Half marathon in 50 days - should I go for it?

Sounds like you have had no problems hobbyjogging and would have no problems hobbyjogging 21 km. You're not going to get "burned out" from hobbyjogging. Good luck with your hobbyjogging and let us know if you ever want to put real effort into a real race.

Glad to spotted as a hobbyjogger. I embrace it - for the time being :-)

there's a common thought among non-runners and new runners that farther is better, and there is pressure to keep doing longer races instead of focusing on shorter races.

I'd recommend you focus on improving your 5k/10k significantly before you do longer races. you can do longer training runs, but I think more people should focus on shorter races. you train just as much, but you can do more faster running and you will probably lose weight faster if you are doing more intense runs.

You absolutely could finish a half marathon on September 1st, but the mindset people have that just complete it is enough bothers me.

If I were you, I'd join a training group or club that can provide you with a schedule and people to run with. make sure you pick one that involves more than just easy jogging, as that's the key to improvement.

we're all hobby-joggers, so don't think of that comment as an insult. he's just kidding

Thanks. Unfortunately this sounds like good advice. And I say "unfortunately" because while adding miles onto long easy runs is actually a pleasure, speedwork remains a chore. I do a tempo run or some interval work once a week, mind you, I just do not look forward to it as much. I guess that's the effort required to improve :) I'll proceed AS IF I were to take part in the race, but concentrate on speed more, pay more attention to my short-to-mid PBs. The one thing I'll propably not do is join a club. My hobbyjogging is very much alone time for me, and one I enjoy. I'll post a rough training plan. I am not quite sure I am structuring my speed (interval/tempo) progression right, so any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

And you are right about the mindset problem. 21 k propably will be EASY and will not do a world of good phisically for me. What it does is gives me a baby step goal, I'll try and not read to much into it. Thanks for the reality check.

Not an expert, but I think you'll get much more improvement at 5-10k by running more, rather than running faster. It may seem counter-intuitive, but if your goal is to do this running thing over the long term, adding more kms at your easy pace is probably a better long term option. Then maybe pick 1 day a week and run slightly faster than your usual easy run pace, but not so fast that you can't complete it... don't race it! Continue to build on the other days...maybe eventually running 5-6 days... add a second day of relatively faster running.... I'm pretty certain during this process (a year or more maybe) you will be taking down your PBs pretty regularly. Then, when you find you are no longer improving using this method, then, maybe, start doing speedwork.

As for whether you should do the race? I say "why not?' If you wanna do it, just do it. However, if you are so concerned about putting up "respectable" results, I'm thinking you're going to be getting yourself into a dangerous cycle. I mean re-read your original post. You're enjoying the hell out of what you're doing right now, but now contemplating pushing too hard too fast...doing training you don't really want to do...and relying on the respect of others for satisfaction... it's not a good recipe for a beginner. I don't mean to be demeaning at all; just trying to give an honest opinion.