Four coaches on what to focus on now to make race day your best yet.
Whether you’re prepping for your first half marathon or you’re aiming for a new PR, there’s a lot that goes into a smart buildup, including weekly workouts and long training runs, as well as nutrition, recovery, and cross-training. So it might come as no surprise that there are a lot of possible missteps to training for 21.1, which can leave you injured or simply not prepped for your best race possible.
To help you avoid these, we talked with four coaches about mistakes they often see runners make while training for a half marathon. They share their top tips for what to focus on, avoid, and stop stressing about—to help get to the start line strong and ready to run.
1. Squeezing in Missed Kilometres
When gearing up for a long-distance race, every run can feel crucial to success—especially the long training runs you’re tackling each weekend. But if a run or two fall by the wayside because you’re sick or traveling or just plain busy, don’t stress about fitting those kilometres back into your schedule.
Find The Perfect Race
Your best bet is usually to keep moving forward with your regularly scheduled program and think of those missed days as the rest your body needed.
“The fear of not doing enough leads to cramming in extra kilometres, and that can lead to injury or a lot of extra fatigue,” says Amanda Brooks, Denver-based running coach and founder of Run to the Finish. “If you’ve only missed a couple of runs, jump right back into the plan and keep moving forward, that little bit of extra rest might just make everything feel better.”
2. Not Practicing Your Goal Race Pace
“Pacing strategy is critical—it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of the race and start out too fast, resulting in a need to significantly slow down,” says Emily Booth, NASM-certified personal trainer and running coach in Denver. “You want to be running as fast, or nearly as fast, in the last kilometre as the first.” The best way to do that, she says, is to practice your pace during the training block.
Dave Berdan—two-time winner of the Baltimore Marathon, former collegiate coach, and personal coach based in Maryland—agrees and notes that doing workouts at your goal pace is especially important during the last six to eight weeks before the race.
Here’s one workout progression he recommends to help dial into your race pace:
- 7 weeks out: 8 x 1 kilometre @ 5-10 seconds faster than half marathon goal pace with 2-minute jog recovery
- 5 weeks out: 4 x 2 kilometres at @ 5-10 seconds faster than half marathon goal pace with 3-minute jog recovery
- 3 weeks out: 2 x 3 kilometres then 1 x 2 kilometres at 5-10 seconds faster than half marathon goal pace with 3-minute jog recovery
3. Not Mentally Prepping for the Race
You’re doing all the physical training to get your body ready to run 21.1 kilometres. But success on race day also depends on having the mental bandwidth to stay positive, adjust your pace, and keep going when things get tough. “Mental preparation before an event like the half marathon is extremely important, and I often suggest that the runners I coach do some visualisation practice over the final weeks leading up to the race,” says Berdan.
Here’s how: Look at a course map and Google info people have shared about the course—like elevation, sections that get narrow or crowded, etc. Then think through your entire race-day morning. “Visualize everything from showing up at the race, making your way to the starting line, starting the race, and hitting the paces you’re supposed to hit,” he says.
Don’t forget to also visualize less-than-ideal circumstances, like if you miss a water station or have to slow your pace through some uphill kilometres. Practice seeing this and telling yourself “it’s no big deal, as there are several kilometres to make it up,” says Berdan. “Practice telling yourself that you’ve put in the work and are ready!”
4. Ignoring Midrun Nutrition
The training runs leading up to a half are obviously not as long and don’t require as many calories as those if you’re training for an even longer race. But “if you plan to be taking over 90 minutes to finish the race, you need to plan what type of carbohydrates and fluids you’ll be taking and then practice this strategy in your training,” says Jeff Gaudette, owner and head coach at RunnersConnect. “While the risk of truly ‘hitting the wall’ is less during a half versus a marathon, nutrition can still play a significant role in performance.”
That’s also true, he adds, because your pace during a half will likely be faster than if you were running a marathon, which can make it harder for your body to process carbs.
“On average, most trained individuals have enough stored glycogen to get through 75 to 90 minutes of running,” says Booth. “However, considering it will take many runners longer than 90 minutes to complete a half marathon, it’s wise to consider eating some easily digestible carbohydrates, like a 100-calorie gel, 15 minutes before the race and then every 30 to 45 minutes during the event.”
To help this go smoothly come race day, Gaudette recommends making a nutrition plan and practicing it at least a few times during training.
5. Only Drinking Water
Similar to nutrition, not giving much thought to how you hydrate during longer runs is a common training mistake. Sipping only H2O may feel adequate with these distances, but reaching for a sports drink may help give you a boost.
“While we need to stay hydrated, for athletes sweating and losing sodium, there is a massive benefit to using electrolytes,” says Brooks. “They can help with preventing that feeling of sloshing in the stomach and reducing fatigue, brain fog, and even cramps.”
6. Skimping on Strength Training
“Every single runner training for a running race, regardless of distance, should be incorporating some type of strength training,” says Berdan. “It helps prevent injury and has some great hormonal effects that help with adapting to your training.”
Getting in your mileage may feel like the most important task on your to-do list, and yes, it should be your biggest fitness focus right now. But the good news is, strength training doesn’t have to be a big time-suck.
“The reason most runners don’t include strength training is that ‘it takes too much time’—but an effective strength plan can take as little as 10 to 15 minutes, three to four days per week,” says Gaudette. “Plus, it doesn’t have to be directly after your run. You can squeeze out 10 minutes after dinner or anytime in the evening if you’re strapped for time.”
Gaudette recommends focusing on moves to strengthen your core, hips, glutes, and lower legs.
7. Sweating the Small Stuff
Yes, aside from logging your kilometres, there are a lot of strategies you can add to your training plan—like massages or infrared therapy. But should you worry about those extras? Not necessarily.
“Often new runners can get really focused on the small things, like foam rolling or trying recovery boots, instead of staying consistent with the basics of getting enough sleep, fueling before runs, and hydrating all day long,” says Brooks. “It’s easy to believe outside tools will have a big impact, but it’s so minor compared to overall healthy habits.”
Instead, try thinking big picture—and come race day, remind yourself of all the kilometres you’ve logged and healthy choices you’ve made while training to make your half marathon a success.
