Most people know about the biggest marathons: Boston, New York, London. And other huge races like Atlanta’s Peachtree Road Race. But what about the biggest, most popular half marathons in the U.S. and the world?
Some research I did a few days ago about the fastest and slowest half marathons in the U.S. made me curious to find more statistics on our favorite race distance and the runners who are participating in them.
Running USA has compiled a wealth of numbers on exactly that in its annual Half Marathon Report issued back in April, so I found the nation’s largest half marathon fields by the number of finishers for 2013.
Here’s the list, and bear in mind that some of these races already have surpassed these numbers at their 2014 runnings:
- OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini Marathon – 30,059
- Nike Women’s Half Marathon San Francisco – 26,406
- Walt Disney World Half Marathon – 23,148
- Disney Princess Half Marathon – 22,739
- NYRR Brooklyn Half Marathon – 21,427
- Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon – 20,665
- Rock ‘n’ Roll DC Half Marathon – 19,994
- Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon – 18,137
- Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego Half Marathon – 18,077
- St. Jude Country Music Half Marathon – 18,022
- Disneyland Half Marathon – 15,871
- ING Miami Half Marathon – 14,939
- Surf City USA Half Marathon – 14,792
- New York City Half Marathon – 14,535
- Nike Women’s Half Marathon DC – 14,478
- Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio Half Marathon – 14,427
- Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicago Half Marathon – 14,038
- Pittsburgh Half Marathon – 14,016
- P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Half Marathon – 13,430
- Philadelphia Half Marathon – 12,480
- Rock ‘n’ Roll Seattle Half Marathon – 12,445
- Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon – 12,147
- Long Beach International City Bank Half Marathon – 12,033
- Disney Tinker Bell Half Marathon – 11,948
- Cincinnati Flying Pig Half Marathon – 11,925
- Kentucky Derby Festival Mini Marathon – 11,485
- Rock ‘n’ Roll Savannah Half Marathon – 11,414
- Detroit Free Press/Talmer Bank Half Marathon – 11,000
- Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Half Marathon – 10,842
- Rock ‘n’ Roll Dallas Half Marathon – 10,711
It’s worth noting that 2013’s Nike Women’s Half Marathon in Washington, D.C., was the largest inaugural half marathon ever, and the race was even bigger in 2014 with just over 14,700 finishers.
