How to improve your half marathon time?

Finishing a half marathon is a great achievement. Improving your half marathon time for those who have already run one or more is even more difficult. It requires careful preparation in the hope of reaching the daily time goal on D-Day and leaving with a personal best.

Here are some tips to help you maximize your chances:

1. Choose the right race

It seems obvious, but choosing the right race with the right course (rather flat and rolling) and the right time of year (neither too hot nor too cold) is already a key piece of the puzzle. Perhaps also a small or medium-sized half-marathon in terms of the number of participants to avoid jostling at the start or at the refreshment points and overly dense pelotons. Avoiding a course with a lot of elevation and/or a lot of tight turns and a high density of participants is already the assurance of being able to run your stride without too much difficulty or hitch.

2. Train for at least 3 months

It is normally possible for a well-trained runner to reduce the specific training period for a half-marathon to 8 or 10 weeks. To achieve a personal record, however, it is advisable to extend this specific training period to at least 12 weeks, or even a little more. This gives more time to build up strength and leaves a little margin to manage some unforeseen events (very difficult weather or a particularly busy professional schedule over one or two weeks).

3. Train 4 times a week, focusing on speed sessions and long runs

To set a personal record over the distance, there is of course only one way (it's the harsh law of the clock): you will have to run faster than your best performance so far in a half-marathon and run faster over this distance, which means managing to maintain a higher pace and above all not falter or drop your pace in the last third or quarter of the race. To do this, you need to work on your speed AND your endurance. Preferably train 4 times a week, this allows you to alternate recovery sessions, speed interval sessions, long outings and a fast tempo or hill session. Interval sessions focus on speed and long outings on endurance. Hill sessions strengthen your power. Hill and interval sessions are tough, but that's the price you pay to improve your speed and power. Be sure to recover well after each of them with a day of rest or light stretching planned for the next day. Long outings are at a more moderate pace but they are… long. They are essential to accustom the body to prolonged effort. Be careful to increase the duration of these long outings very gradually.

4. Eat and hydrate properly

It is not possible to be in top shape over 21.1 kilometers of racing without taking care of your nutrition and especially your hydration. You have to train yourself to hydrate (and eat) very regularly during all the sessions, especially during the long runs. And no testing of new drinks or new bars or new gels on the day. Everything must be tested during the training sessions, never during the race to avoid any unpleasant surprises.

5. Follow a precise and progressive pace plan on the day

Let's take the example of two goals: one of 1h45 and the other of 2h to set a personal record in a half marathon, which means that you have to run on average at a pace of 4 min 48 or 5 min 40 per km respectively. You will do all your training with one of these two goals (assuming that it is realistic in relation to your current abilities). The idea for defining the ideal pace plan is to divide the half marathon into 4 sections of approximately 5 km. The last section will actually be 6.1 km if you follow the ideal trajectory, which is never really the case, you often risk running a little more than 21.1 km. For the example, let's stick to a target pace of 4 min 48 min or 5 min 40 per km.

On the first section, try to run about 10 seconds slower, i.e. 4:58 or 5:50. It is not easy at all with the adrenaline at the start of the race to start a little more 'slowly'. On the second portion from the ^5th to the ^10th km, you can speed up a little to reach your target pace or cruising pace of 4:48 or 5:40 per km. After the halfway point on the third 5 km section, you still maintain your cruising pace at 4:48 or 5:40 per km. Towards the middle or end of this section, you should start to see runners slowing down around you. These may be those who started too fast on the first half. If all goes well until the ^15th kilometer, you stay on plan A to go for your record. If it starts to get tough, you might want to consider falling back on plan B (for example 1:50 or 2:05), or plan C if it's really not your day. If all goes well, the personal record will be decided over the last 6 kilometers. Try to accelerate your pace by 10 to 15 seconds per kilometer on this last section, i.e. 4:23-28 or 5:25-30 from the kilometer to the twentieth kilometer. It's not going to be a walk in the park, but you'll make up the seconds from the first 5 kilometers and potentially gain a few more. And over the last kilometer or two, give it your all or whatever you have left to maybe gain a few more seconds. And if all goes well until the end, a time just under 1:45 or 2 hours should be in the bag.

6. Be patient and persistent

Getting a personal record at any level requires regular training and well-executed race tactics. However, it is never easy to get all the parameters right on the day. The weather can be unpredictable, you may have had a particularly tough week or two at work just before the event or a small physical discomfort that prevents you from being at your best on race day. Whatever the reason, try to remain philosophical and patient. I once missed a marathon goal by a minute. It was frustrating, but I felt like I had given it my all that day, that I had fought over the last 5 kilometers to get that time. But that day, it didn't work out by a minute. About 6 months later, I tried the same time again in another marathon and it worked out with only about thirty seconds ahead of the target time. It sometimes comes down to very little. Patience and persistence often pay off in the end.

Whatever the outcome of the half marathon you have chosen for your personal record attempt, a big congratulations already for the efforts made and for this desire to surpass yourself. It is a great example of a positive attitude and motivation. And if the record is at the end of the finish line on this half marathon or the next one, congratulations! You can really raise your arms and be proud of this result!