Hack Half Marathon RACE DAY with This Strategy

We've previously dealt with how to train for your fastest half marathon but now we're digging in to race weekend. All of the things you can do to make sure you nail race day and walk away with an effort to be proud of!

Contact Us -
Insta - @thismessyhappy
Facebook Page - This Messy Happy
Facebook Group - 'This Messy Happy - Running and Triathlon'
Fitness Freaks Podcast;

Ben's Running Gear

Mary's Running Gear

Strength & Conditioning Gear
Weights Bench/Squat Rack (big money - mine was about £250 if that helps)

Camera Equipment

[jirikadlec]

Just beat my half marathon PB by 2 minutes this Saturday and here is what worked for me: Lot of sleep almost 9 hours from Thursday to Friday! Having an easy slow jog with my dog Friday afternoon! Going to slow yoga Friday early evening! Again pretty good sleep 8 hours Friday to Saturday! Doing an easy dog walk Saturday morning and then riding my bike at an easy pace to start of the race and arriving there early 45mins before start to take time for warm-up! And Last but not leasing, not overdressing. Although I felt a bit cold in shorts and t-shirt at race start, it was a good decision to go lightweight ;-) My time was 1:21:20 I was surprised it went so well!

[Mark-snkh]

While I'm not nearly there... I did run my first 5k today following your plan. Finished in 30:32. I looked at a few "couch to 5k" plans and thought yours to be best. It worked for me!

[trishthorne]

Haha just ran one of my slowest half marathons on Saturday…….I had the best ever first 10k then it went to custard…..I shall look forward to your tips…….

I’m back…..great video and I can say I did most of what you suggested- hydrating the day prior, good sleep two nights prior, I ate normally. Once I realised I wasn’t going to run the race I wanted, I just aimed to finish. I did develop a funny tum which was the cause of the wheels falling off, it wasn’t a ‘toilet’ tum or a sick tum, just felt off…… never mind, there is always the next run to improve on. Thanks for all your great vids x

[n.y.]

Thanks guys❤im doing my first half marathon this weekend and this video gives me confidence that I will be super fine after all the training invested 🎉

[gracebridgman]

Mary is the absolute best. You guys have a South African fan! :)

[hannesaltenfelder]

Whenever I struggle in training/raceday I ask my future self: Once this is over will I have given everything I could or will I regret to not have hold on?

[Slow_Lee]

Watched all your Marathon Prep vids cause I'm planning to join a half marathon January next year. It'll be my first official event, though I've been running for years/over a decade already. I'm a bit on the older side, will be 37 when I join the forementioned event. I'm not really nervous and all the more after I've watched your vids. I don't plan to race. I plan to finish. To finish in time would be an achievement for me. I run cause I love to run and not to really compete or anything. I just enjoy running and it have brought me to the best of my health and I just thought joining a half marathon could be fun and a good experience. Tbh, I would prefer trail running but there's just not much trail here where I live, only a 15km one and a third of it is already paved. Anyway, that's a long intro. I just want to thank you guys for your vids. It's given me confidence and reinforcement that somehow the prep I'm doing now is beneficial for me. I have a lot of time still, over 3months to prepare. But I'd rather be over prepared than under prepared. That's what I think. I'll go through you videos even more when I'm doing some strength training in my room, take in more knowledge and see what works for me. Thank you guys and I hope to keep running for as long as I can. Cheers, from the Philippines!

[lawn]

This is just what I needed. Got the Great Manchester Run in a couple of weeks ! 🙌

[knightmare]

I absolutely love the pep talk at around minute 12. Their are times where i doubt myself so much when my legs want to give out…and your talk is the perfect example of what keeps my legs turning 🙏😁

[buffaloje]

Great info and timely advice, starting my 12 week block this week before my first HM. I’m looking forward to the training and race.

[fatrunner]

Great tips, got a half marathon in 1.5 weeks. Fortunately it's in my home town, which makes things a lot easier!

[christinaclementson]

Great video!! Turning the light off of course gave me a good old chuckle - you never fail to amuse 🤣🤣🤣 ‘oh…….oh!…….OH’ 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[carolinebray]

You guys are so inspiring 👍🏻🏃🏼‍♀️Colorado fan here 👋🏻💜 I actually do have a special dinner night before, and depends what the event is too

[JamesMartin-glgg]

Ben, I can always listen to your advice and it can make me reflect on races I thought I could have done better. But I realise there is something to learn from them.
You and Mary are great to learn from and are great leaders.

[adrianachagoya]

Thank you for all the great advice 😀 I'm running my first half marathon next week and really looking forward! #pasadenarosebowlhalfmarathon

[mark.kaiser]

The timing of this video coming out is perfect. I just signed up to run Denver's Colfax half marathon next week. I've never run that far before. I just started running last October. I'm hoping to finish in 2 hrs, but really I'm hoping to just finish without having to walk any.

[benny_ben_run]

Really good advice, thanks for that. Was super awesome to meet you guys yesterday and get to chat a little bit. Congratulations on the placings today and will see you guys around next time.

[balaji]

Lovely again. You guys are the best. Ben and Mary. You have fantastic presentation skills Ben😊🙏👍👏👏👌

[prj]

Thank you for sharing. Need the plan b and plan c reminder

[stepheninnes]

Ironically, The Cha Am -Hua Hin 2022 was my first half marathon.