Best Beginner Half Marathons For Debut Runners

If you are a newbie and want to know what are the best beginner half marathons to try out in your first 13.1 mile race you, have come to the right place.

United States Best Beginner

Half Marathons

Rock and Roll Philadelphia Half-Marathon - One of the fastest half-marathons courses in the United States.

This is where I ran my personal best of 1.07.06 and took 28th overall with that time to give you an indication of how competitive it is.

The race takes place in September and has great weather conditions. The course is one of the flattest courses in the United States and is first on my list of best beginner half marathons.

Beginners seeking to run a fast debut on an absolutely flat course must put this half marathon on their list.

ELEVATION CHART

Rock and Roll Seattle Half-Marathon - Number two on the list of the best beginner half marathons takes place in Seattle.

A relatively flat course that takes place at a great time of the year. If you prefer cooler conditions and have your eyes set on a flat course for a fast time, Seattle is a great race suited for you.

ELEVATION CHART

IMS Arizona Half-Marathon - I ran and won this race back in 2010 during a 120 mile week . Outstanding crowd and race support. The race was relatively cool at the start but warmed up a bit at the end which can be beneficial or not depending on the runner you are.

The course is absolutely flat and runs throughout the neighborhoods and main streets of Phoenix, Arizona. I would highly recommend this race and name it in the top three best beginner half marathons to run. Great post race entertainment and food resupply. Hope to run this race again in 2013.
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COURSE MAP

Germantown Half-Marathon - One of the best beginner half marathons in the country. The race takes place in beautiful Germantown, Tennessee. I ran this race in 2011 taking 2nd in 1.08.44 to Kenyan Micah Tirop’s 1.08.28 and was impressed with how well layed the course was.

The volunteer support at this race is the best you can find anywhere. Well layed out course and marked well. The course is rolling so if you want a more challenging course this race will be a perfect fit for you.

I consider it a hidden gem among best beginner half marathons. It is a small town race and one any beginner should try out. The crowds will get you through to the finish.

ELEVATION CHART

Hospital Hill Half-Marathon - This is one of the best beginner half marathons for those brave souls wanting a challenging course to run their debut half-marathon on.The downside to this half marathon is, of course, the enormous hills and second it takes place in June and is usually run under warm conditions.

If you think you can take on both this may be the half-marathon for you.

The Hospital Hill Half Marathon race staff have done an outstanding job over the years making this the second most run half-marathon in the country going on 38 years.

COURSE MAP

Rock and Roll Virginia Beach Half-Marathon – What makes this one of the best beginner half marathons for any newbie? Weather and an absolutely flat course run along the beautiful Virginia Beach coastline and nearby neighborhood streets. The Rock And Roll Competitor Group already has some of the best half-marathon and marathon races in the United States and have added races in 2012 in Montreal, Lisbon, Madrid and Dublin this is one to put on your list.

ELEVATION CHART

Rock and Roll Savannah Half-Marathon - This is one I have my eyes on for 2013. Takes place in early November and is pancake flat. The only downside is November in Savannah can be still warm or could be run in cooler conditions. Weather is certainly something we cannot control.

I am, without a doubt, a cold weather runner and if it is over 60 degrees and the race exceeds 10K in distance length I will look elsewhere.

This race is on the list of the best beginner half marathons for beginners for the overall flat layout of the course and the outstanding pre and post race support the Rock and Roll Competitior Group always provides for the running community.

European Best Beginner Half Marathons

City-Pier-City Half-Marathon – Location- The Hague, Netherlands I have raced numerous times in the Netherlands and I can tell you from experience the dutch know how to out on road races. The crowd support is absolutely refreshing and the entire country is pancake flat.

This is a half-marathon I have wanted to run for years and hope to in 2013 to try to improve my 1.07.06 personal best.

Racing in the Alphen Aan Rijn 20K in the Netherlands

Lisbon Half-Marathon – Location – Lisbon, Portugal

Year after year I have read up on the race results of this race, the race support given to the runners and certainly would put this race very high on the list for best beginner half marathons.

