Runners want to run faster. For example, improving a half marathon time from 2 hours 10 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes. A great goal! But is it possible?
Theoretically yes, but in practice — it depends on several factors. Improving from 2:10 to 1:45 in the half marathon means shaving off 25 minutes, or about 20% of the current result — an ambitious target. Here’s how to assess it:
- Current pace (2:10 finish) — 6:10 min/km
- Target pace (1:45 finish) — 4:59 min/km
- Difference — 1 minute 11 seconds per kilometer
Can this be achieved in 3 months?
It’s possible if:
- You have natural physical predispositions developed early in life — for example, past experience with endurance sports, and a strong cardiovascular system.
- You’ve been running consistently for at least 6–8 months.
- You can handle 4–5 structured sessions per week: intervals, tempo runs, long runs, and recovery runs.
- You’re ready to change your nutrition, sleep, and add strength and mobility work.
It’s unlikely if:
- You just started running and completed your first half marathon “off the couch”.
- You don’t follow a training system — your running is unstructured and lacks tempo or interval work.
- You lack base endurance — can’t run long in zone 2, rarely run over 15 km, heart rate spikes to zone 3+ after 5–7 minutes, and your weekly mileage is under 30 km.
- You frequently skip workouts or deal with injuries and overtraining.
A Realistic Path
Running 25 km per week and aiming to finish 21.1 km in 1:45? You can dream — but let’s be realistic: to achieve this, you need to start running 50 km per week. That’s a 100% increase in training volume.
Sustainable progress takes time, and the body must adapt to higher training loads. Once you reach 40+ km/week, you’re not just building endurance — you also need strength to avoid breaking down. That means developing leg and core strength in advance, before you begin race-specific training. Strength and running can be combined, but running on tired legs from gym sessions means your runs will mostly need to stay easy.
A realistic timeline from 2:10 to a new personal best might look like this:
- 3 months of strength training + maintenance running
- 3 months gradually increasing weekly mileage from 30 to 50 km
- (average volume increase of ~5% per week with recovery weeks)
- 2 months of specific training focused on a new PB
How to reach the goal of 1:45
Break this 20% performance leap into 2 phases:
- Improve from 2:10 to 1:55–2:00
- Improve from 2:00 to 1:45 in 4–6 months after the first milestone
Use 5K and 10K races as tune-ups in phase one, and 10K and half marathon races in phase two.
What not to do
- Set your target result at the beginning of training — it may be unrealistic short-term.
- Start running as much as is “needed” to hit your target — your body may not handle it.
- Train at your goal race pace all the time — that’s the fastest way to overtraining and burnout.
How to glimpse your realistic future?
In the Dashboard section of the OMY! Sports app, you’ll find our assessment of your running potential. This estimate is based on your current level, your personalized training plan, and assumes you’ll train consistently, with focus and discipline. That is your realistic achievable result.
IMPORTANT: This is not a prediction for your next race — it’s a realistic projection of what you can reach over time.
Your OMY! Sports Team