Silverstone Half Marathon/General Running Advice

Hi,

I'm fairly new to running and am looking for some advice please

I'm a 34 year old male and have been running for around 8 months

I've entered the Silverstone Half Marathon this March (2012) as something to focus on. I've never entered an event before and don't know any other runners to get help from, so any hints, tips or advice anyone can offer would be much appreciated

I guess I would be classed as a beginner. I currently run 3 or 4 times a week at varying distances: 3.5 miles, 6 miles and have just started doing a longer 9 mile run. Times are around 3.5 miles = 28 minutes, 6 miles = 48 minutes and 9 miles = 75 minutes

Things in particular:

What overall time should I be aiming for?

What times should I be looking to hit different mile marks at?

Any advice for the day itself, ie when and what to eat (race is at 12 noon)? What to do to prepare? stretches? What to wear? What time to arrive? etc etc

Any equipment/clothing (at the moment I run in regular canvas running shoes, a long sleeve top, thermal top, regular sports shorts and a beanie type hat and gloves) recommendations? Is it advisable to use a pedometer type device, to measure times/distances/pace etc?

Any training advice? How many days before the event should my last run be? How many miles should I be aiming for in training?

Do the majority of people raise money for a charity at these events?

Any general running advice?

Or anything that anyone thinks may help my first half marathon and running in general to be a good experience

Many thanks in advance

Jamie

Jamie, make sure you allow plenty of time to get into the circuit as the queues get quite long and depending on which car park you park in then its a good walk to the start.  Silverstone is very exposed so take that into account when sorting your run kit out.

Are you following a schedule for the run?  If not then there's some at the top of the page under the training tab.

Just don't try anything new on the day, stick to what you know re your breakfast/food etc

Jaime, I done the Silverstone Half last year, it was also my first 'proper' race, as before that I had just spent years running round parks and beaches. However, to answer your questions:-


"Any equipment/clothing (at the moment I run in regular canvas running shoes, a long sleeve top, thermal top, regular sports shorts and a beanie type hat and gloves) recommendations? Is it advisable to use a pedometer type device, to measure times/distances/pace etc?"

Get yourself off to a running shop and get fitted out with some proper running shoes before you get injured! Depending on the temperature (last year was about 10c) I would wear a t-shirt (not cotton) and shorts (ditto). They will have pace setters there so no need for a Garmin, just stick yourself close to one at the start (can't miss em, they hold up boards with 7min, 8min, 9min etc etc, and the time relates to per mile), this will allow you to maintain a steady pace.

"Any training advice? How many days before the event should my last run be? How many miles should I be aiming for in training?" I'm not the best qualified to answer, but I'm aiming at running 13miles 2 weeks before, and then easing down with maybe a 9miler the week before, and a few 4 milers during the week leading up to it, just to keep things ticking over.

"Do the majority of people raise money for a charity at these events?"

Not sure, I didn't, might do this year.

"Any general running advice?"

Get there early otherwise you can miss the start (I did) due to the traffic, and then spend the rest of the race threading through the field wasting energy (as opposed to running at a comfortable pace). The last 2 miles is a killer as its going the wrong way up hanger straight, at the top (becketts) there were a couple of casualty's getting first aid, so even though you're close to home, make sure you have a bit left for that final climb!

Good luck

Murdoch

You need a schedule to give your training a bit of structure. There are loads of plans about, but I've always liked the ones from Hal Higdon whose marathon and half marathon plans have always been massively popular - perhaps because he keeps it simple.

www.halhigdon.com

The ones here on RW are worth a look too.

As for general advice, there is a hige stock of running literature out there, much of it aimed at beginners. If I had to choose only one book in the sort of 'manual' category I'd probably go for the Bob Glover book called "The Runner's Handbook". Go to Amazon now and order it!

Other than that, you could do worse than to dip into the tons of articles on here, and on the web in general (try About.com).

Good luck.