1/2 marathon -> marathon jump

p.pete · 05-12-2003 8:32am #1

I'll be running my first marathon on April 4th:D

Naturally I'll have to step up my training and I'm wondering how long before then will it be suitable to run half marathons?

I will have the opportunity to run one on March 7th in Reading where I'm living but I'm pressuming I should have hit the half marathon stage before that point. If I'm already at the stage of running closer to 20 miles would it be a good idea to take part in the shorter distance?

Any advice appreciated

brianon · 19-12-2003 9:12am

You probably would want to have run a half before the 7th March.
The last few weeks before the full should be tapered anyway so a 20 around this week (7th) followed by a 4 week taper should be ok.

Brian.

p.pete · 19-12-2003 6:18pm

cheers for that, I've managed to find a half marathon a month earlier as well. I'll take note of the tapering!

Should 20 or so be the max I should be aiming to run before the actual day?

Genghis · 19-12-2003 6:41pm

I agree with Brian. You should be aiming to do your last 'long run' 3-4 weeks before the big day, and begin tapering thereafter. 20 miles is sufficient, especially as this is your first marathon. However, I would say that you need to allow sufficient time to get up from 13 miles to 20 miles - and possibly 4 weeks is too little - in order to achieve that you would be looking at 13/15/17/18/20 over five long runs, which will risk injury. I would recommend something like 13/10/14/12/15/12/17/13/20, then 4 weeks taper - but that would mean doing the half marathon more or less immediately!

All of this depends on fitness, how long you have been running, your level of physical activity, etc, etc. which I know nothing about. There is a lot more advice in the After Hours / Fitness forum - a couple of people have asked similar questions. You should find the 'marathon training for non-runners' very useful.

Best of Luck!

1/2 marathon -> marathon jump

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