Half marathon

Some people do run a half marathon without proper training, yes. People talk about it on Reddit. They’ll have a break from running for a while, want to get back into it because they miss it, and then within days or weeks, do a half marathon. I’ve never done that, but they say it hurts – and I’d imagine it does!

The BBC told us back in 2012:

John Brewer, professor of sports science at the University of Bedfordshire, agrees it is physically possible as long as the competitor has some experience of running and attempts it at the lowest possible intensity.

Seriously, half marathon, no training?

As a runner, I don’t recommend it. It’s testing enough with the training, and 13.1 miles on no training out of nowhere is a big ask. A medical study in 2000 looks into why. It basically means that the longer of a break you take from running, the more of an impact it has on you, in two ways.

First, it affects your cardiovascular levels and your VO2 max (which is how fast your heart, lungs and muscles can keep up with you doing intense exercise). Secondly, it impacts your muscles, and how well your brain connects to your muscles.

It sounds very ‘science’, but it’s true. If you’ve not run for weeks, you’re going to struggle to keep up. And your muscles will really, really hurt the next day.

Of course, you can train properly.. How long does it take to run a half marathon? Your averages are over here.

How to run a half marathon without training

If you were crazy enough to do that, this is how I’d go about it.

What to wear running a half marathon

I’d go with comfort and security. It’s got to last you 13.1 miles running (and maybe some walking if you’ve not done any practice!). So I’d wear comfy leggings, a sports bra, running trainers, and cushioned socks.

What I’d eat before a half marathon

Again, I would have gotten myself into a routine so I know what I can run on and how much energy I’ll need for the race. But I’ve often eat a banana at least 30 minutes before a run. I sometimes struggle with digestion and this light breakfast gives me good enough energy in my experience (for a shorter run!). So maybe some brown or wholemeal toast with banana and peanut butter for the longer distance.

If you’ve got time I’d also take some energy gels in some form. My dad would shove haribos or sugary/tangy sweets in his pocket. Great for not taking up much space, and also a good energy burst.

What I’d drink before it

I’d hydrate properly the day before, so at least 2 litres of water. And then have a drink the morning of the half marathon. Then, when you’re mid race, take advantage of the water stations. There will usually be several throughout. Take one of the polystyrene cups of water, or sports drinks, whatever they offer. Sometimes you might think you don’t need it for a bit.

Trust me, from running 2 half marathons with training, use your water stations. Your body needs it.

What I’d listen to during the half marathon

I couldn’t run a race without listening to music. Some races won’t let you wear chunky headphones for safety reasons. But if you can, I’d listening to some great running music.

I can’t say what I learnt

I’ve never done it so I can’t tell you! But I imagine it would hurt, a lot.. You generally suffer with your legs when you have trained for a half marathon.

It depends on how much you’ve actually ever run

If you’ve never run at all, not even once, so you’re a total newbie, then I’d say you might seriously injure yourself if you run a half marathon without any training. If that’s you, I’d encourage you to learn how to start running as a beginner. Then consider getting a good 5k pace. Maybe a couch to 10K. Those are some good goals.

If you’ve dabbled and some experience running, you’ve done the milage historically, but you’ve not been truly committed recently,  it’s less of a bad idea. Still, I’d like to always be prepared as much as possible… Why wouldn’t you?

My 3 top tips for half marathon training

When I decided to train for a half marathon after a 10K, I thought it would be just a case of ‘upping the miles’ and all would be fine. There I was, Googling marathon plans for first time marathon runners. Here’s my personal 3 tips on half marathon training.

1. Be realistic

I can’t emphasise this enough. Don’t, whatever you do, tell yourself you’ll just be able to up the miles and be done with it.

Yes you’re more than capable of running a marathon, but things WILL go wrong. Expect them. Don’t expect. Life will get in the way. The initial buzz will settle down and the realness that you have actually paid to participate will hit you. You will procrastinate. So here’s number two.

2. Create a plan to work with, and expect it to go a bit wrong

In the early days of ‘omg I’ve signed up for my first marathon’ excitement, I quite proudly produced my very own personalised Excel spreadsheet. But I went wrong a little. Two things are important here.

A) To make a plan. Create something. A note on your door to nudge you to train. A reminder on your phone to make the £40 worth it. An Excel spreadsheet.

B) To not panic if you wobble away from it, for whatever reason. What matters is that you create something to wobble from. You won’t move if you don’t have a goal. It’s always better to move slowly and painfully towards your goal than to not move at all.

