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!

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

Ambitious is one word for it 🤣 My friend who is considered a fast runner and does marathons, ultras and 100 mile running events only just got a sub 2 hour half marathon.

30 minutes time for a 5km ..and thinks he will go FASTER in a half marathon 😅😅😅😅

I initially misunderstood this as meaning "Is it the first half of a marathon or the second half?" I understand the second half is much harder so I'd always opt for the first.

are you sure you mean electrolytes? And not energy gels? Entirely different.

The gels are a source of carbohydrates (energy) during a long race; electrolytes are usually taken after, to replenish sodium and other minerals lost when racing.

You’ve said he has general good fitness but you’ve not mentioned what kind of training he actually does do (if not for running), because that will help. In any case, he’ll be fine. If he's not going to get his sub 2 he’ll realise and slow down and he’ll be with loads of other people doing a similar pace.

yeah, the coffee thing won’t help but it probably won’t hurt either.

There's energy gels with electrolytes. I assumed that's what was meant.

I used some yesterday on a really hot, really hilly 50k

@EarringsandLipstick SIS have both
https://www.scienceinsport.com/shop-sis/go-range/go-gels/sis-go-energy-electrolyte-gels-pack

Ah thanks @Youspurnme & @WhosGotTheKeysToMyBimma I haven’t used / seen these (even tho SIS are my preferred gels)

On no training it will definitely feel like the second half of a marathon

When I was 30 I started running again after an injury. It took me 30 mins to run 5k the first week, and I found it hard.

After 6+ months of training several times a week I could run a half marathon in 2 hours 15 mins.

Your husband is delusional about running and sounds ignorant about how to fuel his body!

Rhabdomyolysis is indeed nasty, dropping dead due to a previously unknown heart abnormality is probably worse, and both are statistically possible but unlikely and can happen irrespective of training.

I've done a half with no specific training but being a regular jogger/runner and knew I had comfortably run 9/10miles before.

As long as he can walk he'll be able to get round.

I would be concerned about giving himself tendonitis though. That can be a real drag for months to get over.

Yes because all young people are naturally fit and able to run 21k. This guy can barely run 5… I know plenty of young people who struggle to walk upstairs without getting out of breath. Youth doesn’t automatically make you able to run long distances, training does.