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Half marathon training - Daniel Sheppard, FitBase.co.uk

Completing your first half marathon

A half marathon is seen by many as the more achievable distance especially when compared with the full 26 mile slog. This 13 mile race is an excellent test of body and mind and should not be entered into lightly! Whether you’re a first timer or are using it as a stepping stone to the full marathon, preparation is the key. Making steady increase in training volume as well as varying your distance, speed and terrain will make a huge difference to your success on race day.

The ability to complete your first half marathon relies on developing your fitness by progressively increasing intensity and duration, giving your body time to adapt to your training. Any sudden increase in exercise will cause under developed muscles, ligaments and tendons to become weak, cause injury and subsequently reduce your chances of success. Research has shown that over 65% of runners are injured during an average year and this is often down to a poor training structure.

For all regular runners the idea of a half marathon may well seem a relatively easy step to make but to achieve a good time takes some clever training. The common mistakes begin with the running speed or the lack of speed training! The traditional training method of setting off at your normal speed for a set number of miles may get you to the end but won’t prepare you for a sprint finish. Developing different distances and different speeds often referred to easy, long and speed runs will eventually allow you to not only run faster but also quicker.

Including a long run every week is also a highly beneficial training strategy. This will allow you body to deal with the wear and tear caused by the pounding your legs will take during the run. Feet, back, joints, tendons and muscles develop a resilience to this pounding as you complete each long weekly run. A common problem for not finishing a race is reoccurring problems of leg pain and discomfort, resulting from the weight-bearing pounding over 13 miles.

Before the big event you should aim to complete 2-3 runs of 8-10 miles. You may like to enter a shorter event to support your speed training in the build up to the half marathon, such as a 5km or 10km. This also acts as a great opportunity to gauge how well you are progressing. This trial race will also allow you to work out what works is best for you in terms of race tactics and pacing. So whether you are doing a small local event or entering the Great North Run which is currently the biggest half marathon in the world with over 52,000 runners make sure your training is varied and you are patient with how many miles you run.

Daniel Sheppard

Daniel is the Head Fitness Trainer at FitBase see www.FitBase.co.uk for more information.

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