Half marathon plan, 12 weeks on 4 sessions — under 1:45

12 weeks4 sessions a weekTarget 1 h 45476 km of training, race day aside

A 12-week half-marathon plan on four sessions a week to break 1:45: every pace stated, long run building to 22 km.

This plan is for you if…

Already running four times a week for at least three months, pain-free.
Able to run for an hour without stopping, however slowly.
A 10 km under 49 minutes, or a 5 km under 23:30.
Three to five hours a week for training, long run included.

If one of these is not true, a longer plan will take you further than a short one followed halfway.

If you have to skip a session

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.

Your paces for 1 h 45

Pace	min/km	What it feels like
Easy	5:56 – 6:23	The pace most of this plan is run at. If you cannot hold a conversation, it is too fast.
Long run	6:02	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	4:54	Half-marathon pace: race day if that is your distance, otherwise the marker just above race-day pace.
Threshold pace	4:45	The pace you could hold for about an hour in a race.
5 km pace	4:30	5 km race pace: strong, never maximal.

All 12 weeks, session by session

Week 1

Base37 km

Set the rhythm: nothing hard, since the aerobic base comes before any speed is added. One easy run closes with strides — 20 s quick and relaxed, 40 s of jogging, no watch and no target pace.

1
Easy run45 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
2
Easy run54 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk. Finish with 4 strides.
3
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
4
Long run12 km
12 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 2

Base39 km

Bring in threshold, the pace a half marathon is decided at. Twenty continuous minutes, no more.

1
Easy run45 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
2
Threshold50 min
20 continuous minutes at Threshold pace.
3
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
4
Long run14 km
14 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 3

Base44 km

First full week: aerobic power, easy running around it, and a long run that starts growing.

1
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
2
Aerobic power64 min
6 × 800 m at 5 km pace, 2 min recovery.
3
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
4
Long run16 km
16 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 4

Base34 km

A lighter week. Progress is built on the days you run less.

1
Easy run40 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
2
Half-marathon pace42 min
12 continuous minutes at Half-marathon pace.
3
Easy run45 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
4
Long run13 km
13 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 5

Build46 km

Repetitions stretch to 1,000 m at 5 km pace — strong, never all-out — and the long run reaches 18 km, entirely easy.

1
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
2
Aerobic power65 min
5 × 1000 m at 5 km pace, 150 s recovery.
3
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
4
Long run18 km
18 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 6

Build48 km

The block's peak, and the volume shows it: one hard session only, two blocks at goal pace, 20 km in the long run and easy running for the rest.

1
Easy run55 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
2
Half-marathon pace56 min
2 × 10 minutes at Half-marathon pace, 3 min recovery.
3
Easy run55 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
4
Long run20 km
20 km, the last 5 at Half-marathon pace.

Week 7

Build39 km

A down week before the specific block: the fast work stays, shorter, and the volume comes down.

1
Easy run45 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
2
Aerobic power52 min
4 × 800 m at 5 km pace, 2 min recovery.
3
Easy run45 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
4
Long run15 km
15 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 8

Specific49 km

Specific block: no more short repetitions. Threshold, in two fifteen-minute blocks, prepares half-marathon pace.

1
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
2
Threshold blocks68 min
2 × 15 minutes at Threshold pace, 4 min recovery.
3
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
4
Long run20 km
20 km, the last 6 at Half-marathon pace.

Week 9

Specific50 km

The peak, and it is specific: 3 × 2 km at goal pace, then twenty-two kilometres with six at that same pace. Threshold has done its work.

1
Easy run50 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
2
Half-marathon pace68 min
3 × 2 km at Half-marathon pace, 3 min recovery.
3
Easy run45 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
4
Long run22 km
22 km, the last 6 at Half-marathon pace.

Week 10

Specific42 km

Last week of load, already smaller. Threshold goes, goal pace stays: twenty minutes, then 18 km with four at that pace.

1
Easy run45 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
2
Half-marathon pace50 min
20 continuous minutes at Half-marathon pace.
3
Easy run45 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
4
Long run18 km
18 km, the last 4 at Half-marathon pace.

Week 11

Taper32 km

Taper. Fifteen minutes at goal pace to keep it in the legs, and nothing more.

1
Easy run35 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
2
Half-marathon pace45 min
15 continuous minutes at Half-marathon pace.
3
Easy run35 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
4
Long run12 km
12 comfortable km from start to finish. If it feels hard, it is too fast.

Week 12

Race16 km

Race week. You maintain; you no longer build.

1
Easy run30 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
2
Half-marathon pace45 min
3 × 3 minutes at Half-marathon pace, 2 min recovery.
3
Easy run20 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
4
Half marathon21.0975 km
Race day.

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This plan is general training material and does not replace medical advice. If it hurts, stop and see someone.