Rowina’s top tips for running a half marathon

I’ve never considered myself much of a runner – I’d always run a little bit, but nothing more than few kilometres here and there. In a moment of madness I signed up for the 2023 Great Ocean Road Half Marathon, and started to prepare step up the running and somehow run 23kms up some nasty hills.

I’ve now run my first half marathon – and I loved it! Here are some tips I learnt along the way that helped me get through (and even enjoy!) my training and the run – I might even do another one!

Tips for the Training Period:

Be Realistic

Set an achievable goal and don’t be afraid to change it if you need to. If your training isn’t quite going to plan, you’ve been injured, or just aren’t progressing like you thought, then it’s OK to reassess your targets. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you can’t meet your original goal and don’t push yourself too hard trying to.

Get Great Shoes Early On

Before you start increasing any running load, make sure you have shoes that are perfect for running and for your foot. I’d recommend getting a gait analysis and proper sizing done before committing to any pair (ask your Osteo if you need a recommendation). New runners take time to wear in, so you should do most of your training in the shoes you’re going to run the event in. If you’re doing a lot of running, your shoes should be replaced ideally every 6-10 months.

What I did: Before I started training I bought 2 pairs of runners, and wore them interchangeably to make sure I didn’t wear one pair out too much.

Invest in a Smart Watch and/or Training Plan

If you have the funds, investing in a smart watch is a huge help for tracking your runs, your heart rate, and to track your improvement. A lot of them come with training plans included too but there is also a lot of great free training plans online, such as the Runners World or Marathon Handbook websites. Remember that if you’re struggling – you don’t have to follow the plan to the letter. Adjust it to your needs.

What I did: At the beginning of my training, I bought a Garmin Venu 2s, which has the included Garmin Coach that made up a training plan for me tailored to my current fitness levels and adjusted as I went.  

Be Mindful that Training Takes Up Time

This was the biggest shock for me, after about 10 weeks of training, I was running for 4-5 hours a week, plus stretching and all the extra hair washing  - that’s a decent chunk out of the week! You also might find you can’t stop talking about running because it’s all you’re doing – so warn your family and friends!

Keep Variation in Your Training

If you’re just doing long, slow runs all the time – it gets boring! Try to do a mixture of speed, short, and long runs, and even some gym or pilates sessions to break things up and to improve your overall performance - but don’t smash yourself too hard in a gym session if you have a run the next day!

What I did:  3 runs during the week, with a mixture of sprints, fast shorter runs, and easy runs, and did a long run on the weekend. I also tried to do a relaxed weights session at the gym every week.   

Increase Your Running GRADUALLY

You don’t need to be running 15-20km long runs when you’re still months out from the event. Start small, and build up your long runs and pace from week to week to avoid overtraining or injury. The goal is to do your longest run only 2-3 weeks before the race. 

Don’t Run Too Far Too Soon

You don’t need to be running more than the event distance during training - in fact, it might be worse for you! The furthest run I did was 20km 2 weeks out from the event, but even only running 18km in your training for a half marathon is enough. On race day adrenaline will get you the rest of the way!

Don’t Go Too Fast on Your Long Runs at First

The key to building up your kilometres is to get your legs used to running the distance first before trying to make it faster. Just focus on getting comfortable with running for a long time, before you start to go faster as well. Save your fast pace for your shorter runs and you can start to increase pace slowly on longer runs once you’re more  used to the distance.

Listen To Your Body

Sometimes, runs just feel terrible and that’s ok! If you’re feeling flat, tired, or unwell, it’s OK to reduce the distance or intensity of a run, or even skip a run all together! Don’t beat yourself up for not feeling good, there are so many factors that determine how we feel on runs and sometimes it doesn’t work out. Let your body rest ready to smash the next one!

Fuel Your Body

Fueling your body with protein, carbs and lots of water will go a long way in making sure you can keep running well. Once you start running longer than an hour, it’s important to also have some glucose running gels every 30-45 minutes on long runs so your body doesn’t go into ‘glycogen depletion’ - where your muscles can’t get the fuel they need. My personal favourite are the Endura gels in flavours raspberry and vanilla.

Look After Your Body Before it Gets Injured

Yes – that means stretch!! You should be warming up and cooling down thoroughly with every run, and stretching every day to make sure your body can cope with all the extra work. If you’re lost on what stretches to do, there’s heaps of great resources online, or ask your Osteo! I also found getting regular Osteo treatment throughout my training was so helpful to resolve aches and pains and keep niggles from developing into anything more sinister.

Be Prepared for Possible Chafing And Blisters

These are sad truths of distance running – but you can be as prepared as possible. Make friends with Vaseline for chafing, and if you notice any sore spots that might turn into a blister, tape them up on your runs to stop them getting worse. I use Fixomull tape on blister hot spots. If you notice any areas are consistently getting blisters, I recommend seeing a podiatrist to assess you to see why some areas have more pressure on them.

Have a Deload Week or Two

It’s important within your training to have one or two weeks where your running load is less (eg. Fewer runs, less distance or lower intensity) to give your body a bit of a rest – it’s a long few months of training if you’re training as hard as you can every week.

Taper your training

In the 1-2 weeks leading up to the race, your runs should be decreasing in length, and in the 4-5 days before the event your runs should be no more than 5km. You want to be fresh for the big day.

Stay Motivated:

This can be a struggle, especially when you’ve committed to a long training period. Some ways to stay more motivated include training with a friend or running group, using your event to raise money for a good cause, and having motivational music or podcasts to listen to while you run.

In the days before the race:

Make Sure You Know What You’re Running in

Your event shoes, clothes, and any accessories should all be things you have done long runs in before and you know they’re comfortable – don’t go buying anything new for the race!

Trial Your Drinks and Food in Training

Make sure everything you eat and drink before and during the event (eg. Gels) are things you’ve tried with other long runs, so you know how you’ll feel for the race and don’t have anything that might upset your stomach – it’s not the time for any experimenting!

Hydrate all week!

You need to be drinking 2-3 litres of water every day in the week/ days before the race.

Get your playlists ready

If you’re someone who enjoys running with music or podcasts, make sure your playlists are planned and ready to go. I made sure my playlist had my most motivating songs on towards the end so they came on when I needed them the most!

Plan your meals before the race

There’s lots of different advice on what you should eat pre race, but as a general rule; eat healthy and balanced meal with some extra carbs, and avoiding anything too high in fat or fibre is the way to go.

I made sure to eat a decent breakfast about 2-3hrs before the race started, to have plenty of time to digest. Then having a banana or sports drink at the starting line will help boost your energy. My meal the night before was lasagna and salad, plus a hydralyte. My breakfast before the race was baked beans on toast – (although this might not be to everyone’s tastes!)

Get a good night’s sleep

This is the most important! Often races start early, and you have to be at the starting line even earlier than that, so try to get to sleep early before the big day.

During the run:

Have fun!!

Enjoy the amazing experience - have faith in your body and your training that you have done for this event.

Above all else, be proud of yourself – you’ve accomplished something incredible!  

Good luck to all my future runners! These tips can be applied to getting into running ANY distance – so go for it! Before starting any drastic exercise changes, I do recommend ALWAYS seeing your GP first, or a qualified health professional who can steer you in the right direction.

Rowina Mellen - BFO Osteopath

We are all so proud and impressed by the way our Osteo Rowina went about preparing and running her first half Marathon - we had to share her personal tips with you.

Enjoy and good luck!