It is great time of year to race taking place in March and to boot, is a predominately downhill course. What could be better for a debut half-marathoner?

Stockholm Half-Marathon with a mens course record of 1.01.10 and women’s best of 1.09.28, this is one of the fastest best beginner half marathons one can run.

The stockholm marathon is considered the best marathon in the world, hefty accolades considering it’s competition.

This is certainly a race I would run if my locality wasn’t so far away. Europe is a great place to live and race.

I lived and trained in Belgium for nearly two years and can say Europe has some of the best fans, crowd support and races you will find anywhere in the world.

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Client Testimonials

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Bill H.

3.27 Marathoner

I am no phenom, just an ordinary guy who was looking to improve my running. In the marathon, I went from 4:40 to 3:36 and then to 3:27, a Boston Marathon qualifying time for my age group in less than two years of running. Much of this success can be attributed to having a lot of heart and dedication.

The other part, I can honestly say, happened when I was fortunate to find Nate Pennington as a coach on RunDreamAchieve.

Nate crafted a thoughtful, personalized training plan which allowed me to achieve my dream of a BQ! Moreover, I was able to obtain valuable information on race strategy and mental aspects of racing from a world-class athlete.

Nate is very accessible through email and always answered any questions I had in a timely manner. I would HIGHLY recommend teaming up with Nate Pennington as your running coach. It will be a worthwhile investment in your running future.”

Mangesh M.

4.30 Marathoner

I have been doing some reading on the net, is when I came across RDA. I have been floored!!!! In a way, it is as if someone can read my mind and lay it out before me.

All of it! The ambition, the fire, the fears, the anxieties, the doubts, the questions … everything!!I have a stretch target this year of going sub 2 and I believe I have put in some quality training for that.

Yesterday morning, I ran 2:00:01 on largely the race route (with 1 more uphill than the actual race route so I know the intensity of my run has been above what is needed on the race day to achieve my goal)This is the first plan that actually prescribes what I always believed deep down inside.

That the faster you run and the more time that you extend that pace, the more likely you are to achieve race day goals! Every other training plan, without exception, does not recommend running at or below race day pace. And I couldn’t understand for the life of me how I would morph into a faster person on race day miraculously…. I now feel vindicated!I love your writings on motivation, goal setting, the power of positive thinking and quality preparation.

Tim M.

1.56 Half-Marathoner

Posted a new PR for the half this am Derby Festival Mini Marathon 1:56:29! Your wisdom, inspiration and the RDA sub 2 hour program helped make it a reality. Thank you!

Simon R.

10K Specialist

Shout-out to @rundreamachieve whose advice not to over do it this week got me a PB in @Derby10k! Consistently great articles - follow him!

Dominick B.

2.49 Marathoner

I won’t take up much of your time but I wanted to say thank you very much for inspiring me to run and achieve my dreams.
I ran Rotterdam April 14th which was a disaster for me. I stopped mile 23 with a really bad pain in my foot, calf. I was injured going in and it but it wasn’t my day. After 4 months of solid training I was very disappointed. I finished though and received a wonderful medal. I walked the last 3 miles and it took me 3.54 min to cross the line. A great time but not what I was looking for. It’s true I was a bit down but I remember reading your blog posts and advice and you always talk about bad races but more importantly getting back up and learning from it. I took that advice on board very quickly as I had a marathon two weeks later in Dusseldorf April 28th.
Nathan it worked for me and I achieve my target of running a sub2.50 – I just about done it and ran 2:49:56. I knocked almost 3 minutes off my PB and I done this by following your advice of race pace miles and when to do them and when not to do them. It was also that you inspire us to dream big, to have utter belief and put the work in.

I started to read your blog posts last summer and since that time I have improved gradually with my marathons times going from a 3.10, 2:53 to 2:49 in the space of 8 months. Thank you again Nathan for everything. I am telling you this because I have often been running and finding it hard and I would think what Nathan would say, what he would advise. In a sense you’re our coach who motivates us and helps us realise our potential.