Half the distance, twice the fun: Half-marathons taking off

It's been a long process to convince runners that racing 13.1 miles isn't actually half of anything. Perhaps it's that awkward name, half-marathon, which has somehow made the event seem less important.

But given the recent boom in half-marathon running, it's clear that more and more runners are targeting the distance, either as a stand-alone challenge or a stepping stone to a full marathon. According to a survey by running industry publication Race Results Weekly, participation in half-marathons in the United States grew by 15% last year, more than a third faster than the growth in all road running distances combined. Out of 200 well-established events surveyed, four of the top-10 in percentage growth were half-marathons, including the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Half-Marathon, which grew a whopping 132%, the most of any event in the survey.

"The half-marathon is a great distance to race in a build-up for a marathon," says New Zealand Olympian Kim Smith who finished her first marathon at last Sunday's Virgin London Marathon in a new national record of 2:25:21. "You can gauge where you are in your training and you can recover quickly afterward so it won't disrupt training."

It's the accessibility, utility and fun of the half-marathon distance which appears to be driving the growth. Both a means and an end, the distance happily co-exists with the marathon, more often at the same events. In fact, in multi-race festivals where runners are offered the choice between full and half-marathons, the halves are generally much more popular, the Race Results Weekly survey showed. For instance, at last year's Country Music Marathon and Half-Marathon in Nashville, Tenn., the half-marathon had 22,749 finishers, five times the number in the marathon. It was the same story at the Surf City USA Marathon and Half-Marathon in Huntington Beach, Calif. The half-marathon had 10,743 finishers while the full marathon had just 2,508.

So what does it take to get ready for a half-marathon? While dedicated training is still required, the build-up isn't as arduous as getting ready for a full marathon, and runners aren't left nearly as sore and tired when the race is over. Experienced coaches say that the leap from a 10-K to a half-marathon isn't really that large with a few tweaks in training.

"As a general rule I do not advise athletes to take on a half-marathon race --unless of course the goal is simply to finish-- until they have run a 12-week cycle of training in which the average weekly mileage is 23 to 24 miles a week," advises Pete Rea, the coach of ZAP Fitness in Blowing Rock, N.C., an in-residence training program for both elite and recreational runners. "It is also important for the beginning runner to consider taking six to eight months prior to this 12-week period simply to establish a baseline of fitness with easy running starting with just a mile or two every other day," Rea continues. "Athletes can build from there with minimal risk of injury."

For Katie McGregor, the 2005 U.S. 10,000m champion, moving up to the half-marathon meant carrying forward her best 10-K training, upping her mileage a little and, most importantly, increasing the length and intensity of her longest runs.

"Running the 10-K requires high mileage and long interval training already, so overall training is not effected too much stepping up to the half-marathon," McGregor explains. "It is important to get some hard long runs in before running a half-marathon. I would do a 15 mile run including a two to three mile warm-up and cool-down."

Coach Rea agrees that the long run is key. "For a beginning runner start with longer runs of four to five miles and over the course of 12 to 14 weeks build up to a 10 to 12-mile long run every third week. For experienced runners try to get in a longer run once every ten days that is roughly 12 to 15 miles."

What often sinks first time half-marathoners, or those who are using the distance in their marathon build-ups, is going at the wrong pace. Half-marathons will feel a little slow for those used to running 10-K's, but Coach Rea says runners don't have to drastically cut back their pace if they are truly racing the distance, especially if they have more experience in shorter races.

"Well-trained athletes should be able to run a half-marathon race roughly 10 to 15 seconds per mile slower than their 10-K race at similar fitness," Rea intones. "For less experienced athletes with fewer years of training and fewer miles under their belts, the differential is likely to be greater. Generally speaking athletes with years of consistent training (particularly critical work running sustained at or slightly slower than anaerobic threshold) can run closer to their 10-K race pace in a half-marathon than less-experienced runners."

For athletes targeting a marathon, the half-marathon can be a valuable tool for assessing marathon fitness. When running a half-marathon during marathon training, most top athletes will not back off their mileage. Instead, they "train through" the race, which means not attacking the distance, but rather running at a controlled pace, similar to their target marathon pace. This helps runners of all abilities establish a feel for the correct pace and build confidence for when they step to the starting line of the marathon.

Kim Smith followed this approach as she prepared for London, but with a twist. Two months before the London race she attacked the course at the Rock 'n' Roll Mardi Gras Half-Marathon in New Orleans, setting a New Zealand record of 1:07:55. But one month before London, she chose a smaller half-marathon in New Bedford, Mass., where she would feel less competitive pressure, could run closer to her marathon pace, and enjoy the camaraderie of running with others. She clocked 1:10:53, nearly the identical time she would pass through the halfway point in London.

"You will get an idea of what goal marathon pace to aim for," Smith reasons. "I ran two half-marathons in preparation for the London Marathon. The first I did two months out. I really wanted to race hard and see what I could run for the distance to see how fit I was. This gave me a lot of confidence in my training. The second I did a month out as a marathon workout at close to marathon pace. Sometimes long marathon workouts can be mentally hard on you, so hopping in a half-marathon is a great way to have company for those difficult workouts."

But even with a well-designed training program, getting an injury sometimes dictates that a long-planned race should be scrapped. For the half-marathon or a marathon, this can be a particularly difficult decision since so much time has gone into training. This happened to Jessica Minty, one of Coach Rea's athletes, who had run two successful half-marathons this year leading up to what was to be her marathon debut in Boston. She raced the U.S. Half-Marathon Championships in Houston in January in a personal best 1:14:28, then used the NYC Half-Marathon on March 21 as her controlled effort before Boston, finishing in 1:16:20.

"Three weeks before race day I developed an acute injury that would ultimately keep me from the starting line," Minty laments. "When the injury occurred, I was in such good shape that I initially decided to continue with my training for the marathon. I replaced my runs with up to four hours a day in the pool with the hope of maintaining my fitness."

But the injury to her foot, didn't heal fast enough and Minty, in consultation with Coach Rea, decided to pull the plug on Boston. It wasn't an easy decision.

"I struggled emotionally with trying to stay focused although not even being able to walk," she continues. "Only when I decided that I would not contest the marathon was I able to accept my situation and move on. While I had prepared so long for this one event, I needed to understand that there would be more opportunities to race."