3. Networking

This is just a really fancy way of saying get support. You’ll need it. But, let me clarify that that’s not me saying you’re weak. You’re training for a half marathon, so you’re strong. Respect. But you’re also human. Everyone needs support at some point. Some more than others in different ways, and that’s okay.

Tell Facebook. Screenshot a photograph from last year’s event onto your Instagram. Tweet it. Heck, blog about it. But don’t stop at social media. As incredible and supportive as social media can be for this exact purpose (#halfmarathontraining), your offline, actual friends and family will be your rock.

Nearer the time, sponsorship is a great way to motivate yourself and get support. It will be an encouraging reminder that you’re doing this for good reasons too.

Written by Katie McDonald, 21st November 2024, Updated 6th April 2025.

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Thinking about doing a half? But how long does it take to run a half marathon? There is often a cut off time after about 4 hours. According to My Mottiv, it takes 1 hour, 50 minutes, 15 seconds on average across all genders, and ages to complete a half marathon.

What to expect:

• What’s a half marathon distance? 13.1 miles
• Average half marathon times (for women and men)
• A half marathon training plan
• Real life top tips for training for a half marathon

What’s a half marathon distance?

A half marathon is 13.1 miles, 21 kilometers.

What’s the average half marathon finish time?

Here’s 2 tables of the men and women’s average time it takes to complete a half marathon in America.  The average time is about 2 hours and 2 minutes for men, and 2 hours and 16 minutes for women.

Average half marathon times in the USA: Beginners to Elite Athletes

This is based on data from Brooks Running.

USATF has published the men and women’s half marathon finish times in America; last updated 2023. Remember this level of runner are athletes who are eligible to enter the Olympic Trials.

Women’s half marathon times in the USA

According to the recent half marathon times in America, elite runners take about 1 hour 10 minutes to finish a half marathon.

Men’s half marathon times in the USA

We can see from this table that the average men’s half marathon time is 1 hour, 59 minutes, and 48 seconds for the above average men. Whereas elite male runners can do it at a 5 minutes per mile pace – that’s fast!

Half marathon training plans

Run your first half marathon in just over 3 months

Length: 14 weeks, 4 days on and 3 days rest or cross train

Sample Workout: 12-mile long run. Complete at an easy, conversational pace.

Recommended Experience: For a new runner who has been exercising regularly for at least a year, or someone who has completed a few 5Ks or 10Ks and can complete 6 miles in one workout. This plan peaks at 28 miles in a week with a 12-mile long run.

Note:

• LSD: Long Slow Distance run
• Easy: A comfortable, conversational pace
• Race Day: Your half marathon race

You can use this as a guide and adjust the mileage and intensity as needed based on your fitness level and experience. Always listen to your body and consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new workout routine.

Top tips for training for a half marathon from experience

It will teach you to deal with self doubt and overcome it

You will think you can’t do something. You can’t do a certain mileage, is what the voice in the head will tell you. There was a moment when myself and a fellow runner were training for our half marathon. That day we were doing 6 miles. We were only yards from our training finish line of today’s route, when I had a thought. “So, I  could run through the fire of mile 6.. so could I manage 7? I doubt it”.. But I’d come to learn that that thought was a test.

We added an extra mile on to our route, just to see. Let’s just try the seventh mile.

10 minutes later, I found myself stopped at the finish line. I had ran the full 7 miles. “Look at that grin” my fellow runner told me. We stood together, half laughing, half trying to catch our breath. I used the next moment to take a selfie. And captioned it “we need a ‘I doubted whether I could do 6 and I did 7 instead” selfie.

Doubt kills dreams. It would have been so easy to stop at 6 miles. But actually, I remember reflecting later that day:

“I know what it feels like to stop, I wanted to know what it feels like if I don’t.” -Me.

You’ll learn you might have a competitive streak!

I remember training for my first half marathon with a fellow runner.  We exchanged an “I’ll race ya” glance, we both found a sprinkle of energy and worked together against our barriers. We pushed and pushed and pushed till we blew them down. It was a little like hell but the post-run feeling is a lot like heaven, in fact it’s out of this world.

They say running is like a series of battles between your brain wanting to stop and ‘The Runner You’ wanting to go the extra mile. They are right. You should go the extra mile, it’s never crowded.

If you’re waiting for me to tell you where that energy came from, I’m afraid I disappoint. Neither of us know where the final spark came from, but that’s the magic of running. It digs deep down inside you and, without you even knowing, whispers to you kind words of wisdom.

Your brain will tell ‘The Runner You’ to shut up and stop this pain. But if you can push that voice away and listen carefully, you’ll find that the smallest whisper can be the most powerful voice.

