The women-only nature of the inaugural Happy Girls Half Marathon is not the only trend the new Central Oregon event is following. The 13.1-mile distance of this weekend’s featured race is also something of a recent rage in the world of running.

According to Running USA, a nonprofit organization that promotes the running industry in America, the half marathon has been the fastest-growing road-race distance in the United States since 2003. Running USA also reports that, in 2010, women made up 59 percent of the fields in U.S. half marathons — approximately 820,000 female finishers overall.

Gina Miller, race director for the Happy Girls Half, says the expected field of 1,000 entries for Sunday’s big race in Bend includes “an inordinate number of first-time half-marathoners.”

“It’s a popular distance,” Miller says. “People look at it as a stretch, but not too much of a stretch. It’s an attainable goal — a reasonable carrot to put out there to stay in shape.”

— Bulletin staff reports