Half the distance, half the glory?

Yesterday the world half marathon record was broken in Valencia (in perfect sunny conditions - unlike the scenes at Venice marathon , where it looked for all the world like the course had accidentally gone down, rather than across, a canal ...) Yet who has read this morning about Abraham Kiptum's fantastic time? Aside from specialist running titles, I've yet to see something in print or online. Why? Is it because he's Kenyan (I saw numerous "Who? Well I've never heard of him!" comments on Fast Running's post, as if that were somehow definitive proof that his record is dodgy). Or is it because it's a half marathon? It sounds ridiculous, but I do sometimes wonder if the word 'half' gives that particular distance a short shrift. What's a 'half' record, compared to a full? As Adharanand pointed out to me on Twitter this morning, the Great North Run has done a cunning thing indeed in omitting the word from its title - perhaps a