Here's the scoop. I've decided to run a half marathon, and what better way to make it even more fulfilling than to turn it into a FUNdraiser for Earth ARC! Essentially, Earth ARC is a Nova Scotia based animal respite centre that does a world of good for animals, be it healing of wounded animals, or caring for them during the retirement phase of their life. It is as worthy a cause as any!
The link to their website is as follows:
Earth ARC
I strongly encourage you to check them out!
There will be a betting pool regarding my finishing time for the half marathon. Each time slot will be a 10 dollar donation.
We will follow the "closest without going over" rule, so for example:
If you choose 1:46:13(1 hour and 46 minutes and 13 seconds), and another individual chooses 1:45:00. and I finish in 1:46:00, then the other individual still wins for being the closest time without going over.
Please note that once a particular time has been selected, it can not be chosen by someone else.
A chosen time is not assigned until payment is received
All bets must be in by October 10th, 2009.
The prize for winning, aside from my congratulations, will be half the money that is raised in this fundraising effort. The other half will be donated to the organization stated above.
- I have never ran a half marathon before.
- The first and last cross country race that I competed in was a 7k run in my grade 12 year of high school.
- While I have been running to stay fit all summer, I only seriously began training for this half marathon on September 8th, 2009.
- The date of the Half Marathon is October 11th, 2009.
FROM WIKI-ANSWERS:
QUESTION:
WHAT IS THE AVERAGE TIME TO FINISH A HALF MARATHON?
ANSWER:
Obviously depends upon your fitness and, in particular, your endurance.
To use myself as an example, over a 21.7km course my average pace will be almost identical (maybe 1/10th of a km per hour off) to my 5km run pace.
Generally speaking, you have to be a fairly stong runner to make it in under 1hr 30 min, very stong to make it in under 1hr 20min.
For most people with decent running ability a sub 2 hour time should be achievable, however if not used to the endurance aspect it should be noted that many people 'hit the wall' at around the 1/2 to 2/3rd mark (primarily due to going out too hard at the start & trying to keep pace with the lead pack)
Running a 1/2 marathon for an avg man in the 30-34 brackets, 1:35:00-1:40:00 thats with training. Hill works is what you want when getting faster.
Wish me luck! And thank you for your wagers! You can view the available times, as well as instructions on how to wager, on the 'Donate' page.
Sincerely,
Ryan McKeough