Lisbon Half Marathon

Lisbon Half Marathon is an annual international half marathon competition which is contested every March in Lisbon, Portugal. It carries IAAF Gold Label Road Race status. The men's course record, set by Zersenay Tadese in 2010, is also the world record for the half marathon distance.Kenyan runners have been very successful in the competition, accounting for over half of the total winners, with Tegla Loroupe taking the honours in the women's race on six separate occasions. The Lisbon Half Marathon is not to be confused with Portugal Half Marathon, another prominent half marathon race which is also held in Lisbon in September.

History

First held in 1991, the race has consistently delivered fast winning times. However, many of these times have been unratifiable for record purposes due to factors including: the course being too short (1991–93), excessive tailwinds, as well as there being an excessive drop in altitude, which boosted athletes' performances (1996, 1998, 2000-01, 2004, and 2006).

Half marathon

A half marathon is a road running event of 21.0975 kilometres (13.1094 mi). It is half the distance of a marathon and usually run on roads. Participation in half marathons has grown steadily. One of the main reasons for this is that 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. A 2010 article by Universal Sports echoed the growing popularity of the distance. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcuts. The half marathon is also known as a 21K, 21.1K or 13.1 miles, although these values are rounded and not formally correct.

World record progression

World records in the half marathon are ratified by the International Association of Athletics Federations, the international governing body for the sport of athletics.

The official IAAF world record for men is 58:23, set by Zersenay Tadese of Eritrea on March 21, 2010 at the Lisbon half marathon in Portugal, and for women is 1:05:09, set by Florence Kiplagat of Kenya on February 15, 2015, in Barcelona, Spain.