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When to run a Half Marathon as part of Marathon training

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HermanBloom Jul 2013 2:49pm, 11 Jul 2013 3,589 posts	Quote Pin HermanBloom I'll look into that one, thanks. Is the Surrey Half the one in Guildford? if so yes, one and the same.
Phil70 Jul 2013 10:26pm, 11 Jul 2013 177 posts	Quote Pin Phil70 Using a half as training, I used to include it as an increase in mileage when I felt ready to do that sort of distance. I have since dropped that idea and only do it as a first taper two weeks before the marathon, but run at marathon pace.
HowFar? Jul 2013 10:29pm, 11 Jul 2013 9,576 posts	Quote Pin HowFar? If you give it a good honest effort it should be a pretty good indicator of what you could expect to do at the marathon, which will guide you as to what pace to set off at in the marathon itself.
paul the builder Jul 2013 1:34pm, 12 Jul 2013 3,718 posts	Quote Pin paul the builder If you're following a decent marathon training plan, then you can certainly afford to miss one 20m LSR for a HM race, because you'll have plenty of other 20+ milers already done, and a couple more still to come. The reason the calendar is packed with HM races then is because it is an ideal time to race a half. In your position, you can certainly expect to PB, and it shouldn't need a full taper/recovery either out of the schedule. Just take the 2-3 days before easy (so no 'hard' days, but you can run easy paces), and you will probably only need a few days after before resuming the schedule fully (again, run easy every day if you want, maybe no session for the first 2-3 days though). This is a key indicator for your marathon target - maybe the most important one. Take it seriously, pace it well, and then you're looking at double plus (say) 15min as your marathon goal. Make an allowance in that conversion if the HM course is hilly, or there's ridiculous weather etc.