26.2 vs. 13.1: 13.1 Reasons to run a half-marathon

Posted June 4, 2007 at 05:35 PM by Bridget Sullivan

Section: Her Fitness, Training Programs, Her Motivation

Let’s get this one simple fact straight:  you do not have to run a marathon to be considered a “real runner.” Anyone who pounds their feet on the pavement in repetitious monotony, automatically knows how many miles are in a 5K, and doesn’t laugh when someone bellows out the word “fartlek,” is a REAL runner. 

But since the running boom officially “boomed” a second time with Oprah’s 26.2 feat in 1994, not to mention her triumphal landing on the cover of Runner’s World magazine, more and more runners continue to spin their feet at the distance.  Dubbed “everyman’s Everest’ by former professional runner and current Runner’s World executive editor, Amby Burfoot, the marathon of the twenty-first century attracts everyone from the taut and toned twenty-year-olds to the Ben & Jerry fifty-year-olds.  Gone are the days of the first boom where everyone ran hard, everyone ran more than 70 miles per week, and almost everyone belonged to the same gender.

According to a recent article in the New York Times, 410,000 runners hit the finish line last year, as opposed to 277,000 in 1994.  And there are no signs of slowing down: the Chicago Marathon shut down registration for its famously flat October race earlier than ever before.

But why the sudden rush to the summit when there are at least 13.1 reasons to run a half before you land on top of the world? 

The marathon’s oft-neglected baby sister, the half-marathon, deserves some recognition.  Aside from the fact that is a great dress rehearsal before the big dance, it is a fun distance to train for. 

13.1 reasons why you should run a half-marathon before you run a marathon:

1. It’s still half of a marathon! 2. It generally costs less to enter than the marathon. 3. You don’t have to trash your entire weekend because you “have to” run a 20 miler the next morning. 4. There is less risk for injury. 5. You can race a half one day and still walk the next! 6. If you don’t like your time, you don’t have to wait 3-4 months to run another half. 7. Speaking of recovery, your recovery time from the half is much faster than from the marathon. 8. You get a taste of what the full marathon might feel like (just double the pain). 9. You don’t have to run 20 miles; 10-15 mile long runs should do the trick. 10. You shouldn’t be hitting any walls. 11. I’ve never head of post-half-marathon depression, but I have heard of post-marathon blues. 12. You don’t set yourself up for an anti-climactic finish. 13.1 Because every runner should at least run a half before tackling the full distance.

For an extensive schedule of half marathons, click here.