A mini marathon is a middle

Middle distance track event

Middle distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle distance event. The 880 yard run, or half mile, was the forebear to the...

 to long-distance road race

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...

 of a distance which is less than a marathon

Marathon

The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...

. The term is sometimes used in place of "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...

" (OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon

OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon

The OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon, which takes place in Indianapolis, Indiana, is the largest half-marathon in the United States, and the seventh-largest running event in America. As of the 35th running in 2011, it had sold out the entire running field of 35,000 for nine consecutive years...

 in Indianapolis, but can also be applied to races of other distances such as 5 km (Beirut mini-marathon

Beirut Marathon

The Beirut International Marathon is an annual event in Beirut. The first ever BIM was held on October 19, 2003 and attracted over 6,000 runners from 49 different countries and tens of thousands of spectators in Lebanon and around the world...

) or 10 km (Dublin Women's Mini Marathon

Dublin Women's Mini Marathon

The Dublin Women's Mini Marathon is an annual charity road race that occurs each June bank holiday Monday in Ireland...

 ). Mini-marathons may be run as side events to marathons or as events in their own right.

One of the first events to use the name was the New York Mini Marathon, a women-only race first held in 1972. Dublin's Women's Mini Marathon, a separate event to The Dublin Marathon

Dublin Marathon

The Dublin Marathon is an annual marathon in Dublin, Ireland, normally held on the last Monday in October, which is a public holiday in Ireland. Held each year since 1980, in 2007 there were about 11,000 race participants, half of whom were from overseas....

, has had some 600,000 entrants since its inception in 1983.