to think I could run a half marathon in 5months time?

[SoCockneyItHurts]

Bearing in mind I'm unfit, overweight by 5 stone (but tall-ish), 44 years old and have the odd aches and pains.....oh and I couldn't run for a bus if i tried!!!

Easily.
But you’ll need to put the training in.

Not a bother. Follow one of the plans online. Good luck!

We've given ourselves 32 weeks to run a full marathon!
You can do anything you put your mind to!

Easily. But you’ll need to actually go running.

Yes but you will have to start training now.

Having just got home from running one today I'd say train hard

But the best thing to help you would be to lose some weight. I've put on 2 stone since I ran London marathon in April and really felt the extra weight today

You totally can! I went from couch to London Marathon this year in 7 months.

Can I suggest you look into something called Jeffing? This was the only thing that got me through. It's regular run/walk intervals. I do 30 seconds of each all the way through. Check out the Facebook page Girls that Jeff. Good luck!

Which one are you thinking of running op?

I did a bit of jeffing today too.

Runmummyrun on Facebook are great for motivation and advice

Yeah but you will have to train VERY hard

You probably can, but I would recommend starting with 5 and 10k runs and targeting a half marathon in about a year.

It's easy to get overexcited and do too much too soon. Your cardiovascular fitness will increase much quicker than your muscles and skeleton can adapt to the increased demand, so you're risking injuries that will stop you from running longer term.

Most online training plans also assume that you've got a good baseline level of fitness already.

Please take it from someone who always tries too ramp up much too quickly...

Don't underestimate a good 10 k by the way - it doesn't sound as impressive but building up to a decent time feels like a real achievement. For extra fun try a trail run with plenty of hills!

Do couch to 5k, bridge to 10k, then the following on one for a half.

Apologies - I had paragraphs but MN ate them.

I wouldn't personally. I only entered a half once I could comfortably run 10k in under an hour. Start with a 10k and work up to it. Good luck!

Half marathon training is not much more arduous and similar in principle to 10k training. You can easily do it in 5 months. If I were you I’d work up to 8 miles in training. The race adrenaline will get you to the end.

You'll need to start running now but yes you can do it...

Start off with couch to 5k, aim to do that in 8/9 weeks, then you still have 3 months to extend your mileage ...

After 8 weeks you'll be at 3 miles 3 x per week. Extend one out of 3 runs by 1/2 mile each week and you'll be at 9 ish... then on the day, plan to run with walking breaks so say run 2.5 walk .5 x 4 then run the final 1.1 miles....

It will be tough but you can do it...

If you've got the time to train then yes you could do it. I went from not running at all to HM in 5 months, but I was able to run every other day. Now I can't get out more than twice some weeks it's taken me 8 months to get back to 10k after stopping running to have my second child - it's much harder to get fit when you can't train as much.

For my first HM, I used a 12wk plan that picked up from 5k. C25k is 9 wks/ 2m, so combined that would be about 5 months.

It is doable but will need a commitment to running about 3 times a week and a bit of strength/ cross training as well as rest. Long runs peak at about 2 hours, for a newbie that's typically about 10 miles, that's once per week with the other runs being shorter.

A lower impact approach is to "Jeff" where you maintain a run/ walk approach throughout.

Run Mummy Run is a great support with a diverse range of experience.

Thank you all! Well I'm a bit apprehensive now that I'm biting off more than I can chew. I just told my husband and he almost died laughing! It's the Vitality Big Half i think its called....in London. I'd be running for a small charity very close to my heart. I've just emailed the charity but now I'm scared! I don't want to let anyone down

Definitely possible. Even if you do a very gentle training programme (which I think you should) with solely the aim of getting round, you'll amaze yourself with how much your body can do.

You'll need :

A training programme. The GreatRun website has loads. Don't panic if you miss a single run, but consistency really is the name of the game for getting comfortable with running. It's much more important that you go for a run at all, than that you cover a particular speed or distance, iyswim. On a beginners programme the first few runs will be things like Monday, 5 mins, jog. Wednesday, 10 mins, jog/walk. All the little runs add up.

Trainers that fit well - it is essential that there is enough room in the toes, or your toenails will go black from repeatedly pushing against the front of your shoe. This is not usually painful, but it's not pretty either. Often this means getting a half- or full-size up from your usual. Also have a look at the bottom of a pair of shoes you wear frequently now. Is the wear on the tread more down the outside or inside edge of the foot? (outside edge = supination, inside edge = pronation. This affects what kind of shoes will suit you best) Get advice in a proper running shop.

Anti-blister socks. Worth the £8 many times over.

Sports bra. Berlei Shock Absorber Level 4 run bra is popular, and it is possible to buy extremely similar items from the far east from a well known Internet auction site for a third of the price.

If there's anywhere near you where you can run on grass or sand, do it. Increase mileage very gradually.

Be mindful of your personal safety - bear in mind when/where you are running, consider whether a hi-vis vest may be a good idea, ditto wearing headphones.

The runner's high is a real thing. Ime it kicks in after about 27 minutes, and is addictive.

Enjoy.

Also time wise it's very doable I think. I only work part time (18 hours) and have just one child at home. I can walk to work and back which would be 20 mins each way 3 times a week so that would be a start?

Definitely. You'll be fine. People run (boom boom) into difficulty when they leave it too late and do fewer, harder runs. Start now with little and often so your body has time to adjust.

You absolutely can. I did. Start with C25k and build onwards from that. There are many half plans that start from 5k.

If you can afford to enter some 10ks along the way then do so as it's gets you use to race environments and race routines.

Good luck, making the decision to start is often the biggest hurdle 🤞

Good luck!! An amazing challenge!
The extra weight is hard, you’re more liable to get injuries so make sure you only increase distance by 10% each week and don’t go crazy. (I get to 5k and can’t be bothered to lug my extra 5 stone around).

I think you are pushing it. I went from couch to half marathon in 9 months. I was about 5 years younger than you, 3 stone overweight, and I did already have some baseline fitness - On my first run, I actually jogged about half a mile non-stop. I also has a personal trainer/sports injury specialist to advise me.

Having said all that, I did do my first half in 2hrs 2 min - so quite fast!

As others have said, start with a couch to 5k programme.