When to Start Training for a Race

Google might tell you 8, 12, or 16-weeks. It has a point. Focused training for any event where you are dialling in paces and distances should be considered and approached over a block of time. But obviously the more complicated answer is, it depends!

I have clients with race goals over 12 months away. Why? Because we are both aware that to hit the goal it’s about so much more than 1x focused training block. Are we talking about the race week in, week out? No, because it would create too much pressure and expectation around it; likely creating a mental burnout. Instead, we take things week by week, and focus daily on showing up. For example, if you have never run more than 5km, it would not be that realistic to assume that you could comfortably tick off a half marathon (21.1km) with a simple 12-week training plan. You might make it to the finish line, but your experience would probably not have you coming back for more.

Instead of trying to rush through life and tick off every race, I recommend that you slow down for a minute. Have a think about where you are today, and where you can be in 6 or 12 months if you just keep the consistency of healthy habits and manageable training loads. Once you have attained a simple routine here, you can then start your focused training block where you chop in and out of your goal race paces etc, and tick off those weekly long runs that build in duration and distance over time.

There really is no time like the present.