Howdy, Stranger!
Categories
Options
half marathon time
Hi
I have just finished my first half marathon in 1:51 is this a decent time? I am 43
Thanks for answers
I have just finished my first half marathon in 1:51 is this a decent time? I am 43
Thanks for answers
The materials in this website are in no way intended to replace the professional medical care, advice, diagnosis or treatment of a doctor, qualified personal trainer, therapist, dietitian or nutritionist Runners's World, Part of the Hearst UK well-being network © Copyright 2017
Comments
You don't say whether you are male or female - but I'd guess male. Men! If they're not worrying about size, they're worrying about times
Any finish time for a first half is a decent time! You got out there and did it.
Well done!
According to the people who make performance comparisons so one old git can check against another slightly less old git (WAVA age grade ranking tables), you scored 56.3%.
Which would indicate you are a fairly new runner and not a highly trained competitive athlete.
I'm not being 'superior', I'm just trying to give you something a bit more objective than 'not bad', which wityout context, is a bit meaningless really. You'd probably beat 3/4 of the blokes in the pub, but you wouldn't likely beat any club runners around the same age. Buit it sounds like you are competitive, so why not try and beat yourself. Come back in a year and see how minutes you can knock off that time.
If you were dedicated, I reckon you could take 15mins off.
As it's your first, it is your best (and also your worst)
Do you think you can do better?
As a performance against the man on the street, it is good, against a seasoned club runner, not as good.
Where do you think you ought to come? Top half? Top 25%?
What is decent is very subjective.
I think Tricky Dicky underestimates things a bit - I very much doubt 25% of the blokes in the pub could run a half in under 1:51.
My half time went from 1.33 in September to 1.24 this February after joining my local club. Similar age to you.
This weekend, I am running a major city marathon and stand an even chance of a top 150 place (theories are great aren't they, just got to bl**dy do it now!!). My point is, if you want it enough and are prepared to learn what you are doing and don't suffer from too many distractions, you can take huge steps forward.
Beating blokes in a pub in a race is not much of a sign of accomplishment. But taking 15 mins off your time, by hauling back club runners, well that's pretty darn satisfying stuff. And that's all possible within one year. What if you were to set yourself some mid term goals... What could I achieve in 3 years from now? Many people who do this feel like they've turned their lives upside down and feel transformed by it. I just want to encourage you to imagine what you'd like to be known as in future and maybe you stand a chance of making it possible?
As a beginner i think it is always good when doing a half marathon, when you complete it, sit around for a while at the finishing line, and see the others you came ahead of. You might be surprised. When i did Brighton half, i saw people who i swore were going to beat me big time but they didnt.
My PB for a half is 1.34.07. I am 39. Eventually i will max out, but for now i am making slow improvement. Well considering my first half 16 months ago when i did it in 1.43.27, but that was hilly in places.
I really liked in the Bristol Half where it turns round at about half-way and you come back on the other side of the road. Apart from the bonus of being able to see some really good runners, it does mean you realise there are plenty of people behind you, whereas normally you only see people stretching out ahead.
Thanks Tricky, good advice there. I started doing sprint triathlon last year (5k) is the run distace, Took me a while to get up to that as I'd never run before. I am doing an iron distance for charity this year so am trying to increase my distance and run off the bike. I must admit I'd not really trained for the half marathon but covering all three disciplines fairly equally (I am a strong swimmer, so tend to be building on that and trying to make small improvements in the other areas). I enjoy running the most now, so may want to concentrate on that more in the future.
Good luck with your marathon too!
I heard from different places that StevieG ran the HM the first time but rode a bike the second time. 23 mins off - simples!
Chris, sounds like you are well on your way to setting up some serious goals. I've avoided doing triathlons because I believed they were a serious dilution of focus. This is a personal point of view, not a judgement I make about triathlons in general. I just felt I could really improve by sticking at one discipline, whereas the constant switching between three fairly technical areas could result in being consistently average (maybe that's half the fun of the challenge!).
I now run 30 mile weeks, have got my PB for a 5K down from 23m to 19m 19s, train at 7 m/m and have lost 2 stone
I also train by myself so treat anything and everything as possible and you will see huge gains in a short time
2nd Half on Sunday at Alloa which I hope to run a 1h 30m PB
Tricky- yes I agree with your comments about tri. i think I will perhaps stick more to running after my iron distance.
Stevie- is it just a matter of pushing myself or getting a decent running programme or book? Great to know you have done this on your own, brill achievement!
Stick to your strenghts, keep focused on what you want out of it and train hard but most of all, enjoy it
Right! Just done my second in 1:40, so bettered it by 11 minutes!
Excellent Chris, well done. I did my first half aged 40 in 2:09 and earlier this year aged 49 ran 1:24, so be assured you can go even faster