Half Marathon in 3 Weeks, would that be crazy?

Glad you took that advise..... best on your 5k ..... enjoy it!

Aaaaaaah joyful news indeed! :)

You won't regret it. I'm excited for you. Let us know how it went so we can share in your victory :)

I appreciate all the great feedback. I am sticking to my original plan and just registered for a 5k for March 23. I've started training for that and am excited. After the 5k, if I enjoy racing, I plan to enter a 10k, then ultimately a half marathon.

Such a rapid advance for a non runner is not advisable. If you look at a half marathon training plan you will see a gradual increase in mileage over a much longer period of time and typically recommend a pre-requisite level of mileage and experience hence the lack of "couch to half marathon" programs. It takes time for muscles, tendons, and joints to adapt to the stress..... Even if you "only" run/walk it, you are putting yourself under a lot of stress.

When you get a level of experience, I would highly recommend doing a half that is part of a full marathon, then the time constraints are not as big of an issue.

Put the time into gradually building your endurance and your body will thank you later.... Been there done that, got the xrays.

I have never run a half marathon. I started out from being a non-runner, went through the 5K Your Way training, ran a 5K, ran a 10K, and decided to run a half.

I got injured and had to trade down to the 5K.

A year later, I tried to train smarter and aimed at the same half. I got injured and had to trade down to the 5K.

Later last year, I got into PT. That showed me what some of my underlying weaknesses were and we took steps to address them. Right now I'm aiming at that same half for the third year in a row. But this time, I'm paying for group training. So far, in the first week of formal training, all looks good.

I concur with everyone else. Going from being a non-runner to doing a half in a short amount to time is asking for trouble. There are a lot of things to learn about distance running, and I'm still learning some of them. I could do a 5K, and even a 10K, without paying much attention to what everyone says is important for endurance. For a half, I need to pay attention and learn a bunch of the accumulated training wisdom from people who have been there and done that.

A half in 3 weeks, from non-runner status? That's nuts, unless you're planning on just walking it. And if you already know you can walk 13 miles, what's the point of walking the distance at the same time other people are running?

Since you are a non-runner, I would suggest starting off withsome 5k races. Many trainers recommend not even training for a half util you have been running shorter distance for a year.

See if they have a 5k. But don't jump with out proper build up and training.

I really wish there was a 5k or a 10k but there isn't. And this is the first time they're doing this so I don't know if there will be one next year. But my original goal was to do one of the half marathons at Disneyland so maybe I should just shoot for that. The first one is at the end of August and that's 7 months away. So, that would be way more realistic. And your right, I don't want to risk injury. I imagine also with the course being all down hill there's greater risk for that as well. I guess I'll just have to sit outside and cheer the runners on. Thanks again for all the replies!

Did you check to see if a 5K is being offered simultaneously? They often are. I agree with the other two posters, but let's say you are crazy and try to do the half. If you could walk thirteen sixteen minute miles, you could finish before the cut-off. That is probably possible for a reasonably fit person to do without serious injury, but its the less serious injuries that will ruin your outlook toward running in the future. Thirteen consecutive miles even at a casual pace will probably give some pretty nasty blisters to a tenderfoot.

EDIT: I left this page open for a couple hours and came back to it to write a reply. Now that it is posted I see that some of this was addressed before I refreshed the page. -all good stuff.

Edited by: STRIVERONE at: 1/19/2014 (20:31)

True about possibly not finishing in the allotted time. For sure, stick with your original plan!! Gradual steps are the way to go!



Edited by: LISABRO5 at: 1/19/2014 (20:41)

I think you could do it physically, although it would probably be more of a run/walk and I'm not sure you could do it in the allotted time. But like the prior poster, I'd worry about injuries if you training that hard that fast. More important than any time or any distance is being safe and staying healthy. Overtraining injuries can set you back for weeks. But you should totally sign up for one further off! Running is THE BEST.

Thanks for the replies! My original plan was to train for a 5k, then a 10, then a half marathon with plenty of training time. This just came up suddenly on me. I only found out about after searching for half marathons in California, there was no advertisement for it in town here at all. Yeah, I know, it's wishful thinking, and I'm nowhere ready for something like that. But it was the idea that maybe I could walk/jog the race, that made me think maybe I could do it. The closest thing I've done is a 12 mile hike a couple years ago. Which I did in the same shape I'm in now, and was all hills, with a backpack, a stop for lunch, and finished in about 4 hours. But my legs were jello for the next couple of days.

I'm usually totally supportive of crazy ideas, but I agree that this one seems like a stretch. I started running last May and it took me three weeks to be able to run/walk even a 5k. It was another three weeks before I could run an entire 5k without walking. I ran 12.6 miles yesterday, which is my longest distance to date, and it was ROUGH, even though I've been training for it.

I agree with the previous poster - if this is an annual event, then make it a goal to do it next year and start training. You'll be ready and on top of your game, which will make it that much better.

Could you do it? Yes, probably. Is it a good idea? Probably not so much! I would be very wary of injury. From personal experience, I've finished 3 halves... All of them I followed a 10-12 week training program, my first one I trained being totally OCD with a 4 day a week program and had been already running about 10 miles a week.- it was still HARD, I'm not going to lie! 😉 I would personally use the knowing about it as incentive to train for next year! Start jogging 2-3 times a week now and then about 12 weeks out search for a training program that will help you meet your goals without injury next year! Get out your cowbell and cheer for the runners going by your house in a few weeks!

First time posting here and I only joined the team yesterday. I just found out about a half marathon going on right in front of my house in 3 weeks. As of now, I am not a runner. I walk a few times a week and jog every now and then. I'm considering doing it. My goal would simply be to finish in under 3 1/2 hours. (The cut off time) It's an almost entirely downhill race. Do you think this is even feasible? Or am I crazy for even thinking of doing it.