Half marathon training plans
Fourteen half marathons in the library, a 12-week build behind each one. Every one is written two weeks at a time, phased for how far out you are, and rebuilt the moment you travel, get sick or something starts hurting.
On Pro, the hours, the experience level and the date you give shape every block, and the plan is rewritten when your week changes.
On Pro, a beginner's running week holds 4 to 9 hours and an advanced runner's holds 8 to 16, so the same race gives two different plans.
The races on this page are examples. In the app you choose a distance and set your own date, so a race we have not listed works the same way.
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HALF MARATHON AT A GLANCE
- Races covered14
- Typical build12 weeks
- Race monthsFeb · Mar · Apr · May · Jul · Sep · Oct · Nov
- True of all 14Road
- SportRunning
THE HALF MARATHON FIELD
What a half marathon build has to cope with
Counted off the fourteen half marathons on this page. It is not a general claim about the distance.
HOW LONG THE BUILD RUNS
Every plan at this distance runs to twelve weeks.
It sits between 5K (8 weeks) and 10K (10 weeks) and marathon (16 weeks).
Whatever the length, the plan is written two weeks at a time and phased for how far out you are, so half marathons that start in a hole and half marathons that start fit do not get the same first block.
WHAT YOU BUILD THROUGH
Six of the fourteen put the bulk of the build in winter; the rest split four in spring, two in fall and two in summer.
One of them (Gold Coast Half Marathon) is south of the equator, where the calendar runs the other way round.
Race dates land in eight different months of the year.
WHAT THE COURSES DO
Seven of the fourteen are flat; the rest split three point to point, two rolling, one multi-lap and one net downhill.
All fourteen are on road.
WHAT THE WEATHER DOES
Nine of the fourteen are cool; the rest split three temperate and two cold.
HOW YOU GET IN
Entry: seven by first come, five by open entry and two by ballot.
Two of them cannot simply be bought into, which is its own planning problem: those builds have to start before you know whether you are in.
Field size, in starters: eleven at 10,000 to 40,000, two at 40,000 or more and one at 1,000 to 10,000.
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE DATES
None of these has a confirmed date in our library yet, so the table carries the season each one is usually run in rather than inventing a day.
Dates are checked against each race’s own announcement before they go in, and a date we cannot stand behind is left out.
ALL FOURTEEN HALF MARATHONS
Every half marathon we have a plan for
Four of the seven things we track vary between these races, so those are the columns. The ones that do not vary are in the card above. Every name links to its own plan.
| Race | When | Course | Conditions | Field | Entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barcelona Half MarathonBarcelona, Spain | Winter 2027 | Flat | Cool | 10,000-40,000 | Open |
| Bath Half MarathonBath, UK | Spring 2027 | Multi-lap | Cool | 10,000-40,000 | First come |
| Berlin Half MarathonBerlin, Germany | Spring 2027 | Flat | Cool | 10,000-40,000 | First come |
| Brooklyn Half MarathonNew York, NY | Spring 2027 | Point to point | Temperate | 10,000-40,000 | First come |
| Cardiff Half MarathonCardiff, Wales | Fall 2027 | Flat | Cool | 10,000-40,000 | First come |
| Copenhagen Half MarathonCopenhagen, Denmark | Fall 2027 | Flat | Cool | 10,000-40,000 | First come |
| Gold Coast Half MarathonGold Coast, Australia | July 2027 | Flat | Temperate | 1,000-10,000 | Open |
| Gothenburg Half MarathonGothenburg, Sweden | Spring 2027 | Rolling | Cool | 40,000+ | Open |
| Great North RunNewcastle upon Tyne, UK | Fall 2027 | Point to point | Cool | 40,000+ | Ballot |
| Lisbon Half MarathonLisbon, Portugal | Spring 2027 | Net downhill | Temperate | 10,000-40,000 | Open |
| NYC Half MarathonNew York, NY | Spring 2027 | Point to point | Cold | 10,000-40,000 | Ballot |
| Paris Half MarathonParis, France | Spring 2027 | Flat | Cool | 10,000-40,000 | First come |
| Philadelphia Half MarathonPhiladelphia, PA | November 2027 | Rolling | Cold | 10,000-40,000 | First come |
| Prague Half MarathonPrague, Czechia | Spring 2027 | Flat | Cool | 10,000-40,000 | Open |