Health - Injuries.
Charlie Westrip is the latest preteen to add his name to the record book. On November 12, 2016, 6-year-old Westrip ran 2:06:51 at the Huntsville (Alabama) Half Marathon. He started running last year as a way to spend time with his military dad, and he not only enjoys the accolades that come with racing but also traveling to different states.
“He’s very competitive, and he likes winning,” his mother, Holly Westrip, told Runner’s World by phone. “And of course he also loves going for ice cream treats afterwards.”
A Part of Hearst Digital Media, Caleb Barnes, 9, ran the Cambridge (Massachusetts) Half Marathon in 1:34:44, beating Liam Ballard’s single-age record by 15 seconds. The Barnes family, however, didn’t submit his performance to the Association of Road Racing Statisticians (ARRS), and his mother said that her main focus is to continue to foster his love of running no matter his results. Ballard’s time of 1:34:59 remains the record.
RELATED: Danielle Zickl for Runners World and Bicycling
Several boys and a few girls records have fallen in the past few years. Here’s a look at each single-age half-marathon record, according to ARRS.
BOYS
2:06:51
Other Hearst Subscriptions
1:43:34
Jaden Merrick, Makenzie Kolvoord, age 7, in Carderock, Maryland, on November 16, 2014
1:38:22
Grattan O’Neill, age 8, in Elkmont, Alabama, on January 16, 2016
1:34:59
Liam Ballard, age 9, in St. Pete Beach, Florida, on The Morning Mile Gets Kids Running Before School
1:29:14
Races & Places
1:24:10
Stephanie Paparelli, age 10, in The Woodlands, Texas, on January 29, 1983
GIRLS
2:40:22
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
1:40:59
The Best Kids Running Shoes
1:35:25
Danielle Zickl for Runners World and Bicycling
1:28:31
On November 13, 2016
1:25:42
Stephanie Paparelli, age 10, in The Woodlands, Texas, on January 29, 1983
1:31:23
Health & Injuries
Zersenay Tadese of Eritrea set the men’s world half marathon record of 58:23 in March 2010, and Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya set the women’s world record Should Children Run Long.
This story was updated on February 9 after the women’s world record in the half marathon fell.
