The Auray-Vannes Half Marathon is an annual road running

Road running

Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road . These events would be classified as long distance according to athletics terminology, with distances typically ranging from 5 kilometers to 42.2 kilometers in the marathon. They may involve large numbers of runners...

 competition over the half marathon

Half marathon

A half marathon is a road running event of . It is half the distance of a marathon and usually run on roads. Participation in half marathons has grown steadily recently. 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...

 distance (21.097 km) which takes place in early September in Brittany

Brittany

Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...

, France. The point-to-point course begins in the commune

Communes of France

The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...

 of Auray

Auray

Auray is a commune located in the Morbihan department of Brittany in France. Inhabitants of Auray are called Alréens.-Geography:The city is surrounded by the communes of Crac'h to the south and west, Brech to the north and Pluneret to the east. It is crossed by the Loch, a small coastal river...

 and finishes in the Stade de Kercado in nearby Vannes

Vannes

Vannes is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It was founded over 2000 years ago.-Geography:Vannes is located on the Gulf of Morbihan at the mouth of two rivers, the Marle and the Vincin. It is around 100 km northwest of Nantes and 450 km south west...

. Nearly 5000 people participated in the event in 2011. A record 6378 runners finished the half marathon in 1999.

The event was first held on 14 September 1975 under the organisation of the event-dedicated Association Courrir Auray Vannes and it has been held every September thereafter. In addition to the main half marathon, there are jogging and walking activities available as well as the shorter 10 km Arradon

Arradon

Arradon is a commune in the Morbihan department in the Brittany region in north-western France.-External links:* * * -References:* *...

 Vannes run (first held in 2001). The events take place around the natural harbour of the Gulf of Morbihan

Gulf of Morbihan

The Gulf of Morbihan is a natural harbour on the coast of the Département of Morbihan in the south of Brittany, France. This English name is taken from the French version: le golfe du Morbihan...

.

The half marathon competition attracts both amateur and elite-level competitors. The men's course record of 1:02:12 hours was set in 2001 by Kenya's William Cheseret. Rose Chelimo, another Kenyan, set the women's course record of 1:11:27 hours at the 2011 edition. In 1999, the competition acted as the French men's national championship race and Abdellah Béhar

Abdellah Béhar

Abdellah Béhar is a retired Moroccan-born French runner who specializes in the 5000 metres and cross-country running.-Achievements:-Personal bests:*3000 metres - 7:35.80 min *5000 metres - 13:13.33 min...

 won the title. The race received IAAF Bronze Label Road Race classification in 2011.

Early editions

• The course distance varied in the early years of the competitions. It began as a 24 km race, was 26 km in its second edition, then 25 km for the third edition. A 22.8 km course was used from 1978 to 1984. The race distance was 25 km for the 1985–1991 competitions.

  Edition	Year	Men's winner	Time (h Hour The hour is a unit of measurement of time. In modern usage, an hour comprises 60 minutes, or 3,600 seconds... :m Minute A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units... :s Second The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock.... )	Women's winner	Time (h Hour The hour is a unit of measurement of time. In modern usage, an hour comprises 60 minutes, or 3,600 seconds... :m Minute A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units... :s Second The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock.... )
  1st	1975		1:19:32	Not held	—
  2nd	1976		1:24:37		2:06:30
  3rd	1977		1:22:30		2:02:16
  4th	1978		1:15:18		1:43:00
  5th	1979		1:15:48		1:43:09
  6th	1980		1:13:42		1:44:25
  7th	1981		1:12:46		1:38:14
  8th	1982		1:11:14		1:32:30
  9th	1983		1:09:53		1:31:00
  10th	1984		1:10:26		1:28:47
  11th	1985		1:18:52		1:38:22
  12th	1986		1:20:20		1:35:23
  13th	1987		1:17:51		1:38:41
  14th	1988		1:19:13		1:31:27
  15th	1989		1:18:45		1:34:38
  16th	1990		1:18:14		1:38:05
  17th	1991		1:18:28		1:30:54

Half marathon

Key:

Edition	Year	Men's winner	Time (h Hour The hour is a unit of measurement of time. In modern usage, an hour comprises 60 minutes, or 3,600 seconds... :m Minute A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units... :s Second The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock.... )	Women's winner	Time (h Hour The hour is a unit of measurement of time. In modern usage, an hour comprises 60 minutes, or 3,600 seconds... :m Minute A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units... :s Second The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock.... )
18th	1992		1:05:25		1:15:46
19th	1993		1:03:56		1:22:57
20th	1994		1:03:13		1:11:35
21st	1995		1:02:40		1:12:40
22nd	1996		1:03:09		1:14:01
23rd	1997		1:02:37		1:14:55
24th	1998		1:02:41		1:15:28
25th	1999		1:02:49		1:14:39
26th	2000		1:05:43		1:17:32
27th	2001		1:02:12		1:13:46
28th	2002		1:02:36		1:14:36
29th	2003		1:04:10		1:19:17
30th	2004		1:03:08		1:14:02
31st	2005		1:03:53		1:15:32
32nd	2006		1:04:17		1:17:59
33rd	2007		1:05:09		1:18:24
34th	2008		1:03:24		1:14:18
35th	2009		1:03:51		1:14:55
36th	2010		1:03:50		1:13:46
37th	2011		1:02:21		1:11:27

External links

• Official website