAAF World Road Running Championships also made him the country's first athlete to win at a world championship event. He does not use a sprint finish to win races; his strategy relies on a combination of efficient running and fast pace setting.
Lornah Kiplagat is a Dutch professional long-distance runner. She was born in Kabiemit, Rift Valley Province, Kenya and came to the Netherlands in 1999. She gained Dutch citizenship in 2003 and has competed for the Netherlands since. She used to run not only road events but also in cross country and track and field.
The 14th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships were held in Edmonton, Canada on 1 October 2005. The competition was replaced by the World Road Running Championships in 2006 and 2007, but revived as IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 2008.
The 1st IAAF World Road Running Championships were held in Debrecen, Hungary on 8 October 2006, the women's race starting at 11:00 and the men's race at 13:00. This was the first time the title of World Road Running Champion had been competed for, with this competition replacing the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in the international sporting calendar. 140 athletes from 39 nations took part in the two races.
Florence Jebet Kiplagat is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner. She is a two-time world champion, having won at the 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and the 2010 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships. She was the world record holder for the women's half marathon with a time of 1:05:09 hours until it was broken by Peres Jepchirchir on 10 February 2017 at the RAK Half Marathon.
Tadese Tola is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. He has represented Ethiopia at World championship level in cross country, road running, and on the track.
Ashu Kasim Rabo is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who specialises in the half marathon and marathon events. Her personal bests are 68:56 minutes and 2:23:09 hours, respectively.
The 2008 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships were held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 12 October 2008.
The 2009 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held in Birmingham, United Kingdom on 11 October 2009. It was the final event of the International Association of Athletics Federations' 2009 World Athletics Series.
Peninah Arusei Jerop is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who specialises in road running competitions, especially the half marathon. She has represented Kenya at the Olympics, having competed in the 10,000 metres race at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Arusei has won races on the European road circuit, including the Dam tot Damloop, Berlin Half Marathon and Lisbon Half Marathon.
The 12th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held on October 4, 2003 in Vilamoura, Portugal. A total of 171 athletes, 98 men and 73 women, from 49 countries took part. Detailed reports on the event and an appraisal of the results were given both for the men's race and for the women's race.
The 2010 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held in Nanning, China on 16 October 2010. The competition took place on the city streets, beginning and ending at Wuxiang Square, with a total prize purse of US$245,000 at stake.
Wilson Kiprop is a Kenyan long-distance runner, who specialises in the 10,000 metres and half marathon. He was the world champion at the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 2010 and was the 10,000 m gold medalist at the 2010 African Championships in Athletics.
Feyse Tadese Boru is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes in the half marathon.
John Nzau Mwangangi is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes over distances ranging from 5000 metres to the half marathon. He was the gold medallist at the 2011 African Cross Country Championships. He has won a number of high-profile European road races, including the Dam tot Damloop, 20 Kilomètres de Paris, Greifenseelauf, the Valencia Half Marathon and the Valencia Marathon.
The 2012 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held in Kavarna, Bulgaria on 6 October 2012.
The women's marathon at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Luzhniki Stadium and Moscow streets on 10 August.
The Udine Half Marathon is an annual road running event over the half marathon distance (21.1 km/13.1 mi) which takes place in late September in Udine, Italy.
Paskalia Chepkorir Kipkoech is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes mainly in half marathon races. Her personal best of 67:17 minutes ranks her within the top twenty all-time for the distance. She was the bronze medallist at the 2012 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships.
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.
