Half marathon with no training

Twisted ankle or twisted knee at mile 3.5, while he was ahead on time for his target, blaming the road condition and leaving with his head high because do you know how fast he would have finished without his injury 😂😂

Injury which will not require medical treatment obviously

Its actually really dangerous to drink too much water

That's the mistake beginners make, they drink way too much water during the actual races.

You don't wait until the starting line to start drinking and you don't need to down 1liter of water because you are a bit sweaty.

Im not a serious runner but DH is and based on what I’ve seen him do re training and planning ahead, I think yiur DH is delusional!

Was it a bet???? What on earth made him sign up?

This reminds me of that questionnaire where 50% of men thought they could win a fist fight with a grizzly bear. They don't live in the real world!

Please update us after the race OP

Please come back to let us know how it goes, I really want to know!!

He should definitely think about his shoes, and socks. If he has brand new running shoes he needs to practice with them beforehand. I like these socks to help prevent blisters https://www.ronhill.com/collections/hilly-twin-skin?srsltid=AfmBOorEV5vx4iv2LgLa0SeZqNqFPxxQX8E8bAJokLM4eu_lZdr7Nbs9

He’s delusional but he’ll discover that for himself!

Has he been and bought brand new running shoes for the occasion as well OP? I’d suggest stocking your cupboards with blister plasters and ice packs for the aftermath…

I have run 3 HMs. My fastest 5k is about 32 mins and my fastest HM was 2:40. I ran this aged 38 and trained for about 3 months (2-3 runs a week including one long run, and cycling). I was already running 5k 3x a week before starting training. I’m quite overweight, so didn’t have a good base fitness. But I’m concerned his 5k time suggests he doesn’t have much base fitness either.

If his ego can cope with a bit of walking he will be fine. He is very unlikely to manage sub 2 and if he did manage there would be a higher risk of injury. I’d suggest he books a day off work the day after to recover and is open minded about his time, listen to his body on the day.

I’d ditch the coffee idea and stick to water/sports drinks and jelly babies, being able to chew/not choke can be surprisingly difficult if you don’t want to stop to eat so he should practice this. He should also be finding out how his stomach will react. For 13 miles with no experience he will probably want to fuel little and fairly often. Maybe every 5km. Stomach issues are very real for runners. After my 3rd HM I stupidly drank the smoothie thing they put in the goody bag at the end. It went literally right through me and I was stuck in a portaloo for the next hour unable to leave without shitting myself.

I’d suggest he attempts a very slow (ie much slower than his dreamed off race pace) 6 mile and 10 mile run, spaced out by several days, and ideally with at least a week left before the HM day. Then I’d do a couple of gentle 5ks the week leading up to the race.

Personally I wouldn’t run a HM in August at all, the heat is a real risk. Get excellent sun cream and plan for lots of hydration. Can he run with a bladder or similar? Again, little and often. A cap or visor too.

overall I actually think it’s just really lame and arrogant to try and run a HM with literally no training. He might be fine, he might even do well. But the work of a HM or marathon is the training. It’s putting in the miles, learning how to optimise your performance. Someone said to me the race is just the victory lap and I agree. The achievement includes everything that leads up to the day.

I did a half marathon last Sunday and there were a few men like your husband. Hopefully he can finish in the time frame and doesn't end up injured like they did. Make sure he warms up his hips before he starts and all he gets is sore feet and legs. I did run past a guy last Sunday who had shooting pains up his thighs at the halfway mark. He told his mate he would rather be injured than not finish.

Just let him realise himself that he’s stupid!

It's worth checking if there is a time cut off. Road closures may end (if it's a big HM with road closures that is) and marshals will stand down.
It's likely to be a smaller HM if he managed to get a place just 2 weeks before the event.
People can still complete the event after a time cut off on the understanding there are no marshals, but (as we all keep saying)...what's the point?

he can walk it! He won’t be doing sub 2 on no training.

Footballers can run several miles during the course of one 90 minutes. Even defenders cover around 5 miles and a midfielder can cover 8 or 9. They’re doing it in short sprints, but that’s actually more challenging than a steady jog - a football match is basically a 90-minute HIIT workout.

