Your first half marathon

The half marathon is my favourite distance. It is long enough to be a real challenge and short enough that you can train for it without your whole life turning into running.

It is also where a lot of people get hurt, because they treat 21.1K as “two 10Ks” and rush it. Do not rush it.

Are you ready?

You are in a good place to start half marathon training if:

• You have run a 10K, or can run 10K comfortably in training.
• You have been running three or four times a week for a few months.
• You can give it twelve weeks without big gaps.

If not, aim for a 10K first. The half will still be there.

The shape of the training

Twelve weeks is a sensible block for a first half. The shape is simple:

• Weeks 1 to 4: build your long run from about 10K to 13K. Everything else easy.
• Week 5: an easier week. Cut volume by about a third.
• Weeks 6 to 9: long run grows to 16K, then 18K. Add one steady or faster session a week.
• Week 10: your longest run, around 18K to 19K, at easy pace.
• Weeks 11 and 12: taper. Run less, stay fresh, keep a little pace in your legs.

You do not need to run 21K before race day. Race day adrenaline and a proper taper carry you the last few kilometres.

The long run

The long run is the heart of half marathon training. A few rules:

• Run it easy. Slow enough to talk. Your long run builds endurance, not speed.
• Increase slowly. Add one or two kilometres at a time. Hold the same distance for two weeks if you need to.
• Practise race morning. Same wake up time, same breakfast, same kit. Race day should feel familiar.
• Start early in Pune. Finish before the heat, especially from March to May.

One quality session a week

From week 6, add one session with some faster running. Keep it simple:

• Tempo: 15 to 25 minutes at a comfortably hard pace, the pace you could hold for about an hour.
• Intervals: for example 5 x 1K a bit faster than your goal half pace, with 2 minutes easy jogging between.

Only one of these a week. The rest stays easy. More hard sessions will not make you faster. They will make you tired.

Fuel and water

Once runs go past about 75 to 90 minutes, your body needs fuel. Practise eating on long runs, not on race day.

• Try energy gels, chikki, dates or bananas. Find what your stomach accepts.
• A common approach is something small every 30 to 45 minutes after the first 45.
• Drink to thirst. In hot, humid conditions add electrolytes.

What works for your friend may not work for you. Test it in training.

Pacing the race

The classic first half marathon story: the runner who feels amazing at 5K, goes for it, and walks from 15K.

Do the opposite. Run the first 5K slower than goal pace. Settle in until 15K. If you feel good after that, speed up. A negative split, a faster second half, is the most satisfying way to finish.

If you do not have a time goal, pick an effort you could hold while talking in short phrases, and stay there.

Race week

• Cut your running roughly in half. Keep a few short pickups so your legs remember how to move.
• Sleep. Two nights before matters more than the night before.
• Eat normal food with a little more carbohydrate in the last two days. Nothing new.
• Lay out everything the night before. Use the race day checklist.

Recovery

Walk around after you finish. Eat and drink something within an hour. Take a few easy days. A short, very easy run or a walk two or three days later helps more than total rest.

Expect stairs to be interesting for a day or two.

Common mistakes

• Racing your long runs.
• Adding too much distance too quickly.
• New shoes or new food on race day.
• Ignoring a niggle until it becomes an injury.
• Skipping strength work. Twice a week, twenty minutes. It matters.

Do it with people

Training for a half alone is hard. Training with people who are doing the same thing is far easier. Ask in the WhatsApp community who is targeting the same race, and plan long runs together.

When the half feels comfortable and you want more, the marathon guide is next.