Half Marathons Help You Hone Your Marathon Pacing

Half-marathons (13.1 miles) are a great way to help you get a sense of what your marathon pace may be. If you are really pushing yourself in a half marathon you will probably be running faster than you would for a full marathon. But if you run a half marathon at a pace that is slightly faster than your usual pace for long, slow distance runs (too fast to talk easily, but not so fast that you are exhausted), you will develop a sense of how it feels to maintain a consistent, but slightly faster pace for 13.1 miles. Ideally, when you finish a half marathon that you are using as a training run, you should feel like you could run the course again at a similar pace and feel tired but not completely wiped out.