The 10-Week Half-Marathon Training Plan

If you're making the leap from casual runner to your first half marathon, this training schedule is for you.

Feeling apprehensive about participating in a half marathon is common. The race, spanning 13.1 miles, necessitates consistent running and strength exercises, not to mention the need to determine the appropriate gear for a half marathon and establish an effective fuelling strategy. However, rest assured that with a ten-week duration, you have ample time to adequately prepare for a half marathon, provided you have the right training blueprint at your disposal. This article provides an insight into undertaking a half marathon and offers a 10-week half-marathon training plan, curated by Kayla Jeter, C.P.T., a RRCA-certified running coach, NASM-certified personal trainer, and certified functional strength coach, designed to equip you for the D-day.

Who Should Use This 10-Week Half-Marathon Training Plan?

This half-marathon training plan spread over 10 weeks is ideally suited for runners who already have a basic running background. As per Jeter's advice, you should be able to manage a 3-mile run without pause. It could also be that you've participated in a 5K or another shorter race. This plan is tailored perfectly if you're looking forward to your first half marathon. As an experienced runner, you're used to running a couple of miles at a go. Hence, during this training, your "long runs" start from 4 miles, peaking at 12 miles in the 7th week. This ensures you have ample time for tapering before the actual race day. In case you're unaware, tapering is a phase in race training when you reduce mileage to allow your legs enough recovery time before the race day. Looking at this 10-week half-marathon training plan, you'll notice that some of your easy runs are measured by time, say, 25-30 minutes, rather than distance, like 3 miles. The idea behind this, as explained by Jeter, is to help increase the duration you spend on your feet, as opposed to targeting specific mileage or trying to finish as quickly as possible. Building runner's strength is crucial and spending more time running helps achieve that. You take more steps, exert more pressure on your joints - all of which aids your body to adapt better to running. So, ensure your easy runs are genuinely comfortable and easy. Aim for a pace where you can maintain a conversation without getting overly breathless.