It's "Half" time

Half-distance marathons are fastest growing race distance in the United States.

Running her first half-marathon was Cynthia Garmany's birthday present to herself.

"To be perfectly honest, I always ran off and on, but I turned 40 this past August," said Ms. Garmany, who ran her first half marathon in March, "so that was something I wanted to do as I've been working out and running pretty consistently over the past year."

Motivated by her friend and colleague Theresa Gordon, Ms. Garmany said she began training in September. The two women worked out together, using a running schedule from the Chattanooga Track Club and working out with a trainer at the Rush.

"I can't imagine having not had her," Ms. Garmany said of Ms. Gordon. "On my off days, she was always my encourager, then on her off days I did that for her. It made us more accountable, because I was counting on her and she was counting on me. I think we stuck through it better than if we were doing it alone."

Prior to beginning training for the race, the Rock 'n' Roll in Dallas, Ms. Garmany said her longest run was "probably about three miles."

According to RunningUSA, a Colorado Springs-based nonprofit organization, half-marathons grew 24 percent in popularity between 2008 and 2009. The number of finishers have increased 131 percent in the last decade, with more than 20 new half marathons cropping up each year in the United States.

Estimated U.S. half-marathon finishers by year2005 -- 658,0002006 -- 724,0002007 -- 796, 0002008 -- 900,0002009 -- 1,113,000In 2009... Half marathon runners were 57 percent female, 43 percent male. The average age of runners was 38.9 for men, 35.8 for women.Source: RunningUSA, Inc.

"At this moment, the half marathon is the hottest distance in America," said Ryan Lamppa, a researcher for Running USA.

Teresa Wade, director of operations at the Sports Barn, said a half marathon is an accomplished but not overly stressful goal for most people averaging about 20 miles of running per week. The half, she said, can cause far less stress to the joints and muscles than trying to run a full marathon, which might be an unwise choice for some, even those who have trained heavily.

"Just because they can," she said, "doesn't mean they should."

Ms. Gordon, Ms. Garmany, said, had planned to do a half marathon in April, 2009, but was sidelined by a stress fracture. When she recovered enough to begin training again, she approached her friend.

"I was like 'Theresa, you're crazy," said Ms. Garmany, who said she was tempted to question her friend's sanity when Ms. Gordon began training the first time around.

But as both women celebrated their 40th birthdays one day apart, Ms. Garmany thought a half marathon was within the realm of possibility.

"If you've only ever run three miles, the thought of running thirteen... that was very hard," she said.

The two women endured six months of training, and knee, hip and ankle troubles. They completed the race in Dallas at 2 hours, 17 minutes, just slightly behind their goal of two hours.

Running on love

Having a running partner was beneficial for Will Kendall in more ways than one.

"I never really ran before I started dating Margaret," he said of his then-girlfriend, "I'm not one to be very disciplined about training."

Bolstered (some might say blinded) by love, Mr. Kendall, 23, proceeded to train and join his sweetheart in two half marathons. He proposed on a running trail.

Margaret Kendall, also 23, is running the Scenic City Trail Marathon on Saturday.

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