Half Marathon Tips

By Jon Sinclair

For a beginner, just finishing might be the goal. A beginner’s training should center on a progression of long runs that reach only 12 or 13 miles… enough to insure a successful finish. However, if the goal is to “race” the distance or improve on a previous “best,” then 16 to 18 miles of easy running is a necessary long run. Several runs of that distance should be placed in a “competitive” training plan.

Running hills is a great addition to any training program, but is particularly applicable to racing 1/2 marathons. Including some easy running over hills during your longer runs is a good way to start. Later in the training program (6 to 8 weeks before the goal race), add some intensity to one or two workouts a week by running the uphills at a moderate to comfortably hard effort. In the last month, running the hills at a hard, race-like effort will help you build race fitness.