Running is hard! Running a half is even harder

Doing a half marathon is hard. Doing your second half marathon 6 months after your first teaches you lots. Firstly, your first didn’t scare you enough to quit. Secondly, you can still complete another half marathon. Thirdly, you know your strengths. I could go on.

There’s a saying by someone, somewhere and I agree.

“the hardest part about running a half marathon is training for a half marathon and that the best part about running a half marathon is running a half marathon”

This morning, I disagree. I understand that the training is hard and you can enjoy the day. But that doesn’t mean you can just sit back and walk it, enjoying the scenery and not give it everything. A half marathon is hard, whether it’s your first, second or 50th. Every single one is a test; it’s just how that changes.

Your first half marathon tests whether you are physically able to complete the route. My second one tested my mental capacity more than I thought it would. I mean, the sticky swamps of mud were pretty testing 10 miles in.

I spoke with a fellow runner afterwards. And they hit the nail on the head talking about the song: We’re going on a bear hunt’. I remember singing as part of a big camping group a few years ago. It goes something like this.

“We can’t go over it, we can’t go under it, we can’t go round it, oh no we’re gonna have to go through it”

What it’s like running a half marathon

In October 2016, I ran my first half marathon in Birmingham at a time of 2:22. March 16th 2017, I ran my second half marathon in IronBridge, with a time of 2:27:25. If you’d have told me during my training “your second will be slower”, I would have been heartbroken and gutted.

“What a waste of training” I would have sulked. But during the race and the moment I crossed the finish line with my (then) partner, I couldn’t have been happier. Let me tell you why.

Control your adrenaline at the start

I’ll be honest, when the klaxon boomed, I thought it would be easy. I was quite wrong because it was the hardest half marathon I have ever done and that’s what my fellow runner said too.

We forgot to pace ourselves because of the sheer adrenaline that rushes through you like electricity through a cable of runners. Naturally then, after 5 miles of a speedy start, consistency was a struggle.

Training taught us to be consistent in a 10 minutes per mile pace, but the race took us to 9 minutes per mile for the first 3 minutes and that taught me that this messes up your race. There’s no other way of putting it.

Hearing “we’re much faster than training” the first time was a confidence boost, but we needed to have been consistent. Don’t get me wrong, I’m chuffed we were almost 2 minutes faster on the first part of the half marathon than our training but it’s hard because the second half is then tough.

Of course, you might be wondering, “ok, can you run a half marathon without any training?”, and yeah I guess you could. But it would hurt! More thoughts over there!

The pace doesn’t matter all the time

Sometimes, the time just doesn’t matter. What matters is knowing you are raising money for incredible causes. What matters is not stopping, even if you have to walk. What matters is seeing those glorious faces of strangers you will probably never set eyes on again, but you still gladly accept their offer of sugary snacks in a bowl, and thank them if you can.

What matters is doing it together, whether that be running alongside a community of runners or dressing up in costume with him as superheroes. What matters is knowing that you will finish and it will feel incredible when your body passes through that arch inflated with so much more than just air, but success and completion.

What matters is that you did it. And what really matters at the end of the day, when you challenge yourself with a half marathon, is to keep it fun and atmospheric. Pull the funny faces, laugh lots and encourage others along the way. Happiness goes a long way.

Do it for the good cause

When you run for a charity, this is even more so. When my legs were pounding the hill at the 7 mile mark (and the 8, 9 and 10th come to think of it..), what ran through my mind you might ask?

• Was it the intensity of the heat as we sweltered through Telford Town Centre in our tight costumes?
• Panicking about the next hill
• When’s the next water station?

All of the above applied. But the very next thought that popped into my head was of my late Great Nan. She taught me that life is short. That’s why I wanted to run the IronBridge Half Marathon because she’s right. That’s why I’m proud that we raised over £250 for people like her.

What it’s like running a half marathon

The morning of

At the start line

The race is on

• But if you can battle through the mental barriers of your own mind fighting against you…
• If you can feel the fire in your thighs like never before and still run up that hill..
• If you can use the shout of a stranger clapping you on by the call of your name and turn it into power and energy..
• If you can stay as strong as you start out and not lose focus on that end goal because you know it only takes a split millisecond for that ‘stop’ voice to cause you to fall..
• If you can run through the stitch at 3 miles and relax your tense shoulders merely because of the sheer excitement of the whole experience…
• If you can feel your feet slightly drag on the floor and not allow yourself to stop…
• If you can look up the final hill and use the fact that, even though some are running, some are walking or have even stopped, to push yourself for the last and most important mile..
• If you can do all that, then you are an amazing runner.

me training for the ironbridge half marathon