Half marathon with no training

Statistically the occurrance of deaths is 1:620,000 finishers (half the rate of marathons) so to have experienced a couple is deeply unlucky. As you say the greatest cause is heart issues, either congenital in the u40s (in which case being at an event with avaliable trained staff and equipment to hand is not the worst situation to discover this) or heart disease in older men.

OP's husband is probably less likely to endanger his heart by being untrained in that his untrained muscular-skeletal system is more likely slow him down before his cardio system is compromised. He's not used to pushing himself hard in discomfort and red-lining what his body can do so is most likely to back down to a walk when things get sore and uncomfortable. or shit himself if he continues with the coffee and preworkout mix plan

He's a fool, but he's most likely to limp home with blistered feet, pulled muscles and wince at the sight of the stairs for the next 5 days. Tbh if he ends up with a more lasting physical injury, it doesn't sound like it would cramp his fitness routines!

I've seen people bonking out on summer HMs on hot days, so being well hydrated in advance, sipping around the course and replacing salts is important, but it tends to result in no lasting harm and events are usually prepared with support around 10-11 miles when the risk of this stage is elevated.
At the other end of the scale, I have assisted a runner struggling with hypothermia at mile 12 during a winter event at 1⁰C when she slowed to a somewhat oblivious walk. I grabbed her hand, dragged her with me and gave her my spare sugary drink and kept her with me until we reached the crowds at mile 13 where there were others around and she just needed to get around the corner.

I’ve ran various distances and a half isn’t to be taken lightly, yes he can walk it but that’s going to take a while and there may be a cut off time, so if he isn’t at certain points at a certain time he gets picked up h the sweeper bus.

Nothing to say he can’t give it a go of course, but under 2 hours with no training and fuelling on lots of coffee is rather naive
As pp have said lots of coffee and running will mean he’ll be running to the toilet way quicker than the finish line!

Maybe he’ll run walk it, maybe he’ll be fine, but it’s not something I’d do without training first, unless I planned to walk a lot and wasn’t bothered about that or a finish time

if you are crashing anyway, you might as well give it a go to be fair 😂

If he's lucky he'll finish within the cut-off, but it will hurt.

If he is unlucky, he'll injure himself. Under 2 hours with no training is absolutely not happening.

I injured my IT band doing 20 miles in one go. I was fit at the time doing regular 5ks and other types of exercise but got caught up in excitement of friends doing this big run and went along. I managed the first half well and should have stopped there. I was in severe pain by the end and it took about 3 months and physio after to even be able to run my normal 5ks without pain! He needs to think about is it worth it risking injury, which is quite a high possibility if he’s not running those distances regularly.

I do agree on that. and as a PT he was training all the time. I say PT, he was actually paid by the council to run sport for all sessions, where I was an attendee. he took someone elses place, which is a big no no nowadays, but this would have been late 80s.

Actually I’d forgotten this but I ran a half marathon last October and a man did actually collapse and die towards the end (I ran past him as he was being stretchered off). He was obviously in good shape as he was ahead of me and i finished sub 2h. I mean I know this is unlikely to happen to your DH and it will probably just be a funny story but a half marathon is no joke.
If he’s going to use electrolyte gels he needs to start practicing now. I used SIS and I kept them in the freezer. That way they’re defrosted but not hot by the time you need them.

Ditto recently, something like 60% think they could land a plane in an emergency.

What type of exercise does your DH do at the moment? Is there anything that involves running / cardio / requires stamina?

Yeah.....coffee has never really had a bad affect on my guts.
The only time I get tummy trouble is when it's really hot and I guess I'm dehydrated. That said, I think it's more common to be affected than not, so it's not worth the risk.

let's not get carried away.

Yes, people die running marathons, sadly, but as you said, some are very fit and trained for them anyway, so being prepared or not makes no difference when there are hidden medical condition. The medical condition is still there anyway.

I actually know one, who died early 20s, I am not laughing.

But on the other hand, 13 miles is a big chunk that he's unlikely to actually run anyway, but it's not the desert Marathon either. Normally fit adults can manage that distance. There will be no time achievement, he will need a few weeks to recover properly but why over-reacting.

I used to run marathons and always had a couple of strong coffees before. We’re all different.

I’m a long time lurker on here and this thread has annoyed me so much I’ve had to post for the first time. I can’t believe how irresponsible all the posters are saying that your DH will be fine. I’ve run many half marathons and I’ve been unfortunate enough to witness a couple of deaths. It’s not a laughing matter and people can die when doing long distance running. One of the poor guys was a PE teacher in his 20s who had an undiagnosed heart defect. Your husband is an idiot and I only hope that the worst that happens to him is wounded pride, but he really should not be doing this half marathon under these circumstances.

Sub 3 on no training is exceptional IMO.
Agree to disagree though.

100% sure, but it was a long time ago before running was mainstream

I don't think it's that exceptional for a young man (my guy would have been mid 20s). Qualified for London is now 2.50 and thousands make that

He won’t finish.

Don’t nag him, don’t tell him to carry hydration or look up fuelling.

But draw a line in the sand - you won’t be helping him when he hurts himself or ends up with heat stroke.

I know people are saying what is the worst that can happen but having recently completed a half on a fairly hot day, there were quite a few people collapsed on the side of the road being helped by first aiders and in a couple of cases ambulances. I am sure he can do it if he has a reasonable level of fitness but I would really urge him to pace himself, make sure he keeps hydrated and absolutely no to coffee.

I signed up for a 10 mile run when the most I had ever run was about 5 miles. I managed. The adrenaline on the day spurs you on and lots of people walk for periods of a long run anyway

i have however signed up for a half marathon and I have 12 weeks of training ahead of me. Will I be fully ready? Probably not. Will I have to walk for periods of it? Probably yes.

I will however say from experience, whatever he does, do not allow him to have one of the gels before the run in an effort to boost energy 💩

Doing a half marathon in the heat of summer with no training fuelled by coffee to get a faster time is madness. During a local half marathon in May there were more people collapsed along the final stretch than there were first aiders to look after them. If your DH is reasonably fit and takes his time he should be fine, but running full pelt on no training is irresponsible.

How old is he? I have run a few half marathons. They are quite hard work. It is possible for someone without training to finish one and I have often seen this. However, they struggle and will walk a lot of the way. My slight concern is the weather. If in two weeks it gets really hot again and he has had no training and runs in the heat I would be a little bit worried.

He will be fine. He will either run/walk his way through it or tap out. I think someone who can't run a 5km comfortably isn't really fit at all. It may even humble him a little?

It is thought this is part of the reason women have lower DNF rates in ultramarathons. Men tend to over estimate their abilities.

@ThisSereneGoose absolutely right, which it is why it is important to practice hydration in training.

Sounds entirely plausible, and on no training may even be true 😄

Pre and during race nutrition is often different for different people and you usually have a period of weeks to see what works best.

Another pp runner here says she would eat eggs for breakfast for example, that doesnt work for me at all and I normally have cornflakes and milk. Other friends run fasted, some cant deal with milk, and have a bagel. All of us are seasoned runners but have found out by trial and error what works...and more critically what doesnt!!

Similarly I would take a gel at around 8 miles during a half marathon....but i had to try several brands before I found what is palatable for me. Other people dont use gels. If its going to be hot, water will be the most important thing and there will be water stations along the course. But hydrate well the day before as well

Some people can run a half marathon with no training.

Most can't.

It's not going to kill him to try.