Are you training for your first ever half marathon? Perhaps you’re chasing your final PB of the season at Ahotu Silverstone Run Fest. Whatever your goal, here’s everything you need to know about training for a half marathon.

There’s several things to consider when training for a half marathon. You’ll need to focus on speed work, long runs, cross training, and mileage, as well as recovery and nutrition. Luckily, Runna is here to guide you–follow the tips below for a successful race day!

P.S. If you’re looking for more in-depth guidance, then the Runna app is your one-stop shop for personalised training guidance. Enjoy a 2 week free trial with the code “SILVERSTONERUNFEST” and get started today.

Speed work

Ultimately, if you want to run faster, you need to start practising running at faster speeds. To do this you need to do two particular types of training sessions: Tempo and Interval sessions.

An Interval session is typically where you run faster than you can run continuously for, with true rest periods (walking!) in between. This forces your body to adapt to running at these faster speeds and as a result, the pace you can run continuously for will increase proportionally.

As well as running faster for short periods of time, you should aim to build up your tolerance for running at a faster pace for a longer period of time. This is where Tempo sessions come in. Here you'll run at slightly faster speeds, but for longer and with jogging between sections.

Long runs

With a goal like a half marathon, it’s crucial to build up your endurance with long runs alongside all that speed work.

Using a combination of different session structures, you will familiarise your body with running for longer periods, gradually working up to around 75-80% of the half marathon distance. As well as being able to get round the course, you need to be able to do so looking strong! To achieve this, it's also important to include some faster efforts in your long runs.

These long distances are also going to translate improvements back to your shorter, faster runs too. By building up your body's endurance to run longer at slower speeds, it'll help build your overall fitness (aerobic base).

That means that you'll be able to complete a few more reps of your future speed sessions, or endure a slightly faster pace for longer on your 5K runs. All of which helps to make you a better runner!

Easy runs

Easy runs are often the most neglected part of runners' training regimes!

Running slowly when you're aiming to run faster feels counter-intuitive, but it's for a good reason. Running fast is very fatiguing on your body, with heightened injury risk and longer recovery times.

There is no set pace for easy runs, but the slower the better! By spending most of your runs at a slow and easy pace, it means you can still build your leg strength and endurance but stay fresher for your quality speed sessions. Like they say, it's quality over quantity.

A popular rule to bear in mind is the 80/20 rule; you should be looking to spend 80% of your time doing easy running and only 20% of your time training at or above threshold pace.

Cross training

Incorporating cross-training within your running plans will not only help you to optimise your training, but can also reduce your injury risk. For runners, cross-training options can include cycling, elliptical, rowing or swimming, but we would advise you to do what you enjoy the most.

It will add variety to your routine when you are running fit and healthy, but it will also make it a lot easier to adapt if you are injured. Set yourself goals and challenges whilst you can’t run–you will enjoy it a lot more!

Mileage

Your weekly mileage is another important area to consider while training towards your 10K.

First of all, you should start with a mileage that you know your body can tolerate; do not jump in all guns blazing! Start with a volume that works for YOU; this is key to reducing your risk of injury. Also, look to avoid significantly increasing the number of runs per week than you are used to.

As you build up your mileage over time, you should look to never exceed a weekly increase of more than 10% (e.g., if you can comfortably run 40km per week, next week run no more than 44 km).

Additionally, while you should look to increase your mileage over time, you should also add in deload weeks. A deload week is where you'll drop your weekly mileage every 3-5 weeks to allow your body to recover from, and adapt to, all of your recent training. This will reduce your injury risk and help you to feel both physically and mentally fresher with your training moving forwards.

Recovery

To help your body adapt to the hard training and to avoid injuries, there are some essentials that you should be doing on the recovery side of things too.

Firstly, sleep. Aim for a consistent 8 hours of sleep every night. Secondly, whether it's Pilates, yoga or simply stretching, you should look to do at least some mobility work each week.

Other ways to optimise your recovery include sports massages or even using at-home massage tools such as massage guns or a foam roller. Listen to your body throughout your training and be prepared to take an extra day of rest or move sessions around within a week if you find that you need a little extra recovery.

Nutrition

To get faster and stronger at your 10K, not only do you need to nail your training sessions–you also need to make sure you’re fuelling your recovery and making health-conscious nutrition choices.

To help optimise your recovery, look to keep your protein high and take on plenty of carbs before your tougher sessions. If you're looking to really push the pace or distance, don't be afraid to experiment with caffeine.

Shoes

Your shoes are going to be a huge part of your training and investing in a good pair will help protect your body from the impact of the ground. We recommend going to a shoe shop that specialises in running shoes and has a treadmill in-store so that you can test a few different pairs.

If you're looking to shave a few seconds off your half marathon time, you could even look to invest in a light, carbon-assisted pair of shoes!

Accountability

Perhaps one of the hardest parts of training is being consistent and holding yourself accountable.

Try to start off by developing a routine around your running and get used to getting out the door three, four or more times per week. You can even look to put your running sessions in your calendar or diary to help integrate them into your day-to-day. We'd also suggest tracking your progress as you go and using this as a tool to look back on how far you've come and motivate yourself to lace up for those harder sessions.

Look to make your training social, from telling your close friends your goals, to joining a community of runners either online or in your local area, to organising a run with people that you know. Additionally, what better way to hold yourself accountable than signing up to an event, knowing you have a deadline when you can put all of your hard work into practice?

Pacing

Follow a plan!

Finally, maybe the best thing you can do to level up your running is follow a plan! A good plan will take care of everything that we've mentioned in this article, from setting out all of the sessions for you, automatically adjusting your mileage, incorporating deloads to balancing the right types of running for your ability. Having a plan will also help hugely with accountability and mean that you can focus purely on your running game!

Whether you have signed up for an upcoming race or are just hoping to build a good base level of fitness, Runna has several training plans to suit you. Check out their personalised training plans and enjoy 2 weeks free with the discount code “SILVERSTONERUNFEST.”

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How to train for a half marathon