Im thinking of doing the Reading half marathon in march. I completed a 10k 2 months ago but was wondering if a step up to half marathon in march was too soon? I dont mind putting the training in but i read something the other day that said the body needs a year to get acustomed to a step up in distances or you can damage your knees. Any advice would be great. Thanks.

4 Months Or So To Train For A 1/2m With The Base You Have Already Should Be Fine Ginger. Just Make Sure You Stick To The Usual Rules Concerning Increased Mileage And You Shouldn't Have To Worry About Your Knees Or Anything Else.

It depends how dedicated you are and just how much training you're prepared to do, but it's certainly possible to do it, and without hurting yourself too much. I ran my first ½ marathon just five months after I'd started running (in fact I ran two ½ marathons and two 10K's in the space of fifteen days to get my first two PB's). This was from a prior training base of 339 miles, mostly off-road. Also, I started running considerably later in life than you (I'm old enough to be your grand-dad!) and it certainly hasn't done my old knees any harm. Luckily, I'm reasonably lean and don't carry much weight, but anyone overweight might be susceptible to knee or joint problems.
Anywhow, kick out the gremlins and think positive. You'll never know until you've tried. Go for it.
Cheers!

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Have a look at these training schedules for a half.

Half Marathon Training

Dave

Hi Ginger, Im following one of those Runners World Half Marathon Schedules that Ballibeg posted. I ran my first 10k in October, ran another a week later and Im now on week three of the training plan. Its definetly a step up from the 10k training I was doing but Im feeling great and have no aches or pains, even after the long runs. My advice would be to try out Week 1 and see how it goes.

thanks guys. Good advice. Ive just put my name down for the Reading half marathon. Should be a good one.

Hi Ginger - you have plenty of time, slow steps though, keep your easy runs and your hard sessions hard. Its important that you recover from runs, build your mileage up slowly. Good luck and keep us all posted!

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Well done Ginger, it can feel like a daunting step, but you will really enjoy it, the first run I ever entered for was a 1/2 marathon and loved every minute of it.

Thanks! Should be running this week, but got an awful cold...

I'm going to follow this training plan in the lead up to my first half:

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/...9369-0,00.html

I've also added in some gym based cross training and swimming too.