Hi runners.

Anybody who has participated in half marathon previously please suggest ways to prepare for 21kms. Atleast last 1 weeks routine before the race. I have run 7kms twice last 2 yrs.

I usually run for only 10 minutes daily on a treadmill.

Also as I have seen myself that most of the people start walking out of exhaustion halfway through in 7kms as people do not prepare for marathon (or perhaps they participate only to support the spirit of the marathon). Does that happen in 21 kms as well or runners are serious about it.

Please reply

dude 21km would be a real tough task....i doubt if there gonna be much participant in 21km...

Saurabh,

I have participated in 21 kms since it started for the first time.. Was out of practice since a long time. If you have participated in 7 kms twice then u can run in 21 kms.. If u ask for tip then a decent one would be to leave your treadmill. You cannot match treadmill with the real hard road which will be used for marathonon race day. If anything can match wid marathon day is a real ground. Try to find one in your area and start practicing for the final day. You have to make sure that you atleast practice for 5 kms on the ground in the final week.Aslo if you dont find ground and use the park nearby then avoid the cemented track coz it is hard and will cause problems, you might end up with knee joint giving you horrible pain. Also on the last day dont get over excited by looking the kenyan players and dont match wid them. These guys are professional and you will fell exhausted if you even try to match pace with them for 1 kms. and you might not finish the race. For diet preference ask the experts.

If you are running half marathon u should start practising in advance atleast 3 weeks if you are already running 7K. There are various schedules available on net. I took up from 7K to 21K in a month last time and finished the race but as Faizan told you cannot train on Treadmill for that.

For last week do around 18-19K once but not certainly on the last 2-3 days before the race.

Dear Runner,

Frankly speaking running on treadmill,that too only for 10 minutes,will leave you nowhere.I mean it takes couple of months serious planned preparation for half marathon and also full one.

I took part in half marathon twice and believe me last 2-3 kms are really test of ones endurance,preservance and how much one can push beyond limits.

So,if you have only practised on treadmill and that too for 10 minutes,its my frank advice to stick to 7 kms run(and try to complete it).

For future preparation for half and ull marathon ,you can log on to runningandliving.com website,this site is really helpful,they themselves organises half and full marathon,next one is on Dec 6,at Gurgaon.

I just hope you donot feel offended as i just tried to tell you real picture as its a long arduous journey,though i have run 2 half marathons and that too within 2 hours ,i am yet to make myself mentally ready for full marathon.Its a challenge which nobody gives to you but you yourself,once you achieved it you will feel elated,its like feeling Heaven on the Earth.

Regards

Amit