To train for a half marathon in 16 weeks?

I misread the OP and thought it said marathon not half marathon, sorry!
I do think a half is achievable if you have a basic level of fitness, follow a good training plan and aren't bothered about your time. Good luck!

You'll be fine.

I went from 0 running to running half marathon distance in that time and i wasn't even following a training plan.

Find a training plan - i see the likes of Hal Higdon's half marathon training plan is 12 weeks. In the meantime build up your cardio base and do some strength training.

Look into 'jeffing' too.

Good Luck!

If you haven't run don't go from nothing to loads of running in a short period or you will be injured and need to stop it all. If you don't have great fitness then maybe do a couple of swimming sessions a week to build up whilst protecting your legs. If you have got decent fitness maybe see if you can shorten C25k, I'd also recomend parkruns, you can walk or run or a bit of both (see comment above on Jeffing) I find parkrun very supportive, it's free, you're timed and you will see your times come down every week. In fact register now and find your nearest and go at 9am tomorrow. In the past I did that most weeks then I found the step up to a half marathon pretty easy as I'd add in a handful of long runs. You won't break any records training over such a short period, but you can do more than enough to get around, especially if you're a bit fit to start with.

Do check you are allowed to change bibs, it's often against the Ts&Cs and can invalidate insurance.

Wow. Depends on your fitness level really but you’ll get round. It took me several years to get up the half marathon distance.
I wish you the best of luck!

Honestly it depends on your existing fitness level... if you are a relatively active person and a healthy ish weight yes fine. If you're 25 stone and never move then no you'll just hurt yourself!

Plenty of time! Look up ‘jeffing’, it’s a really good run/walk method. Good luck!

16 weeks is probably not enough to get a good time. But that’s not the Ops objective. She wants to get round the course in honour of her late father and to support a very worthwhile charity.

She could probably walk 13 miles tomorrow. So she will be able to do much better than that in 16 weeks if she follows a training programme exactly.

By 13 or 14 weeks she will have done several long runs of around 13 miles and she will know the correct pace for her. She will then do the first half of the race at that pace or slower. Ideally slower.

Then she will know for sure that she can do the second half and can cross that finish line, by jogging or walking if necessary.

See - it’s not so hard. As long as you do the training, draw up a race plan and follow up, you will be fine.

The people who are not fine are the blokes who assume they are fit because they play 5 a side once a week, do no training , go out too fast and fall apart at 10 miles.

The Op is smart enough to ask for advice and take it 😁

Yes, just follow a proper disciplined plan a don't over do it. I got my place about this time (charity place) and was fine for the April London marathon, plus I'd not long quit smoking. I have always had a knee issue ever since though which is because I think I did too much in the final month.

Good luck and enjoy it!

I just signed up to couch to 5k with my local running club. It's over a 7 weeks period and that brings me up to the first 5k race at the end of February. It's all new to me, I had my first session on Thursday and my next one tomorrow. Well done on signing up 😀 maybe look in your area for couch to 5k programme for moral support. Well done on taking the first step!

Try and get to your local parkrun tomorrow morning.

Yes. Download a training programme from Runners World and follow it as closely as you can. Make sure you stretch after your runs.

I did 0 to full marathon in the same time, but i was late 20's and quite active. Training 4 days a week.

If you are reasonably fit, 16 weeks is long enough to train for a half marathon. 3 runs a week?

Definitely doable but will be more comfortable if you have a base level of fitness.

Do you regularly exercise?

What is your fitness level now? Do you run at all? I'm going to be one of the pessimistic voices on here I'm afraid, if you don't at all atm!

I'm sure you can do it OP. Mottiv has some good free running plans. My advice, do not skip the weekly long,slow run, nor the strength training session. This is to avoid injury -my priority at 41!

You might be a complete beginner but are you fit and active? Do you walk a fair bit and do any other sports/activities? I'd say it's perfectly doable - just don't overdo it and stick to a plan. If you just aim to complete it you can walk lots of it.

I did it in 9 weeks. DH is an ultra runner (50-100 miles) and said 9wk was nowhere near enough for a half. Was tough but I did it. Never ran again though 😂

Yes you can, just find a good plan for a total beginner and follow it religiously. It will have some non running days with strength training or non running cardio like swimming, it’s important that you do these too.

Don’t increase your milage any more than is in the plan, or you will get injured and lose more time.

Sleep a lot, Eat Properly and don’t expect to lose weight .

I did it on a 12 week plan, but I was in my 20s. Agree with other advice, find a plan and stick to it and get good shoes. If all else fails, you can run a mile, walk a mile - it might be slow but you can do it 💪

@couch2wtf youre welcome! I’m the kid who never did PE but have now run over 29 marathons. Be warned- it’s quite addictive this running lark!

there might be local running clubs who’d welcome newbies in January if that would be helpful?

What is your level of fitness now?

I trained for a half marathon in about that time and it was enough but I was quite fit when I started. I didn't run but I did other fitness classes so I could run a few miles the first time I tried. You should start slow and make sure to warm up and cool down to avoid injury.