Doing a half marathon in April, advice?

dholtuk2

Hi Boomdocker, I started running about 8 months ago but only manage to run once a week either on the treadmill or outdoors. I had only ever run this distance twice before so I was pleased that I managed it. I would also like to complete a half marathon and raise money for NSPCC but am going to do a few more 10k runs first. Prior to this I had never done any running before and the first time I went out running I only ran round the block (which isn't very long) ans was sick when I got back home!

sebby2007

Might be worth getting a fundraising page at www.mycharitypage.com

100% of the donations goes to the charity and it FREE.

Fen1

I would really recommend running with the local running group as they will help you with your technique and keep you motivated. There will also be people there who are experienced racers and will know all the tips, not just on the running itself, but on things like what to do with your kit; drinks and sweets before ,during and after the race; sponsorship tips etc.
Getting as much advice as possible now from such people really is invaluable.

Don't worry if you can't run it all, just walk to the finishing line. It's your firat race and no-one will think the worse of you. Enjoy, take your time, and complete it whichever way necessary to collect the money.

timnicebutdim_2

You sound like your doing really well. If you can do ideally a couple of 8 mile+ runs before the marathon you should find it easier on the day as you will know what to expect. Don't overdo it though and only do a couple of small runs the week before the event to allow your muscles to re-oxygenate (or something like that!).

As Fen1 says don't worry if you can't run it all. I did my first 1/2 marathon last May in Exeter and was in the same situation as your at now. The first 10 miles was fine (even though i had only ever ran that distance once), the last 3 were a killer and was a mixture of walking and running. Don't think of it as 13 miles, think of it as jogging for 2 hours or so and alter your pace every so often.

Ps.. I know it sounds daft but something I am definately going to do this year is take some jelly babies with me!!

Good luck!!

cnoelj

You will find that running for a charity is easier than you think. Just contact your chosen charity and they will give you all the info you want. I am running the London Marathon for Macmillan Cancer Care. They sent me a pack giving fundraising ideas, sponsorship forms, information on how to set up your webpage and running vests with logos etc. They also have a dedicated team which will support you and answer any questions. I have also run for other charities and they all seem to offer very similar in the way of support.

I contacted Martin Lewis to ask what the policy is for promoting your charity website on this forum. His advice was to put all details including link to your charity website on the charities board. Then refer to your post on the threads you use regularly once so that you are not accused of spamming.

Runners who have contributed to this thread may not be aware of the DFW Running Club thread, which receives lively contributions from runners of all abilities as well as people interested in fitness generally. I will try and remember how to put a link into the thread but failing this it can be found if you do a search.

Good luck to everybody with their running endeavours and especially those running for charity.

trf197

I did the Great North Run for charity (mercy ships) last September. It was the first run of any type I had ever done and before I started training the only exercise I got was infrequent games of 5-a-side football. I only had three months to train. This is what I learned:

1. To begin with I was running far too fast - I was struggling to do more than a couple of miles because I was going too fast.

2. Get a heart rate monitor. They work really well to help you pace yourself. After you have used it for a while you can set a pace by deciding on your heart rate. When training I was working at 75-80% most of the itme and found I could go much further. (Although on the day the adrenaline meant my heart rate was much higher than normal)

3. Mapmyrun.com allows you to keep track of your training which really helps to keep you motivated as you can see that you are travelling further or running faster as your training progresses.

4. Learn to take on fluids when you run. I found it really hard to drink on a long run - but the difference it makes to how good you feel is huge.

5. If you want to run the whole way I think you need to have done 10 miles before the race itself and give yourself time to get over it. I think I did 10 miles two weeks before the race, with 8 miles the following weekend. Try to do 1 long (slow) run with 1 or 2 other shorter runs or other exercise each week. In total I only ran 100 miles with training and the final race included so that wasn't too much.

6. It is much easier to run further if you are distracted so an MP3 player or someone else to run with is important. I didn't do any running on a treadmill as I couldn't stand the monotony. Using mapmyrun to make up courses near my house meant I could set a course and know how far it was and benefit from being outside and seeing different scenery.

7. During the race itself don't get carried away and go off too fast - the adrenaline will make the first mile feel really easy but don't get conned - you'll pay for it later on in the race.

I was really pleased that I did this in the end - I finished in 2 hours 11 which was bang on 10 minutes per mile pace and about what I expected beforehand. (When I applied for the place and hadn't started training I put down an estimated finish time of 3 hours as I guessed I could probably walk most of the way and do it in that time)

Good luck with the training and well done for seeing it through - it'll get easier as it gets lighter and you can run outside in the evening.

trf197

Boomdocker

Thanks, that's a really helpful post. Will have a look at mapmyrun as I have never heard of that before.n

FiftyPents

Hi guys,

Just thought id post a quick update on my progress. The half marathon is now roughly 2 weeks away. Yesterday after finishing work, it was so nice and quiet outside i thought id go for a run, with my new nike+ thingy that goes on the ipod (it tells you how far you're running, time per mile etc), anyway, with 2 stops, i managed 8.7 miles in just under 1hr30mins. I felt pretty good after that! Im going to get a couple 3 milers in during the week to keep me going, and then hit another 8 miler possibly on Friday morning. So its going well!

p.s anyone that owns an ipod nano and likes running, you really should get the nike sport thing that goes with it. Its amazing. You can pick a powersong, so when the ipod thinks your tempo is getting a bit low, it puts your powersong on to motivate you!