Walking a half marathon

This is something I've had in mind to do for years ... at a mostly walk with the occasional jog pace. I've just never been able to fit it into my schedule.

I've seen runners, walkers, mums pushing strollers and wheelchair bound folks all participating in marathons.

Check out the race rules. Some have time limits, but others welcome walkers and have a walking category. So check out the different races around you to see what fits for you.

lorrpb wrote: »

I walked a 10k last summer that was part of a marathon/half10k/5k event. Runners not only were not annoyed, they cheered on the walkers as they passed us. Check with the event because different events have diff rules. Have fun!!!

This was my experience. I walked a marathon (which was also a half and a relay) last month. We started an hour and a half ahead of the runners. The lead runners caught up with us and were very encouraging - that actually caught me off guard though I'm not sure why. I've always found runners to be pretty friendly. We were pretty spread out by the time they caught up. Spectators were more in their way than we were. There were all levels at this marathon: walkers, walk /joggers, people starting out running and ending up walking and the runners of course. I finished with a faster finals time than lots of runners, but I can walk under a12 minute mile when I'm focused ☺

oilphins wrote: »

There's nothing wrong with walking it and I don't think any runners would be annoyed as you are not holding them up. But check to see the time limit. Some half marathons have a time limit where they will actually escort or tell you the time limit is up and you will have to leave the course.

In many cases, the time limit means that support services end (aid stations close, roads re-open to automotive traffic, etc.) and that you can't get an official time after the cutoff. If you have an idea of how long walking 13.1 miles will take you, you can look at the time limit and see whether this is an issue for you. Many walkers and slower runners favor half marathons that are associated with a full marathon, because the time limit is set for the full marathon and they get more time to complete the half.

It's not weird at all, just check the cutoff times. There is no shame in walking, your out there having fun. Good luck.

azelizabeth wrote: »

Does anyone have any races they would recommend for a walker with generous time limits?

As someone else said above choose an event that has a marathon as well. That way the cut off time will be long enough to cater for the slower marathon runners.
I assume you want to do a half.

If you're in Asia or in a position to travel to the Philippines in early February there are walkers in the Condura Skyway Marathon (full, half, 10k, and 6k distances).

You can do specific walking marathon events too. Then you don't need to worry about runners and the events are set up with walking in mind, so the routes tend to be more scenic and the route maps have more information for an enjoyable walk.