# Half or Full Marathon

**URL:** <https://forum.athletica.ai/t/half-or-full-marathon/4906>\
**Category:** General\
**Created:** [May 6, 2026, 1:02am UTC](https://forum.athletica.ai/t/half-or-full-marathon/4906 "2026-05-06T01:02:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![SimpleEnduranceCoach](https://forum.athletica.ai/user_avatar/forum.athletica.ai/simpleendurancecoach/32/1591_2.png) [@SimpleEnduranceCoach](https://forum.athletica.ai/u/SimpleEnduranceCoach)\
**Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 1:02am UTC](https://forum.athletica.ai/t/half-or-full-marathon/4906/1 "2026-05-06T01:02:34Z")

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One of my athletes is doing a 29k trail run on a very hilly course in September.

In Athletica, we can choose either a half marathon or marathon for the race distance in the Goal Settings.  
For the marathon, we’d get more volume, which is always a good thing.  
For the half-marathon, we’d probably get more speed work, which would be useful.

Given the hilly nature of the trail run, what do people think would be a better choice? What are your thoughts?

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**Author:** ![erikvdlinden](https://forum.athletica.ai/user_avatar/forum.athletica.ai/erikvdlinden/32/4132_2.png) [@erikvdlinden](https://forum.athletica.ai/u/erikvdlinden)\
**Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 8:34am UTC](https://forum.athletica.ai/t/half-or-full-marathon/4906/2 "2026-05-06T08:34:59Z")

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This is a problem I also strugle with.

I choose to train for a half marathon because of less total milage and more speed work.

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**Author:** ![Joe](https://forum.athletica.ai/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Joe](https://forum.athletica.ai/u/Joe)\
**Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 8:36pm UTC](https://forum.athletica.ai/t/half-or-full-marathon/4906/3 "2026-05-06T20:36:29Z")

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you’d better pick a marathon plan, because trail running requires much more time than road running

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**Author:** ![Phil](https://forum.athletica.ai/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@Phil](https://forum.athletica.ai/u/Phil)\
**Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 9:25pm UTC](https://forum.athletica.ai/t/half-or-full-marathon/4906/4 "2026-05-06T21:25:07Z")

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A trail race could take half as long again as on the road. Thus a 29k trail race may be equivalent in duration to a full marathon on the road.

Train for the duration  
Train for the elevation. A hilly race is a lot different to a flat run.  
Train for the terrain. Running or even just moving off road needs training to move efficiently picking the best lines. Running fast and efficiently downhill off road is a skill. The biomechanics are different. Fast on the road does not mean fast on trails.

Pace targets will be hard as it is a lot more variable on trails.