The OP’s husband has previously struggled to jog 3 miles. He’a not as fit as a bloke in his 20s who plays football and squash and he’s not going to perform well running 13 miles. He’s going to end up walking most of it.

Heat is an issue as you can over heat and debydrate quickly, even at tempwratiess that are comfortable for walking.

Training is not just about getting faster, for distance running you need to learn how to take on water and electrolytes. I have seen experienced runners suffer badly from dehydration if it is hotter than expected or if they get their hydration wrong.

Mr Monkey ran Boston marathon a couple of years aho and it was an unseasonably warm day, more pertinently they used Gatorade which is more sugary than Europeans are used to and the on course water was in open cups, something he had not trained for.

He got round but was pretty sick (literally) at the end. Luckily I am an experienced marathon support team, so was there to meet him at the end with hydration tablets, water and salty crisps.

Normally fit people can walk a half marathon no problem, even if a bit of a boring walk, so if he gets too tired he'll just walk 😂

What's more likely to happen is injuring himself and being unable to do any running any time until he properly heal.

Might be worth booking a physio before and after.

Under 2 hours? No chance, but he can blame the wind. Saying that coffee will make him run faster is stupid, where did he get that from?

Not dying is quite a low bar if you care about someone’s welfare. Yes he’s a fool, but it’s not the worst trait to have in a partner.

The baffling question is why do it on no training? If he wants to run a half and wants a sub two hours why not enter in six months time and train for it and reduce the injury risk and learn how to fuel for it properly and how to pace it? What on earth is the point? If it’s just to say you’ve done it you may as well walk it. There is no way he will do it sub two hours. You don’t times your 5km by four - and think you’ll get faster you get SLOWER as fatigue sets in! You base a marathon pace on your half marathon time and double it and then add some time on - ie another 10 /15 mins. He’ll be lucky to do it in 2hr 30 and even then he will finish feeling broken and bloody stiff for the days that follow.

Will he finish it? Yes
Will he run the whole way? No
Will he do it in under 2 hours? Absolutely not

He’s not going to die! He’s an arrogant fool who will deserve his blisters.

I was going to ask this OP, where on earth are you that has scheduled a summer half marathon?! They are usually march /april or October time, and for a reason!

I mean frankly he just sounds like a massive dickhead doesn't he, arrogantly reckoning he can pull off a sub-2hr half with no training. What a bellend.
Former regular runner here and most women training for a first half marathon are aiming for 9.5 - 10 minute miles over the distance giving a time somewhere between 2hr 10 and 2hr 20. Blokes training for a first half are usually aiming to go under 2hrs but that is usually with 6-9 months build up increasing their distance by 10% each week and allowing for a taper towards the end.

There is a massive massive difference between running a 2hr half (and you'd not get that time if doing big stints of walking) and doing it in 3.5hrs doing loads of chunks of walking in there.

Because she cares about the great buffoon!

I would mention it’s a terrible idea to load up on coffee but otherwise let him crack on. If he’s as stubborn as you say then he’ll not listen anyway.
To put your mind at rest my 11 year old did a 10 mile walking challenge a couple of weeks ago in hot weather. I was hoping it would be cancelled but because of the early start it they got to the checkpoints on time then they would be back before the worst heat of the day.
He easily completed it at a fast walk and was one of the first teams back, I would say he has probably the typical fitness levels of a child of his age that plays a team sport.
If your DH sets off at too fast pace he will slow to a more sensible one or have to drop out, hopefully he’ll stick at a sensible jog, walk a bit if he’s struggling and be able to finish!

Why do you need to be reassured? He’s an idiot and will struggle, let it be a life lesson for him.

I did a half marathon with no training. I could run approx 5k at the time.
Honestly - the biggest part is the mental battle, I went into it with just wanting to enjoy myself and I did exactly that. When things felt hard, I slowed and walked. I think as your DH already has a steady fitness level, he’ll be fine. He may lose some toenails though.