4 Reasons To Re-Brand a Half-Marathon as a Pythian or Dekatrion
I’ve been able to run several Marathons, Half Marathons, Trail Half Marathons – along with shorter races. I love them all.
But Half-Marathons have a serious branding & achievement issue.
Here’s the idea – start calling Half-Marathons, “Pythians” or “Dekatrions”.
Calling Anything “Half” Diminishes The Achievement
The saying goes that if you shoot for the moon, you’ll land in the stars. In other words, if you set a huge goal and fail, you’ll still be successful.
Ok – yeah, except for that a Half-Marathon is a genuine running goal, just like a 5K or 10K race. And calling it a “Half-” kills the vibe of a huge goal.
Nobody summits Mt. Rainier and says “oh, I did a Half-Everest”. They summited Mt. Rainier!
Nobody completes a 5K Road Race and says “I just won a Half-10K!” I get why the race is called a Half-Marathon, but now that it’s a standard event distance, the “Half-” does not do anyone any good.
13 Miles Is a Big Deal & 26 Miles Is Ridiculous
And besides, a 13 Mile race is a long ways for anyone! Half-Marathons should be a more prestigious race in their own right. It’s a very challenging distance, but isn’t so far that it causes injury or nutritional deficits.
A marathon is truly ridiculous. It’s a worthwhile goal. I’m glad that I’ve done a few. But they are as much of a mental and nutritional challenge as an endurance or running challenge. The injury risk of marathons is insane.
I mean, Phidippides, the guy we honor with the marathon, collapsed and died after he ran the distance to deliver the news of the battle between the Greeks and Persians.
A marathon should be its own thing. And shouldn’t determine a 13 mile race’s prestige.
Other Greek Names Are Too Difficult
So what should a 13 Mile Race be? The Marathon is based on a real historical event. Other races, like the Ironman, are trademarked and corporate brands.
And, calling a “13 miler” is fine, but isn’t as cool or prestigious as its own name.
Other Greek names are too difficult and don’t quite
Call It a Pythian or dekatrion
So, I think there’s two options.
Pythian would have the same vibe as Marathon or Olympic. The Pythian Games were the secondary Olympic Games, so it would denote that a Half- isn’t as long as a Marathon, but is its own thing.
Dekatrion is just 13 in Greek. It has a fun pronunciation in English and is a fancier way of saying “13 miler”
Either way, we should all re-brand Half-Marathons as something better.
