How long is a typical Half Marathon training plan?

A well-structured Half Marathon plan typically runs 12–16 weeks, depending on your starting fitness level.

How many hours per week for Half Marathon training?

Most Half Marathon plans require 5–8 hours per week, scaling up through the build phase and tapering before race day.

Can AI build a personalized training plan?

Yes. An AI coach builds periodized plans through conversation, adjusting for your schedule, fitness level, and race goals. Plans adapt when you miss sessions or need changes.

Half Marathon Training Plan | Race Training Plan

What it takes

The half marathon is where aerobic endurance becomes the primary limiter. Your plan needs a steady progression of long runs, race-pace tempo work, and enough easy volume to build mitochondrial density without breaking down. The best plans peak 10–14 days before race day and taper deliberately.

Training phases

Weeks	Phase	Focus	Volume
1–3	Base	Aerobic foundation, easy volume, build long run to 8–9 miles	Low–Moderate
4–7	Build I	Tempo runs, threshold intervals, long run progression to 10–11 miles	Moderate
8–11	Build II	Race-pace work, half marathon pace runs, long run to 12–13 miles	Moderate–High
12–13	Peak	Highest quality week, race-simulation long run, sharpening	High
14	Taper	Volume reduced 40–50%, short race-pace touches, full recovery	Low

Key workouts

Long runs building from 8 to 13 miles over the training cycle
Half marathon pace runs: 4–8 miles at goal pace
Tempo intervals at threshold (3 × 2 miles with 2-minute recovery)
Easy recovery runs to maintain volume without adding stress

Am I ready?

You should be running 4–5 days per week with a long run of at least 6–7 miles. Ideally you've raced a 5K or 10K recently to establish pacing benchmarks. If you're coming from less than 15 miles per week, add 4–6 weeks of base building before starting a half marathon plan.

What to expect on race day

The half marathon is where fueling and pacing mistakes become expensive. Miles 1–6 should feel easy — genuinely easy. The middle miles (7–10) are where you settle into race rhythm. Miles 11–13 are where undertrained runners hit the wall as glycogen runs low. Practice taking gels or sports drink at miles 4–5 and 8–9 in training. Expect the last 5K to be the hardest running of the race.

Common mistakes

Going out at goal pace from the gun — the first 2 miles should feel too slow; you'll make it up later
Skipping the mid-race fuel — at 90+ minutes of racing, you need 30–60g of carbs per hour
Running long runs too fast — long runs should be 60–90 seconds per mile slower than race pace
Not practicing race-day logistics — shoes, nutrition, warmup routine should all be rehearsed before race day

Sample week

Week 10 of 14·Build Phase

5h 00m planned

Day	Session	Duration	Zone
Mon	RunEasy Run	40m	Z2
Tue	RunTempo Intervals — 3×2mi	55m	Z3
Wed	RunEasy Run	35m	Z1
Thu	RunHM Pace Run	50m	Z3
Fri	RestRest	—	—
Sat	RunLong Run	95m	Z2
Sun	RunEasy Recovery	25m	Z1

How it works

Tell the coach your race

Share your specific event, date, weekly hours, and constraints. The coach can search the web for course details, elevation profiles, and conditions for your exact race.

Get a periodized plan

A 12–16 weeks plan structured by training phase — base, build, peak, and taper — with sessions tailored to half marathon demands. Grounded in your recent Strava activity so the plan starts where you are.

Train and adapt

Sync Strava or import Garmin files. Sessions auto-match. Sync to Google Tasks. Adjust through conversation when life gets in the way.

See it in action

I'm running the Brooklyn Marathon on November 2nd. I can train 5 days a week, up to 8 hours. My last half was 1:52.

CoachNice — a 1:52 half puts your marathon potential around 3:55–4:05. I'll build an 18-week plan with a 10-day taper. Long runs peak at 20 miles in week 14, with marathon-pace blocks starting week 8. Want me to search for the Brooklyn course profile?

Yes, and I should mention I have a work trip week 10 — only 3 days that week.

CoachGot it. I'll make week 10 a cutback week — easy runs on your travel days and a tempo when you're back. You were due for a recovery week around then anyway. I'll shift the long run to week 11.

Why AI coaching

Long run progression paced to your aerobic development, not a fixed schedule
Automatically adjusts when you need to move a long run or miss a week
Taper length and intensity calibrated to your total training load
Searches the web for your specific race — course details, elevation, and conditions inform the plan

Grounded in training science

Plan structure follows periodization principles from Daniels’ Running Formula and Pfitzinger’s Advanced Marathoning — base building, threshold development, race-specific sharpening, and taper. Taper protocols reflect findings from Valenzuela et al. (2023), a meta-analysis of 56 studies on optimal taper duration and training load reduction for endurance events.

Daniels, J. Daniels' Running Formula, 3rd ed. · Pfitzinger, P. & Douglas, S. Advanced Marathoning, 2nd ed. · Valenzuela, P. et al. (2023). “Tapering strategies for endurance events: a systematic review and meta-analysis.” Sports Medicine, 53(12).

Frequently asked questions

How long is a typical Half Marathon training plan?: A well-structured Half Marathon plan typically runs 12–16 weeks, depending on your starting fitness level.
How many hours per week for Half Marathon training?: Most Half Marathon plans require 5–8 hours per week, scaling up through the build phase and tapering before race day.
Can AI build a personalized training plan?: Yes. An AI coach builds periodized plans through conversation, adjusting for your schedule, fitness level, and race goals. Plans adapt when you miss sessions or need changes.

Half Marathon Training Plan