Is there an ideal length of time for half marathon training? How far do I need to run on my longest training run? What should I eat and drink on the run? What happens on race day? If you’ve signed up to an autumn half marathon and these questions are whirling around your head, then stay tuned, because we’ll be answering these and giving you plenty of other tips to get you half marathon-ready.
Half marathon training looks a bit different depending on your goal for the race. For example, if you have run a half before and you’re aiming to get a PB this time round, depending on how long it has been since your last race, you may already have a base level of fitness. If this is the case, then up to 16 weeks (but no fewer than 10) should get you to where you want to be fitness-wise to aim for that goal time.
If it is the first time you’ve stepped up to this distance, and a half is the furthest distance you’ll have run, then spend some time working on your base fitness.
We covered this in last month’s Running Skills, but in case you missed it, base training means building up your fitness and the regularity of your runs. You’ll want your dedicated training for the race to be spread over around 16 weeks.
How do I structure my training?
Good marathon training features a mixture of all the good stuff: intervals, easy recovery runs, tempo runs, progressive runs, long slow runs and some goal half marathonpaced efforts. It should also feature a taper period at the end of the training as you head towards race day. The taper is the final two weeks before race day, when your training volume decreases. The intensity should still be the same, but you just won’t be doing as much running as you have previously.
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