I attempted to beat my runner friend's half marathon record.

I’m not a fan of running. So naturally, a running challenge made sense. 

The furthest I’ve ever ran was 5k at some point last year. This year I’ve probably ran a total of 5 times. The last time was interval sprints on the treadmill almost three months ago.

So as you can tell, I was well prepared for a half marathon.

What is a half marathon?

A half marathon is 13.1 miles or 21 kilometres. 

For beginner runners, completing a half marathon in under 3 hours is considered good. For intermediate runners, the goal is to break the 2-hour mark. 

Well, that’s what I gathered from my limited research anyway. 

I didn’t think of it as a big deal. 

All you’re doing is putting one foot in front of the other slightly faster than you usually do. 

A friend of mine had prepared for and ran an official half marathon before. So I gave him a quick call.

Goal Setting

I let him know I planned on running a half marathon the following day and asked about his experience.  

He said he spent 3 months in preparation and it took him roughly 3 hours. 

He advised me to take glucose and water on the run and invest in a pair of well-fitted running shoes, all of which I chose to ignore.

Fully aware of my inexperience and general dislike of long-distance running, he said it’d take me 5 hours. 

That sounded silly to me, so I set out to beat his 3-hour record. 

Lowkey though, I was hoping to complete the run within 2 hours.

Preparation

I lied. I did do some preparation for the half marathon. 

That week, I decreased the weights slightly on my leg day. 

But I couldn’t help it, I still took every set to failure. 

So decreasing my working set weights was essentially pointless. 

If anything, it only made the fatigue worse. 

The Morning of The Run

I planned to start the run at 1 pm.

I woke up, skipped my morning walk that day, and had my usual 100 grams of oats before getting some work done.

At around noon, I grabbed some headphones, powered up my old smartwatch, and grabbed some “running” shoes that my brother did the gardening in a couple of days before. 

After picking up a couple of snacks, I set off to my starting point. 

The Beginning

I live in the North West of England, not far from Blackpool, so I decided to run along the coastline as I knew it was fairly flat. 

I’d start at Fairhaven, run to the North Pier in Blackpool, and then run back to Fairhaven. Totalling the 13.1 miles. 

I asked ChatGPT what pace is required to complete the run within 3 hours.

It said either 13 minutes and 44 seconds per mile or 8 minutes and 31 seconds per kilometre. 

With that in mind, I briefly stretched, because that’s what I’ve seen runners do, set my watch to 13.1 miles, and set off. 

The First Mile  

I hate to admit it, but instantly, I thought this may have been a mistake.

I had doubts flowing through my head and thought about doing a 10k instead. 

I started breathing faster and my chest felt heavy. 

I was wondering if this was even worth it. 

It wasn’t even an official half marathon, I was just doing it to prove a point.

I finished that first mile at a pace of 9 minutes and 30 seconds. 

Unsure if that was in kilometres or miles, I assumed the worst. 

I wasn’t going to complete the half marathon in 3 hours. 

Miles Two to Four

After that first mile, I remembered who I was. 

I said I’d complete a half-marathon that day, so that’s what I was going to do.

If it took me longer than 3 hours, then so be it. 

I kept checking my watch, and at the end of every mile, it told me my pace. 

9 minutes and 30 seconds.

I thought about running faster but there’d be no point. 

I knew maintaining a faster pace wouldn’t have been feasible.

At the 3-mile mark, my knees started to hurt. 

But I’d entered that mindset I get into and I wasn’t about to slow down now.

That though, was speaking too soon.

Mile Five 

At this point, I was in Blackpool. 

The accurate way to describe it is a shithole (you’ll soon find that to be ironic).

I had maintained my pace of 9 minutes and 30 seconds and felt good.

I wasn’t out of breath and I had no cramps.

Doing some mental maths, I assumed I had been running for around 1 and a half hours, but it didn’t feel like it.

And then I checked the time. 

It had only been 50 minutes. 

That’s when I realised, if I pushed a little harder, I could complete this half marathon in under 2 hours.

Mile Six 

The day before I told my brother I’d be running a half marathon. 

In that conversation, he said, “What if you get halfway and you need a shit?”.

I just laughed. But it turned out to be true.

Despite not wanting to, I had to slow down to a walk.

The nearest public toilet was 18 minutes away. That wasn’t happening. 

So I ducked into a cafe that I was passing by.

Annoyed at wasting time, I carried on my run to North Pier.

But runners trot wasn’t done with me yet. 

I got to North Pier, turned back on myself, and dipped into a hotel.

I watched some of the videos I recorded and clocked on as to why people were staring at me (see the YouTube video above).

Mile Seven

After that second break, I had cooled down completely.

All the joints and tendons in my legs were sore.

And when I started running again, everything felt stiff.

I had lost momentum.

But me being me, I still thought I could run the remaining 6 miles within 50 minutes. 

The Final Stretch 

Picking up the pace, I ran the next mile in under 9 minutes, but I couldn’t maintain it.

My legs were too sore.

I knew I could force it, but I’d be risking injury, and I still wanted to train shoulders and arms the following day. 

The remaining miles, to my disappointment, were an equal mix of running and walking.

During a walking segment, I found I could walk the remaining distance and still complete the half marathon in 3 hours.

But that would have been boring, so I continued running whenever possible.

I completed the run by walking the first half of the last mile and finished with a sprint.

The Results 

I finished with a time of 2 hours and 47 minutes, with a total active time of 2 hours and 31 minutes. 

I couldn’t help but think I could do better.

But this was my first long-distance run ever, and with no preparation at that, so I cut myself some slack.

I beat my target time of 3 hours as well as my friend's largely incorrect estimate of 5 hours. 

The Aftermath 

In my typical fashion, I didn’t cool down, I was done pretending to be a runner. 

That may have been a mistake though, because everything was stiff and sore, including, weirdly, my chest and elbows.

I pulled up to a shop, hobbled out of the car, then limped along the footpath.

An old lady passing by was walking in the same way, she must’ve thought I was taking the piss.

Final Thoughts 

It sounds cliché, but the only thing I have to say is you really can do anything you put your mind to.

Self-belief is everything.

I remember struggling to run 1k a couple of years ago and now, with relative ease and zero training, I ran a half marathon. 

What do you want to see me do next?

Reach Your Next Phase

I lost 50 kg and took back control over my life.

I’ll help you do the same.