06/10/2020
A half marathon world record is officially recognised by the International Association of Athletics Federations. The official IAAF world record for men is 58:01, set by Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya in September 2019 in Copenhagen, Denmark, and for women is 1:04:51, set by Joyciline Jepkosgei of Kenya on October 22, 2017, in Valencia, Spain. Participation in half marathons has grown steadily since 2003, partly because it is a challenging distance, but does not require the same level of training that a marathon does. In 2008, Running USA reported that the half marathon is the fastest-growing type of race.
