First Half Marathon Tips: Race Week, the Night Before and Race Day

The best first half marathon tips come down to five rules. Trust the taper and rest in race week. Change nothing on race day: same shoes, socks, outfit, breakfast and gels you used on your long runs. Eat a familiar, carb-rich dinner that doesn't stuff you and a breakfast 2 to 3 hours before the start. Start slower than feels necessary, and walk through aid stations if that helps you drink. And fuel with the gel you practiced with. The rest of this page explains each rule, with the published plan and sports-medicine sources behind it.

These tips assume you've followed a 12-week plan like Hal Higdon's Novice 1, which Higdon designed for beginning runners preparing for their first 13.1-mile race. Its long run peaks at 10 miles in week 11, so race day is the first time you'll run the full distance. That's by design, and it's normal. If you're still weeks out, start with our half marathon gear checklist so everything on race day has already been tested.

Race-week tips: trust the taper

In Novice 1, race week is deliberately light: a 4-mile run on Tuesday, 3 miles of running or cross-training on Wednesday, 2 miles on Thursday, then rest on Friday and Saturday before the Sunday race. That's 6 to 9 miles of running in the six days before the half (our arithmetic), against 20 to 23 the week before. Higdon's plan notes explain why: "Rest is as important a part of your training as the runs," and after the long runs peak, you taper briefly before jumping to 13.1.

The temptation in race week is to squeeze in one more long run to feel ready. Don't. The fitness is already built, and the plan's rest days are part of it. Use the spare time for logistics instead:

• Read the race's course map: where the aid stations are, what they serve and where the start corrals are.
• Plan how you'll get to the start and how early you need to leave.
• Check the forecast and pick your outfit from clothes you've already run long in.
• Carbohydrates: Geisinger's sports medicine guidance suggests that about a week before the race you begin eating more complex carbs than you were previously.

The night-before half marathon checklist

Dinner. Geisinger's advice for the night before is a carbohydrate-rich meal with moderate protein and healthy fats, and to take it easy: overeating can cause stomach pains and slow you down. Pick a meal you've eaten before a long run, not a new restaurant.

Lay everything out. Then go to bed without having to think about it in the morning:

• Bib attached to your race belt or top (four pins, or a race number belt)
• The shoes and socks you did your long runs in
• Your tested outfit, chosen for the forecast, plus an old layer for the start
• Gels: the brand and flavor you trained with, and one extra
• Anti-chafe balm, to apply before you leave
• Watch charged; phone charged if you're carrying one
• Your usual pre-long-run breakfast, ready to go
• An alarm that leaves 2 to 3 hours between breakfast and the start

A race number belt solves two small problems at once: no pinholes in your top, and somewhere to carry gels. If your feet tend to blister on long runs, race in the socks that have already been through a 10-miler with you.

Race morning

Eat early. Geisinger recommends eating 2 to 3 hours before the race starts so your body has time to digest, and for early races, a light snack about an hour before the start instead. It also warns that race morning is not the time for unfamiliar foods, high-fiber foods or slow-to-digest proteins like eggs.

Dress for the middle of the race, not the start. Nike's running guide suggests dressing as if it's 10 to 20°F warmer than the temperature outside. Wear an old top in the corral and leave it behind when you start.

Top up just before the gun. GU suggests taking a gel about five minutes before your activity to top off your energy stores, with a few sips of water, so only do it if you've tried that routine on a long run.

Pacing your first half marathon

Your long runs were run at a conversational pace; Higdon's Novice 1 notes say that if you can't hold a conversation, you're running too fast. Race day is the one day you'll run faster than that, over a longer distance than you've ever covered. That's why the most useful pacing tip for a first half is to start slower than you think you need to, and save any speeding up for the second half.

Use your tune-up races. Novice 1 suggests a 5K at the end of week 6 and a 10K at the end of week 9. Higdon's Novice 2 notes explain that racing during training helps you gauge your fitness and predict how fast you might run your goal race using prediction charts. For scale, Higdon's own example: a 2:00 half marathon means averaging 9:09 per mile.

Walking is allowed. Higdon writes in Novice 1 that you should feel free to walk during your training runs any time you feel tired, and in Novice 2 he calls walking a perfectly acceptable strategy for finishing a half marathon. His specific suggestion is to walk through aid stations: you drink more easily walking than running, and you're less likely to collide with other runners who slow down there.

A simple three-part race plan

1. Miles 1-3: settle in. Adrenaline and a crowded start make everyone go out too fast. Aim to feel almost too easy, close to your long-run effort.
2. Miles 4-10: run your rehearsed race. This is the distance you know from your long runs. Take gels on the schedule you practiced, walk through aid stations if that's your plan, and keep the effort steady rather than the pace.
3. Miles 10-13.1: new territory. Everything past 10 miles is longer than you've run. If you've paced the first part well, this is where you can press. Higdon's advice for long runs in Novice 2 applies here too: if you paced yourself properly, pick up the pace and finish strong.

First-half mistakes to avoid

• Running a long run, a hard workout or a new cross-training class in race week.
• Racing in new shoes, a new top or new socks because they came in the race bag.
• Trying the gel handed out on the course when you trained with a different one.
• Chasing someone else's pace in the first mile.

Fuel and water on the course

Gels. GU's guidance for efforts of one to two hours is one gel every 20-30 minutes, always with a few sips of water. Geisinger agrees that small, simple carbohydrates like gels can help you maintain your energy to finish strong. How many you need depends on your finish time, which is why the plan should be rehearsed on your 8-, 9- and 10-mile long runs rather than guessed on the day.

Water. Geisinger's advice is to drink along the route at about the same rate you did in training and to try to avoid drinking too much. The American College of Sports Medicine notes that sweat rates vary a lot between people and suggests weighing yourself before and after exercise to estimate yours. If the course aid stations are far apart or the day is hot, carrying a small bottle may make sense; our gear checklist covers the options.

Blisters and chafing

The American Academy of Dermatology's blister tips read like a race-day checklist: nylon or moisture-wicking socks, properly fitting shoes, moisture-wicking and loose-fitting clothes rather than cotton, and powder or petroleum jelly on problem areas to reduce friction. The AAD also advises stopping your activity if you feel pain or discomfort, or if your skin turns red. For more, see how to prevent blisters when running.

Race in the shoes you trained in. A half marathon is no place to break in new shoes. If your current pair is near the end of its life, replace it early enough to do several runs and a long run in the new one; our when to replace running shoes guide explains the signs. Still choosing a pair for the next block? Our pick list for this level is the best half marathon shoes for beginners.

After the finish

Keep moving for a few minutes, drink, eat something and change into dry clothes. Then enjoy it: Higdon describes crossing the finish line as giving you a feeling of great accomplishment. He also frames the half as a good starting point if your long-range goal is 26.2 miles. If that's you, our marathon hub covers the shoes and gear for the next level, and half marathon training mileage shows how your weekly miles compare with what a marathon plan asks.