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.

Marathon

The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres (26.21875 miles, or 26 miles 385 yards), usually run as a road race. The event was instituted in commemoration of the fabled run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, a messenger from the Battle of Marathon to Athens.

The marathon was one of the original modern Olympic events in 1896, though the distance did not become standardized until 1921. More than 500 marathons are held throughout the world each year, with the vast majority of competitors being recreational athletes as larger marathons can have tens of thousands of participants.

History

Origin

The name Marathon comes from the legend of Pheidippides, a Greek messenger. The legend states that he was sent from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been defeated in the Battle of Marathon (in which he had just fought), which took place in August or September, 490 BC. It is said that he ran the entire distance without stopping and burst into the assembly, exclaiming νενικήκαμεν (nenikekamen, "we have wοn"), before collapsing and dying. The account of the run from Marathon to Athens first appears in Plutarch's On the Glory of Athens in the 1st century AD, which quotes from Heraclides Ponticus's lost work, giving the runner's name as either Thersipus of Erchius or Eucles.Lucian of Samosata (2nd century AD) also gives the story, but names the runner Philippides (not Pheidippides).

One half

One half is the irreducible fraction resulting from dividing one by two (¹⁄₂), or the fraction resulting from dividing any number by its double. Multiplication by one half is equivalent to division by two, or halving; conversely, division by one half is equivalent to multiplication by two, or "doubling". One half appears often in mathematical equations, recipes, measurements, etc. Half can also be said to be one part of something divided into two equal parts.

For instance, the area S of a triangle is computed

One half also figures in the formula for calculating figurate numbers, such as triangular numbers and pentagonal numbers:

and in the formula for computing magic constants for magic squares

The Riemann hypothesis states that every nontrivial complex root of the Riemann zeta function has a real part equal to ¹⁄₂.

One half has two different decimal expansions, the familiar 0.5 and the recurring 0.49999999... It has a similar pair of expansions in any even base. It is a common trap to believe these expressions represent distinct numbers: see the proof that 0.999... equals 1 for detailed discussion of a related case. In odd bases, one half has no terminating representation, only a single representation with a repeating fractional component, such as 0.11111111... in ternary.

Hoka One One

Hoka One One is a French manufacturing company that designs and markets generously soled running shoes for distance runners. Noted for their light weight and maximal cushioning, Hoka running shoes are dubbed as "maximalist shoes", in contrast to minimalist shoes.

The company was founded by Nicolas Mermoud and Jean-Luc Diard, both former Salomon employees. The shoes are named after the Maori language phrase meaning "flying over the earth".

The company sponsors a variety of professional runners, including track and field athletes Leonel Manzano, Nicole Tully, and David Torrence.

References

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