Half marathon with no training

[sunallsummer]

Probably a stupid question sorry but I’m not a runner so have no idea!

DH impulsively signed up to do a half marathon in 2 weeks and has done zero training for it. He’s slim and has normal fitness I would say but definitely not a runner and previously did a 5km and completed it but struggled

I know it’s his choice and he’s an adult to it’s up to him, but I’m just a bit worried about the idea of him running 21km with little to no training. I’m just not sure if I’m just being overly anxious but it seems so far to my non runner brain! Having said that, I know people do 10km without any real training and it’s fine, has anyone ever done a half marathon without any training and did it go ok?!

My concern is when he puts his mind to something he can be very stubborn and competitive so I think when the run starts he’ll actually go much faster than he should and it’s not like he’ll accept he’s not trained and take it at a slower pace. His plan was to drink a few coffee and get some pre workout for it and frankly I’m worried he ends up unwell after it

If anyone who knows anything about running can put my mind at rest and reassure me that I’m being silly and dramatic and he’ll be fine (other than a normal amount of tiredness afterwards) I’d really appreciate it!

So a person wants to do a half marathon may quit before he starts may attempt it an complete it or may just run bits and walk other bits

Why ia it any of it and issue for anyone other than the person doing it?

Any other information you'd like to drip feed to nudge people to your way of thinking?

Anyway, is it naive to run a 20k with no training? Yes. Will he do it relatively easily with minimal risk to his health? Also yes.

He's going to struggle I suspect especially in this heat.

It’s a stupidly thing to do and he will find it hard and will likely need to walk a lot

Crazy thing to do.

Anyone sane would be training and building up to this kind of distance over months not just throwing himself in at the deep end.

highly likely to end up injuring himself.

Doesn’t sound like he’s the kind of man that can be reasoned with though so I’d stay well out of it and let him crack on but I certainly wouldn’t be running around after him if the inevitable happens and he gets hurt.

Lol, please do tell us how he gets on.

He'll probably get round but will have a fairly unpleasant 2 hours. As others have said traing in running is not just about fitness but learning pacing, hydrstion and nutrotion( the coffee idea is terrible).

Mr Monkey regularly does 1hour 25 min half marathons sometimes with no extra training BUT he runs at least two marathons a year and as a bare minimum runs two 5k races a week (parkrun and his evening runclub) and at least one 20k run a month.

He will do it.
He will injure himself.
Lesson possibly learned.

My concern is when he puts his mind to something he can be very stubborn and competitive so I think when the run starts he’ll actually go much faster than he should

I'm sure he will, at the beginning, but his body won't let him sustain that and it will just cause him to be much slower later in the event. Stubborn over-exertion is more of a danger in a short race like a 5k, because your mind does have the power to sustain it for the whole distance.

How old is he? If very young (say early-to-mid 20s or less) he might be able to complete it in a respectable way, just from the unearned privilege of youth.

Otherwise, I think that the likelihood is that he will complete it very slowly and have muscular pains from hell that kick in 48 hours afterwards.

I can understand having the chutzpah to say 'yeah, half marathon with no training, fine', but the sub 2-hour goal feels a bit cocky, and if he fails, the failure will do him good.

The coffee thing is daft and bodes ill for his success/enjoyment on the day.

Hahaha. I did once. I had been a runner in the past but had done no running for about a year. I never completed sub 2 in any of my half marathon so that was never a goal but I did it. Flipping hurt the next day tho.

A couple of bizarrely hostile posts on this thread. Why shouldn't the OP be concerned about her partner's health, and why the nasty remarks about 'drip feeding', just on the basis of one extra detail?

Two weeks to go with only a sub-optimum 5k before? No running base? Good time to start the #brainytapir 😎

Coffee and pre-workout is a good recipe for shitting himself.

It's unlikely he'll die, but sounds like a good recipe for a few hours of suffering. Please let us know how he gets on.

It’s a stupid idea and he probably won’t finish. Or will end up having to walk most of it.

However, he’s unlikely to do himself any real harm beyond sore legs and a bruised ego.

Coffee is a bizarre idea. That’s not going to help unless his goal is to shit himself and/or have to keep stopping for a wee.

Ex competitive runner here. He will not do it in 2 hours without training. He will very likely injure himself. It’s not really fair on the people volunteering to do first aid because he will very likely need it. Ideally he should walk and jog and even then he will probably be very sore and possibly pick up an injury.

