Half-Marathon vs. Marathon – Which is for you?
For some people, the full Marathon (42.2km / 26.2 miles) is simply too taxing on the body and too time-consuming. You need months of training, spending hundreds of hours to make yourself marathon ready, and for many, it robs the fun from the run. For the half marathon, however, you can train for a great race with a schedule that looks like a hobby (or, if you’re already running regularly, once that won’t completely reduce your free time). It’s also a great step to take on the path of chasing the full marathon finish down the road, with many runners doing a half marathon as marathon training early in their schedules. So if the half-marathon is more your thing, we’ve gathered a sure-fire way to have you not only survive your first half-marathon, but to thrive.
The Gear
Your perfect half marathon training shoe
As you’ll be covering a lot of ground getting race ready, it’s likely you will go through at least two pairs of shoes getting you to the start line. As most half and full marathons are road races, it’s best to train on man-made surfaces and with shoes that do best (and that last) on that terrain. With the first training shoe you choose, support and stability are often things most runners setting out to do a race like this find they need, as the quantity of running tends to fatigue most feet. See our guide on finding the perfect road running shoes to help you find the pair best for you.
Your perfect half marathon race shoe (there’s a difference)
When you’re a few weeks out from go time, many runners opt to buy a final “new” pair of running shoes that they’ll wear on the day. Though professionals wear these straight out of the box on race day, DO NOT do this with your first half marathon. We’ve seen it happen and no matter how much you’re familiar with the shoe, a new pair always creates race day problems. Instead, get your race-day shoes ready at least a week out so you can wear them in readiness for the race, yet still have them feeling new enough. By the time you’re choosing your race day shoe, you’ll know better how you’re feeling for it, and what shoe you might need, such as one with extra , support cushioning, more speed and so on.