The ultimate half marathon training plan for beginners

So you’ve decided to enter a half marathon? Great work! Before you lace up your trainers and head out on your first training run, here's a few things you need to know...

From developing the endurance to run 13.1 miles (without overdoing it and getting injured), to working on your physical and mental strength to hit your time goals, nailing your recovery and mastering your nutrition, there’s a lot to think about when it comes to running your first ever half marathon. Then, of course, there are the race-day logistics, working out which kit is most comfortable, and, most importantly, trying to remember that the whole experience should be fun.

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Given these demands, a lot of beginners come to the distance feeling a little anxious. ‘They’re nervous because many of them have never done 13.1, not even in training,’ says Jenny Hadfield, co-author of Running for Mortals. Luckily, the payoff outweighs the challenges. ‘Many beginners find running a half to be life-changing,’ she says. ‘They never imagined they could go that far.’

Follow a plan and give yourself 12 weeks

The half marathon distance requires weeks, months in fact, of training (our half marathon plan for beginners – outlined below – is 12 weeks long); it’s not something a beginner can jump into at a moment's notice. ‘This is one test you can’t cram for,’ says Janet Hamilton, a running coach and exercise physiologist. ‘For this distance, you have got to put in the work.’

Do your easy runs at a slow pace

Running slowly when you’re aiming to run faster does feel a little counter-intuitive, so while it’s tempting to think that all your runs need to be hard, improvement comes from a different approach. ‘From our research, it’s clear that elite athletes train around 80 per cent of the time at what we’d call low intensity, and they spend just 20 per cent of their time training hard,’ says Dr Stephen Seiler of the University of Agder, Norway, one of the world’s foremost exercise physiologists.

Taking their example, you want to do the majority of your runs at a comfortable, conversational pace, and finish each run feeling like you have the energy – and desire – to run another mile. The biggest mistake first-timers make is running too many miles, too fast, too soon – and that’s a recipe for injury, loss of motivation and burnout. Why? Running fast fatigues the body, which therefore heightens injury risk and requires longer recovery times. ‘If at the end of your run, you’re gasping for air, or in pain, then you’re going too fast,’ says Hamilton. Basically, the slower you go on your easy runs, the better.

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Hit the hills

Hill work builds leg and lung power. Start by incorporating hills that take 60 seconds to climb, says Hamilton. As you train and those 60-second hills become easier, challenge yourself with steeper and/or longer hills.

On the plan below, when it comes to hill sessions, try and plan a hilly route where you can incorporate climbs, rather than run up and down one hill for miles!

Build your endurance with long runs

If you’re a beginner taking on your first half marathon, it’s crucial to gradually build up your endurance with a weekly long run. Our half marathon training plan for beginners starts with a four-mile long run on week one and builds up to 10 miles on weeks nine and 10. The aim is to familiarise your body with running for longer periods of time, and will help improve your shorter, faster efforts, too. This means that you’ll be able to complete a few more reps of your future hill sessions or endure a slightly faster pace on your shorter runs.