Can i train for a half marathon in 40 days?

Question

There is a half marathon in London on the 12th Oct 08 which my company has entered for a corporate event and there are a few more spaces left.

I have just started running the last two weeks and in this last week I have been running around 5 times during the week, but the most I have ever run is 5miles at 5.5mph... and that was on a treadmill. I am an active person but I have never been a runner as i'm more built for rugby/rowing

If I did the marathon I would not really want to walk so I guess my aim would be for around 2hr 20m..

Can i do it? If so how, there are no training regimes that I can find which are for only 5/6 weeks!!!

Am i pushing myself too hard? I had a 10k (6.25mi) run scheduled for that day, how much harder is another 7miles? ...

Answer 1

You can do anything you set your mind too.

Answer 2

the extra miles will hurt but i think you need to take into acount the atmosphere of the race which will give u that extra push , try this training method- find how fast you must go to cover the distance in your prefferred time, then run a little it faster than that for 45 secs,mark your position, stop for 20 then do it again try and reach the mark you got last time , do it again and again , this helps build a consistant pace withought killing yourself. over the weeks you will find you are able to reach that mark more times than when you started.

Answer 3

If you are running at 5.5 mph you are running a 10.54 pace for 5 miles. At that pace you are estimated to finish a 1/2 marathon in over 2hrs 30 minutes. Thes times are based on people that have adequate training and don't run on treadmills.

I went from the couch to my first hilly 1/2 marathon in 12 weeks and finished exactly 2 hours 20 minutes. When I was 40 days away from the race, my longest run was probably 8 or 9 miles. I was running 5 miles at a 10 minute pace.

I hope you to keep training and add miles but that is a pretty lofty goal. There will be other 1/2 marathons.....there always is!  Best of luck either way! 10Ks are always fun too.

Answer 4

You can train to run any distance race on a treadmill, the first few races if the year I do all my training for on a treadmill (because of the weather) and even through the summer go to the gym to train a few times a week. You have to remember though that you will find the treadmill running physically easier on the treadmill than the road for the same speed (wind resistance, hills etc on the road).

I would say that you can also train to do a half marathon in 40 days if you are quite fit already and have a bit of stamina. I would suggest that for the next couple of weeks (14 days), to consolidate your 5 mile runs, or make them 6 miles. Also increase your speed to at least 6 miles an hour - that is double walking speed. This isn't really a big increase from 5 miles at 5.5 miles.

Then for the next couple of weeks you have a choice what to work on - distance or speed. Distance might be the better option. Increase your run distance to perhaps 7 or 8 miles a few times a week within a couple of weeks (so after 28 days you should be able to run 8 miles at 6 miles an hour - or do them in 1 hour 12 minutes). Spend the next week doing the same - 8 miles a few times a week and the last week before the race, do perhaps a long run early in the week or the weekend before (to give you confidence you can do it), then ease off a lot from running, perhaps do 4 mile runs instead of 8 a couple of times and nothing on the friday or saturday before.

It will be hard work to do and you will have to concentrate to do the training but I think someone who is allready a bit fit can do it.

Try to do your runs outside, but if you are going on the treadmill set it to an incline of about 1 degree to give your legs a bit of effort to work against. Also perhaps in the gym do a few leg strengthening and core strengthening exercises

Hope that helps you out

Answer 5

Firstly, get off the treadmill - it is nothing like running out on the roads. Next, run lots to build up stamina and strength, you will notice distance running uses different muscles than other activities. Sorry but I have no training regime but try something like this; run 5 or 6 miles Monday and Wednesday (hopefully you are capable of this right now), do 7 miles on the Friday. The next week, add one mile to the Friday run - that should get you to 12 miles by race day.

A few other things, stretch lots before and after running, eat well and drink plenty but not too close before your run. Do some light exercise in the off days, a walk is a good idea to keep the legs moving - swimming or cycling will also be helpful to improve your fitness so you don't get out of breath as fast. Don't go out and sprint like a madman, it will be slower overall; finally run with a friend if possible to relieve the boredom and try to enjoy the experience.

Answer 6

no you cannot ,but you can train for a quarter marathon in 20 days

Answer 7

h**l no