An 8-week half-marathon plan on four sessions a week to finish under 2:30 when the running habit is already there: long run to 15 km.
If one of these is not true, a longer plan will take you further than a short one followed halfway.
Ill, exhausted or in pain, do not run: a plan absorbs a missed session, it does not absorb an injury. Drop the easy run first — it is the least specific. If it is the quality session or the long run that goes, do not move it to another day of the same week; pick the next week up where the plan is, never where you stopped.
| Pace | min/km | What it feels like |
|---|---|---|
| Easy | 8:28 – 9:08 | The pace most of this plan is run at. If you cannot hold a conversation, it is too fast. |
| Long run | 8:37 | In the firm third of the easy band, never outside it. However long it is, a long run is never run quicker than this. |
| Half-marathon pace | 7:00 | Half-marathon pace: race day if that is your distance, otherwise the marker just above race-day pace. |
| Threshold pace | 6:39 | The pace you could hold for about an hour in a race. |
| 5 km pace | 6:26 | 5 km race pace: strong, never maximal. |
Straight into it: 800 m repetitions in week one, because the running habit is assumed. The midweek easy run closes with a few strides, no watch and no target pace.
Easy run40 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
Aerobic power61 min
4 × 800 m at 5 km pace, 150 s recovery.
Easy run49 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk. Finish with 4 strides.
Long run9 km
9 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.
Continuous threshold, fifteen minutes. The long run reaches 10 km.
Easy run45 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
Threshold45 min
15 continuous minutes at Threshold pace.
Easy run45 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
Long run10 km
10 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.
Repetitions stretch to 1,000 m at 5 km pace — strong, never all-out. The long run finishes at race-day pace.
Easy run45 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
Aerobic power66 min
4 × 1000 m at 5 km pace, 150 s recovery.
Easy run45 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
Long run11 km
11 km, the last 3 at Half-marathon pace.
The only lighter week in the plan. It is not optional.
Easy run35 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
Threshold42 min
12 continuous minutes at Threshold pace.
Easy run40 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
Long run9 km
9 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.
Specific block: no more short repetitions. Threshold prepares half-marathon pace.
Easy run45 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
Threshold blocks56 min
2 × 10 minutes at Threshold pace, 3 min recovery.
Easy run40 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
Long run13 km
13 km, the last 4 at Half-marathon pace.
The peak, and it is specific: 3 × 2 km at goal pace, then 15 km, which is 2 hours on the feet. That is the most 8 weeks allow: the last 30 minutes on race day will be new ground, and one more reason to start carefully.
Easy run45 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
Half-marathon pace81 min
3 × 2 km at Half-marathon pace, 3 min recovery.
Easy run40 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
Long run15 km
15 km, the last 6 at Half-marathon pace.
Taper, one week only. Fifteen minutes at goal pace, nothing more.
Easy run35 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
Half-marathon pace45 min
15 continuous minutes at Half-marathon pace.
Easy run35 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
Long run10 km
10 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.
Race week. You maintain; you no longer build.
Easy run30 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
Half-marathon pace45 min
3 × 3 minutes at Half-marathon pace, 2 min recovery.
Easy run20 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
Half marathon21.0975 km
Race day.
Stibia exports this plan to your watch, on the days you run, with your long session on the day you choose, and the plan ending on your race date.
Create a free accountThis plan is general training material and does not replace medical advice. If it hurts, stop and see someone.