Half‑marathon boom
Mass participation is back: Berlin Half celebrated its 45th edition with roughly 48,000 runners, while the Yangzhou Half (March 29) drew about 23,000 entrants through historic streets ( ). Entry pressure is spilling over — NYC Marathon’s “9+1” rules have tightened spots and Team EndoStrong opened a record 70 charity entries for 2026, underscoring fierce demand ( ).
Andrea Kiptoo won the men’s race in Berlin in 59:11 after a pacemaker, Dennis Kipkemoi, stayed with the lead group and conceded the finish; race reports say the pacemaker’s late step‑aside produced an unusually tight shared finish. (Athletics Weekly — ) Germany’s Amanal Petros lowered the national half‑marathon record to 59:22, moving him to third on the podium behind Kiptoo in Berlin. (German Road Races — ) Organisers reported the main half field comprised roughly 42,563 runners from 134 nations, supplemented by inline skaters, wheelchair and handbike competitors and junior events across the two‑day Berlin festival. (Endurance.biz — ) In Yangzhou, Kenya’s Alex Nzioka Matata and Miriam Chebet both broke course records as the World Athletics Platinum Label event doubled as the 4th East Asian Half Marathon Championships, with Matata defending his title and setting a Chinese all‑comers mark. (World Athletics — ) (GlobeNewswire / FinancialContent — ) The New York City Marathon drawing attracted a record‑level applicant pool—about 240,000 people applied for the 2026 lottery and organisers reported only roughly one percent of those applicants were selected. (Marathon Handbook — ) (FOX 5 New York — ) Race directors tightened qualification paths for 2026: NYRR’s guaranteed‑entry program requires completion of nine eligible NYRR races plus one approved volunteer slot by December 31, 2025, and organisers restricted non‑NYRR time‑qualifier admissions to about the top 10% of qualifiers—meaning many who met the published standards still needed performances roughly 22 minutes and 52 seconds faster than the baseline to gain entry. (NYRR membership page — ) (Marathon Journal — ) (Running Magazine — ) Charity slots expanded across partners: the Endometriosis Foundation’s Team EndoStrong reported a jump in fundraising targets to $6,000 per runner and said the team raised $293,400 in the previous year, while NYRR noted partnerships with more than 670 official charities and roughly $80 million raised for partner groups last year (about $700 million since the charity program began). (EndoFound — )