Runners are a funny bunch! I imagine he’s got the 2 hours from multiplying his 5k time by 4, not taking into account any other factors. Do let us know how it goes.

I’ve done a few half-marathons, a couple of them with minimal training and the others with some training but not as much as you’re supposed to do. I came in at about 2hr 30 each time. I was in my 20s and 30s at the time and was regularly running at least 5ks. There’s no way I could do it now (early 40s).

As well as the fitness aspect, there’s also all the other stuff that kicks in at that kind of distance: blisters, chasing, lost toenails. If he hasn’t had much chance to practice in his running gear and make any adjustments he needs to mitigate those things then it’s going to be a rough week afterwards.

If he had a good level of fitness, had been running a bit/can run at a good pace and did a slow trott/walked when needed he'd likely get round unscathed. If he doesn't do much running and goes for 2hrs he'll feel like shit and possibly injure himself.

Im basing this on the half marathons I've run and trained for!

I woke up one day and decided to do a half marathon. It was fine. Took a few hours, my legs the next day were destroyed but we are designed (health issues aside) to move.

How old is he and is he reasonably active? Agree with others that unless he's generally quite unfit or older, getting round shouldn't be an issue but sub 2 hours is pretty unlikely.

Dh is doing 15 k in two week. He goes to gym 4x a week is very strong/ fit. He has trained over last few months with two runs a week starting at 5k and building up he’s just done 13k so is confident for 15k by race day. People can obviously do long distance with little training but not well and he will hurt his body for it.
He sounds arrogant.

Buy in some ibuprofen and deep heat...

He'll probably get around.
I've ended up doing 2½ hour HMs with last minute injuries (torn muscle-didn't know what it was at the time, trapped nerve and tendonitis) so while I was trained, I did have to abort plan A times and do run/ walk strategies. Mental grit will get you a long way.

The sub-2hrs is very unlikely, and aiming for a time like that rather than just completing is more likely to make him burn out.

Coffee is literally a shit idea for an untrained newbie. He needs something plain and carby like porridge. Many novice HMers struggle with churning their digestive systems around even with training and practising fuelling and it takes plenty of time for the body to adjust, often a few training blocks.

He sounds like the type to give it a blast and be determined to learn the hard way on some rough headlines of information, but you might get most foothold of influence on the nutrition side of it, and that makes a huge difference in not bonking out at mile 11.

Please update us on how it went... 😁

He's likely to find that it hurts more and takes longer than he thinks it will, but it's highly likely that a reasonably fit young man can haul himself round half marathon distance without specific training. However long it takes, in a few years' time he'll be going, "Oh, I once did a half marathon, I didn't need to train for it, I didn't bother timing it but I think it took me just over an hour."

On the other hand, I'm an experienced runner and have found myself spending most of the last couple of miles of a 1:45-ish half marathon chatting with a young lad doing his first half marathon "for a bet" wearing cargo shorts and leather boots and with his race number pinned to his back. He took off ahead with half a mile to go and had put two or three minutes between us by the finish.

OP, I'd advise letting him get on with it and giving him as much support as is practical for you.

Firstly, he's got two weeks so he can get in a few runs, but he shouldn't start serious training now - it's too late and will just exhaust him. Secondly, he should hydrate and fuel properly for the 48 hours before the race - two litres of water per day minimum and a big bowl of something carby the night before. And thirdly, he should accept right now that he needs to run/walk. If it's hilly, he should run the flats (at whatever pace he can manage) and walk up the hills (that's what ultra marathoners do). Fourthly, he should accept every bottle of water that is offered to him on the course and tip it over his head if he's not thirsty or feels uncomfortably hot. And finally, if he feels faint, dizzy or unwell he should stop and ask a marshal for help.

I ran a half with very minimal training after I caught Covid in the middle of my training. I managed to run the whole distance, but I'm a regular runner and the time wasn't impressive - I just wanted to get round. I felt bloody awful afterwards too. You can do a 5k with no training if you're reasonably young and fit, 10k is pushing it - that's a decent run - and a half? I wouldn't ever recommend that someone runs a half without training.

A half marathon is pretty challenging with training but is going to be an unpleasant experience for someone who has never run more than 5k and thinks coffee will get him round under 2 hours.

I expect the wheels will come off around 10k and he will be walking/jogging it in with a few blisters and sore legs.

Do let us know how he gets on!

I think he will be fine. he backs himself, that's the main thing. I know someone that did a marathon with no training in under 3 hrs. They were a PT so pretty fit.