An 8-week half-marathon plan on three sessions a week to finish under 2:30: one quality session, one easy run, a 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 | 8:08 – 8:45 | The pace most of this plan is run at. If you cannot hold a conversation, it is too fast. |
| Long run | 8:16 | In the firm third of the easy band, never outside it. On a three-hour run, never quicker than this. |
| Half-marathon pace | 7:00 | Half-marathon pace: race day over that distance, or the marker that brackets marathon pace. |
| Threshold pace | 6:45 | The pace you could hold for about an hour in a race. |
| 5 km pace | 6:31 | A little faster than threshold: 5 km race pace. Strong, never maximal. |
Straight into it: 800 m repetitions in week one, because the running habit is assumed.
Aerobic power69 min
5 × 800 m at 5 km pace, 150 s recovery.
Easy run45 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.
Continuous threshold, fifteen minutes. The long run reaches 10 km.
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.
Threshold moves into blocks, easier to hold. The long run finishes at race-day pace.
Threshold blocks52 min
2 × 8 minutes at Threshold pace, 3 minutes 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.
Threshold45 min
15 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.
Threshold blocks56 min
2 × 10 minutes at Threshold pace, 3 minutes 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 — over two hours on the feet.
Half-marathon pace81 min
3 × 2 km at Half-marathon pace, 3 minutes recovery.
Easy run40 min
Conversational pace: you should be able to talk.
Long run15 km
15 km, the last 4 at Half-marathon pace.
Taper, one week only. Fifteen minutes at goal pace, nothing more.
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.
Pace reminder51 min
4 × 400 m at Half-marathon pace, 150 s recovery.
Easy run25 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.