1/2 Marathon - Walkers Welcomed

[dthogue]

I am a beginning jogger - started the C25K last week. My goal is to be ready to run in a 1/2 Marathon in October, followed by the Disney 1/2 in January.

I have several 5k's planned for the spring, but I ran across a 1/2 Marathon in May that says "Walkers Welcome" Exactly what do they mean by that - is there not a time limit to finish the race? I think by then I could jog/walk the 1/2, but I don't want to overestimate my ability and be embarassed.

I was planning on fininshing the C25K program, then starting a 10K program, then a 1/2 marathon program. If I do this, I would be just about fininshed with the 10K program around the time of this race? or should I go right to the beginner's 1/2 marathon program. I don't want to do too much too soon, but I really want to try the 1/2 Marathon walking/jogging!

Any suggestions!

Tammy

 

[disney_mommy]

From past experience, that says to me that as long as you finish in the time given, you can walk. It's very rare for a race to not have a time limit (they need to open roads back up and so forth), but it may be an extra long time, long enough for walkers.

 

[minniebeth]

Most of the races I've come across have anywhere between a 15 minute to a 20 minute mile pace requirement either to run or walk. If you are training, even if you walk you should be fine with that time frame. Most of the races will state the rules, look around on the website or in the info.

You have some great goals! Great job!

I plan on doing a few 5ks and then maybe attempting a quarter marathon since the pace requirement is at 18 mins. That I know I can do.

 

[johde]

Most Marathons, even walker friendly ones have time limits. Most walker friendly events have pace requirements of about 14:00 or slower. Although 14:00 isn't what I'd call "walker friendly" but it is walkable. Both half marathons I've done had course limits of 3:45 which is about 17:00 pace, which is a solid walking pace. Disney has a 3:30 time limit for it's events (16:00 mile). If you hunt there are some half marathons with very time limits. The USAF half marathon has a 6 hour time limit or about a 27:30 pace. That's a little over 2 miles an hour or for most people a stroll. It's a bit unique in that the half marathon uses the quite a bit of the back half of the marathon course which starts an hour earlier and has a 7:00 time limit.

 

[PrincessAndrea'sMom]

I have read on these boards that many runners recommend doing a few local races to get the feel of a race. I have done the March for Babies and Race for the Cure. Both were VERY crowded, even for a walker. I hope that is not how the Princess half will be. I will never keep pace. It took about an hour to do a 5k.

 

[ludari]

Tammy,

I ran the Princess 1/2 marathon this past February at WDW which was my first ever official race and they where many walkers, however if you do not maintain a 16-minute/mile pace you risk the possibility of getting picked-up by the race officials. RunDisney recommends that you train for at least a 15-minute mile pace. If you decide to jog/walk the race you should be fine. The event was so much fun that I am running the DL 1/2 marathon in September 2011 and the WDW 1/2 marathon in January 2012. I'm trying to clear my schedule so I can also run the Wine & Dine 1/2 marathon at Epcot.

Good luck.

 

[Tiger Lily 03]

Please join our WISH group training on the Events / Competition side of WISH for your training opportunities. We'd love to have you join in. New Place for Walkers, Training for 2011 and Beyond

 

[stampingoddess]

In my experience the phrase "Walkers Welcome" can mean any number of things, including...

1. We love walkers, have generous finish times, AND give out overall and AG awards to walkers in a special walkers only division.

2. We Like walkers and the course will stay open long enough that most walkers who train for the race will be able to finish in the alloted time. We don't however have a special walk division, and we don't give out awards to walkers.

3. We tolerate walkers in our race. We really want your race registration and we will leave the course open just long enough for you to plod along to finish.